Permanent Daylight Saving Time Could Affect Small Businesses

Businesses that rely on daylight for after-work shopping, tourism, outdoor recreation, or evening foot traffic could benefit from later sunsets. However, businesses with significant early-morning activity may face darker operating conditions instead.

Changing operating hours may be the simplest way to adapt; however, review applicable wage-and-hour requirements, scheduling obligations, and existing employment agreements or policies first.

Permanent Daylight Saving Time May Affect Customer Spending

Research from the JPMorgan Chase Institute found that when daylight saving time ended in Los Angeles, daily card spending fell by 3.5% relative to Phoenix, where clocks did not change. Grocery, fuel, retail, and discount stores saw some of the largest declines, with a stronger effect on weekdays.

These findings suggest daylight can influence consumer spending. But they don't necessarily mean permanent daylight saving time would boost sales for every business. Researchers found different effects across cities, suggesting that location and shopping habits also play an important role.

Small businesses, particularly those in retail, food, or tourism, and businesses that depend on evening foot traffic, may want to pay attention to how daylight changes affect when customers shop, dine, or visit.

Operational Challenges

Businesses with early-morning operations, such as farms, construction, and coffee shops, would start more winter workdays in the dark. That can make commutes and outdoor work less safe.

Shifting hours (say, from 8-to-5 to 9-to-6) is a common fix, but new hours have to work with public transit, vendor delivery routes, and school or childcare timing for employees.

Businesses should also review their management software to make sure their systems can accommodate any changes to operating hours or timekeeping requirements.

Questions Small Businesses Should Ask

To prepare for permanent daylight saving time, start by thinking through how later winter daylight could affect customers and employees.

Before changing the schedule, ask:

• When do most of my customers actually visit or make purchases?
• Would lighter evenings or darker mornings change that behavior?
• Does my business rely on natural daylight for outdoor work, recreation, deliveries, or customer activity?
• Could opening and closing later work better?
• Do employees rely on school, child care, transportation, or other schedules that may also change?

What to Do Next

Businesses don't need to change schedules immediately. But owners can start thinking through what the transition would mean for their particular business.

A few practical steps can help you prepare:

1. Review your customer traffic. Look at sales, appointments, or foot traffic by time of day, especially during winter.
2. Talk to employees. Find out whether later or earlier shifts would create scheduling problems.
3. Watch what your community does. Schools, transportation providers, neighboring businesses, and large employers may influence customer and employee schedules.
4. Check your scheduling requirements. Review employment agreements, company policies, and applicable state or local scheduling laws before making changes.

Start with your winter sales data and your team’s schedules. They’ll tell you more about whether later sunsets help or hurt your business than any general forecast can.