5 Important ways to prepare, sell and deliver this Holiday season

Consumers don’t often realise (or appreciate!) the countless hours, days and weeks retailers dedicate to ready their store for the holiday season. And I’m not just talking about the obvious online marketing or in-store merchandising! There’s logistics and operations and research undertaken to generate and guarantee revenue, and most importantly, make the customers experience a joyful one! 

The more organised and dedicated you are to preparing for this once-a-year revenue rush equates to how triumphant you are. Prep done well, is prep paid off! See my 5 essential ways to prepare and sustain the demand of the holidays below!

 1. Infrastructure and staff training 

Christmas generates more foot traffic and online clicks, so ensure you have the correct infrastructure in place to support the demand. Secure staff early and make sure they are available, reliable, well trained and most importantly, excited for the holiday season! Hire ahead and if the right candidates apply, provide them with the opportunity to make them permanent brand ambassadors moving forward

 2. Merchandising

Dress up your store in its finest holiday attire to target your demographic and how much they spend. Feature your main holiday display within the first third of your store, have eye-level and moving displays, use spotlighting and angel fixtures to catch the attention of shoppers and create a purposeful pathway. Make your signage clear and visible to avoid customers waiting for help or asking basic questions to simple questions. Train your staff to sell from feature displays and how to sell add-ons

 3. Customer Analytics

Spend time reviewing your analytics to see what has been selling and popular in the last few months and how you can drive sales by marketing these specific products or discounting select items. Ensure these products are in-stock and available and be sure to tell your customers this through email and social marketing

 4. Convenience at the core

Not everyone finds shopping pleasurable so be sure to prioritise convenience with in-store offers or online services. Offer ‘click and collect’, free shipping, gift guides and gift wrapping. If your customer is in your store, you have the opportunity to up-sell and add-on to their purchase. On example of this is placing products on the counter (or ‘add on’s’ at online checkouts) with enticing signage to encourage gift purchases, i.e. ‘For Her This Christmas’. 

 5. Organic Marketing

Utilise all the free advertising you can! Your time won’t be in vain! Communicate with your consumers often. Tell them what is available, inspire them with gift ideas, categorise products by price range and theme, offer free and convenient services such as extended return periods or discount on shipping. Email often and target your audience with products you know they’ll want to buy. Post regularly and use repetition on socials with hashtags. Ensure your opening hours are correct on both your website and socials.