There is less than 23 days to Christmas. So there are people who love Christmas and people who dread the holiday season. The good thing is both types of people tend to spend big over Christmas. On average Aussies tend to spend around $10.7 billion on presents so that’s a big sales day for retailers.
Now there is no magic one size fits all guide to maximising sales over the holiday period however there are some tried and true tips for a successful Christmas season.
Get Festive
Christmas is the time to be adventurous with your storefront. Aim for an eye catching stand out display. Rather than sticking to the traditional Christmas red and green, consider how you could adapt your current brand colours and brand personality to be more festive.
Get fully stocked
Make sure you have enough products to keep up with demand. It’s important that customers aren’t coming into your store with a specific product in mind and finding out it’s not available. A good rule of thumb is having at least four times your usual amount of stock.
Studies also suggest you keep your shelves topped up as having limited stock on display and poorly organised shelves can put off consumers from making a purchase.
Your Customer needs to be front and centre
Assess how helpful your store layout is for your customers. Looking great from the outside needs to be supported by looking neat and tidy on the inside. Make sure your store is logically organised by highlighting your holiday products and making popular items easy to find.
If you know that certain items tend to sell well during the holidays (or in general) make sure they are close to the entrance and easy to find. It’s also a great idea to consider placing less expensive but popular items near the register. Consumer psychology has shown that once a consumer commits to buying one thing they are much more likely to add more to the basket.
Maximise Your Marketing
Focus on tapping into emotions with your marketing leading up to Christmas. During the festive season, people tend to have their loved ones on their mind. This makes it the perfect time to think about creating an emotional pull and using tools like nostalgia.
Happy Staff Spreading Holiday Cheer
The holiday season is notoriously stressful for both retailers and employees and it’s the same for your customers. They have a long list of things to get done, and there are long lines and the shops are packed.
It’s more important than ever to make sure that customers are having a great experience in your store. Fire up your staff before opening. Going the extra mile over the holiday season is a great way to encourage seasonal shoppers to convert into regular customers.
Free gift wrapping is one way to attract customers to your store as its one less thing they have to worry about.
And finally hire happy staff who love meeting and greeting customers. Have mobiles out of sight and everyone customer focused.
For more information on getting Christmas ready in retail, call the team at UHY Haines Norton on 49 721300.