At the beginning of June, we sent a questionnaire to 2,200 retailers of hearth, patio and barbecue products. A total of 340 were returned and usable.

John Lennon famously sang, “Give Peace a Chance.” We’re here to say to all specialty retailers who are readers of Hearth & Home, “Give Outdoor Room Products a Chance!”

That is to say, move beyond the basics. Selling a fire pit or a gas grill may get your foot in the door, but adding other items such as barbecue islands, kitchen cabinets, refrigerators, beverage centers or a pizza oven will move you into the realm of selling a lifestyle, which is really what your customers want to buy anyway – an outdoor lifestyle.

Fire pits, sold with a couple of chairs, most likely are the fastest moving outdoor product on the market. Why? Because that’s the simplest, quickest, most inexpensive way in which to create that outdoor lifestyle.

Look at that sale as the “foot in the door.”

Go back after that customer a month later, draw them back into the store and begin upgrading their outdoor experience. To do so, however, you need a variety of outdoor products (see list below).

It’s not only products that you can sell; it’s services as well. Right now 29 percent of your peers are providing design services for customers interested in an Outdoor Room; 28 percent are installing outdoor kitchens; 12 percent are installing pergolas and eight percent are installing gazebos.

Those actions and activities literally mandate the purchase of other complementary items. It’s a snowball effect.