The Problem: Empty Store, Empty Register
It’s Tuesday afternoon. Rain is pounding the windows. You’re standing in your store, watching the empty parking lot turn into a river. The only sound? The hum of your coolers and that drip from the ceiling you keep meaning to fix. Zero customers in the last two hours.
This is the brutal reality every independent retailer knows: bad weather kills foot traffic. Studies show walk-in customers drop by 40-60% during storms. Snow, rain, extreme heat – they all mean the same thing. Empty aisles, silent registers.
But here’s what really stings: you’re still paying full rent. The lights are on. Your employee is scrolling their phone, fully paid with nothing to do. You’re burning money to keep an empty store open. Meanwhile, everyone in your neighborhood is home right now, thirsty, hungry, wanting exactly what you sell. They’re just not willing to drive in this weather.
Want to know the worst part? While you’re watching raindrops race down your window, your competitor three blocks away is slammed. Orders are pouring in through their DoorDash tablet. They’re fulfilling back-to-back deliveries. Your regular customers – the ones who usually buy their weekend beverages from you – are discovering your competitor on DoorDash right now. And once they find a store that delivers in bad weather, why would they ever get back in their car? Every storm without delivery isn’t just a bad day. It’s training YOUR customers to shop somewhere else.
The Game-Changer: Bad Weather = Delivery Gold
Here’s what changes everything: Bad weather doesn’t kill demand – it just changes how people want to shop. When customers won’t drive to your store, delivery becomes their only option. Without it, you’re invisible on the worst sales days of the year. Think about it. People are home, cozy on their couch, phone in one hand, credit card in the other. They want convenience, and they want it now. Bad weather doesn’t kill their thirst or cravings. It just makes them value delivery even more.
Let me paint you a picture with real numbers. Your typical rainy Tuesday? Maybe $500 in sales, down from your usual $1,200. Painful, right? Now imagine that same rainy Tuesday WITH DoorDash integration through your NRS POS: $500 from the die-hard customers who still came in, PLUS $800 in delivery orders. That’s $1,300. You didn’t just recover – you BEAT your normal day.
The beautiful part? You don’t need extra staff. Orders flow automatically through your NRS system. Your existing employee who was doing nothing? Now they’re picking and packing orders. Same payroll, triple the productivity. The orders just appear on your screen, already paid for. Pack them up, DoorDash driver grabs them, done.
Remember last week’s storm that destroyed your sales? That could’ve been one of your best days. Saturday’s forecast showing thunderstorms? That’s not a disaster anymore – it’s an opportunity. The psychology is simple: bad weather makes people willing to pay MORE for convenience. They’ll pay delivery fees without blinking. They tip better because they appreciate the service. And here’s the kicker – they become repeat customers. Once someone discovers they can get your products delivered, they’ll order again on the next rainy day. And the next regular day when they’re too busy. And Friday night when they’re having friends over.
Every single bad weather day you operate without delivery is money left on the table. Not potential money. Real money that customers are actively trying to spend.
Getting Started is Simple
Here’s the good news that should make you exhale: your NRS POS is already integrated with DoorDash. This isn’t some complicated tech project. The hard work is done.
Orders will appear right on your existing POS screen – the same one you use every day. No learning curve, no confusion. Your inventory syncs in near-real-time, so you’ll never accidentally sell something you don’t have. When an order comes in, your staff packs it up, and a DoorDash driver appears to whisk it away. That’s it.
Right now, NRS and DoorDash are focusing on liquor stores – perfect timing since bad weather and beverage delivery are a match made in profit heaven. More retail categories are coming soon, but if you’re selling liquor, you can start immediately.
The setup process? Call NRS sales at 1-833-289-2767 or visit nrsplus.com/dd/ to get started. The team will walk you through everything. Most stores are live within days, not weeks or months. You could be capturing storm sales by next weekend.
The Bottom Line
Check your weather app. When’s the next storm coming? That day will arrive whether you’re ready or not. The question is: will you watch it from an empty store, or will you watch delivery orders roll across your screen?
Your competitors are already doing this. Every storm that passes without you on DoorDash is customers and cash walking straight to them. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Take action today. Call (877) 202-8112 or visit nrsplus.com/dd/ now. Transform weather from your biggest enemy into your best sales tool. Because rainy days shouldn’t kill your sales – they should multiply them.
