by Terry MacCauley - Posted 6 hours ago
Labor Day weekend is here. For decades, it has been promoted as one of the biggest sales weekends in the automotive industry. Some dealerships will see a surge of buyers ready to take advantage of promotions. Others may notice that customers hesitate, weighed down by back-to-school expenses, election-year uncertainty, or simply choosing to spend the holiday with family instead of shopping for a vehicle.
This weekend highlights a truth that every dealer already knows. The retail automotive business moves in rhythms. There are times when momentum feels unstoppable, traffic is steady, and the lot buzzes with energy. And then there are the slower stretches, when hesitation replaces urgency and results feel harder to earn. The temptation is to treat these lulls as setbacks. In reality, they are powerful opportunities. A slowdown is not a loss. It is a chance to prepare, invest, and create momentum that pays off long after the quiet season ends.
When customers hesitate, they rarely say no. They are saying not right now. A dealership that interprets hesitation as rejection will miss opportunities. A dealership that interprets hesitation as a moment for education will earn trust.
Imagine the shopper who tells your team, “I think I will wait until after the election.” The easy response is to push harder. The better response is to guide. You might say, “I completely understand. At the same time, history shows that waiting rarely lowers the cost of ownership. According to Kelley Blue Book, used vehicle prices have risen more than 30 percent since 2020. Auto loan rates have climbed nearly three percentage points in the past two years. Waiting often means higher costs later in financing and repairs to the vehicle you are driving today.”
That reframe changes everything. You are no longer chasing a deal. You are positioning yourself as an advisor who understands the bigger picture and is helping the customer make the best possible decision.
Labor Day is often a test of who stays visible. When a weekend or a season feels slow, many dealerships respond by cutting advertising. It may feel like the practical choice, but it nearly guarantees invisibility when customers return to the market.
Research consistently proves the opposite approach works. Nielsen studies show that companies that maintain or increase advertising during downturns grow market share two and a half times faster once conditions rebound. McGraw-Hill research during the 1980s recession found that businesses that sustained advertising grew sales by 256 percent over five years, while those that cut back grew only 18 percent.
In automotive retail, this truth is magnified. Awareness campaigns on Meta, YouTube, and OTT are not only about conversions today. They are about trust built through consistency. Even if customers are not ready to buy over Labor Day weekend, they will remember which dealership kept showing up in their feed when the time is right.
Advertising during quiet periods is like planting seeds before winter. The results are not instant, but they are inevitable.
The busiest weekends often leave little time for reflection. When phones are ringing and deals are moving quickly, the focus is on reaction. Labor Day weekend can create that kind of rush, but if it does not, it offers a chance to pause and improve.
Training, role-playing, and reviewing processes during a lull create lasting advantages. The Harvard Business Review notes that organizations investing in training during slowdowns outperform their competitors in productivity by 10 to 20 percent when sales rebound. In dealerships, that productivity translates directly into higher close rates and better customer experiences.
This is the time to evaluate CRM response times, refine objection handling, and strengthen follow-up strategies. The work done now, even if the showroom feels quiet, pays off when traffic inevitably returns.
A dealership in the Midwest faced an unusually soft Labor Day weekend last year. While competitors pulled back on advertising for the rest of September, assuming demand had dried up, this dealer made a different choice. They ran a steady stream of awareness ads on Meta and YouTube Reels, highlighting not only deals but also their community involvement and easy financing options.
By October, when customers began returning to the market, the dealership was at the top of their minds. Shoppers often remarked, “I kept seeing you everywhere.” As a result, their October sales outpaced the previous year by double digits, while competing stores in the same market struggled to recover from a weak September.
The lesson was simple. By staying present when others pulled back, the dealership not only protected its brand but expanded it. Consistency turned a soft September into a launchpad for a record-setting October.
A Southeastern Buy Here Pay Here dealership also entered a slower September last year. Traffic was down, leads were thin, and the temptation was to ride it out. Instead, the general manager gave each salesperson a list of customers from the past 24 months and challenged them to make personal check-in calls.
The result: three repeat sales and multiple referrals in less than two weeks, without a single dollar spent on fresh advertising. One customer even traded for a higher-priced vehicle after being reminded about the dealership’s flexible in-house financing options.
The strategy was not complicated. It was simply about remembering that the most profitable opportunities often sit in your existing database, not in a brand-new lead campaign.
These stories illustrate a broader principle. A slower weekend is not empty space. It is a chance to strengthen connections, sharpen skills, and stand out in ways competitors often ignore.
Studies show it costs five to seven times more to acquire a new customer than to retain one. Bain and Company reports that increasing retention by only 5 percent can lift profitability by 25 to 95 percent. In practical terms, that means a phone call, a loyalty message, or a small customer appreciation event can have an impact that goes far beyond its initial cost.
Labor Day is not just another holiday. It is the unofficial start of the final stretch of the year. What happens in the following weeks often determines whether a dealership finishes the year strong or struggles to make up ground in December.
This is where strategy matters most. Inventory planning must anticipate tax season opportunities. Advertising should highlight short-term promotions and reinforce the dealership’s long-term value proposition. Sales teams must be aligned around re-engaging past buyers, following up on every lead with speed and clarity, and presenting financing solutions with confidence.
Disciplined dealerships excel in Q4. Those who panic during Labor Day lulls often enter October flat-footed. Those who invest, prepare, and stay visible use this weekend as their launchpad. When the calendar flips, the difference in results is obvious.
Labor Day weekend is a reminder that automotive retail is never static. Some holidays bring traffic. Others bring hesitation. Both create opportunities if you are ready to see them. What matters is not the number of customers on the lot this weekend. What matters is the consistency of your advertising, the strength of your team, the depth of your customer relationships, and the ability to turn a lull into a platform.
Momentum is not built on the busiest days. It is built in the discipline of the quieter ones. By treating slow times as chances to reset, refine, and reconnect, you prepare your dealership not only to survive the market's ups and downs but also to lead when demand rises again.
If you are looking for immediate ways to turn this holiday into an opportunity, here are three simple Big Time strategies you can put into action right now:
Maximize Trade-In Buzz
Lean into messaging that highlights the value of used vehicles. Inventory remains tight in many markets, and positioning trade-ins as especially valuable this weekend can motivate hesitant shoppers. Trade-in promotions are of great value to customers sitting on the sidelines waiting for this one.
Create “One Weekend Only” Visibility
Use short, punchy social media creatives to frame your Labor Day event as a must-see. Even customers who are not ready to buy will notice, and that awareness will carry into the weeks ahead. Three-day events build urgency, and urgency is how you turn lookers into buyers.
Strengthen Your Digital Follow-Up
Many customers will browse online listings during the long weekend, even if they do not step foot on your lot. Ensure your team has a same-day follow-up process for every lead generated through website forms, chat, or third-party listings. Speed matters more than ever. Plus, make sure your remarketing game plan is in full swing. Do not miss out on this weekend's casual browsers. They are not wasted spend; they are next month's buyers just starting to come into some lucky dealer's funnel.
-by Terry MacCauley, Founder & CEO
This week’s video is "6 Marketing Trends You Need to Know in 2025" by HubSpot Marketing. If you’re still relying on the same old strategy, you’re already behind.
This video breaks down six game-changing trends, from AI-powered targeting to the rise of TikTok as a search engine. Understand the trends that are reshaping how brands reach and convert in 2025.
Stay sharp, stay relevant, stay ahead.
Dealers deserve vehicle feeds that work as hard as they do. Get Best Used Cars delivers inventory to Google, Meta, TikTok, Microsoft, and more. All organized, sorted, clean, and guaranteed to be live in under 48 hours.
