5 Ways To Get Christmas All Wrapped Up

A third of the year’s retail trade occurs over the holiday period, so it make sense to capitalise on consumers’ desire to flex their purchasing muscle. Here are five easy tips to make the most of the Christmas rush.

1. Spruce up your store.
Christmas shoppers are in a hurry, so make sure you use clear signage to identify your departments and even categories of products, this will make things easier for your customers and inspire new purchases. If you are on a high street, think about other ways to attract attention, such as setting up a stand or stall outside your shop.

Brainstorm ideas to make your products more eye catching – for example, can you show customers how the product will look at home? If you run a homewares store you could group chairs together with a floor lamp and rug – anything to give shoppers a visual idea of how something works in ‘application’.

2. Set sales targets.
Everything you do should be gearing up for the 10 days before Christmas – that’s when trade is at its peak. Have daily targets or even half day targets around this time. Motivate staff by introducing incentives or bonuses – whatever it takes to maximise sales.

3. Stock up on popular products.
If there’s a hot product in your industry this Christmas, identify it and make sure ahead of time you’ll have enough to meet expected demand. Start working with suppliers early to establish good relationships – getting your supply sorted is vitally important. It seems like common sense, but many retailers don’t properly forecast for demand. Remember, if you run out of the top electronic item, toy or gadget, customers will go elsewhere to get those presents under the tree.

If you run an online store, keep customers updated on how many pieces you have left in stock and give them clear guidelines regarding delivery time. If you DO run out of stock, make sure you advise customers when you’ll have it back in stock again (this is where you can leverage the relationships you’ve built with suppliers) and get a down payment or commitment to purchase from the customer then and there to prevent them from going elsewhere.

4. Offer a voucher.
With every purchase, give customers a voucher to entice them to come back in the new year. Given the high traffic over this period, it’s a great time to encourage repeat business. You might offer a discount, a buy-one-get-one-free voucher or some other kind of loyalty program.

5. Have a marketing strategy for the Christmas and New Year period.
Get your advertisements and catalogues ready ahead of time so you can reach your customers first, before your competitors. Identify what the key spending trends will be over Christmas and then feature the corresponding products prominently on all your marketing collateral.

Finally, seek to add value to customers every time you have contact with them. Offer free gift wrapping, free delivery or even a free gift guide. Make it easy for customers to choose you over your competitors and make it easy for them to buy. Gift guides are a great idea because so many people get stumped when it comes to knowing what to purchase for whom.

Ensure you make the most of the silly season’s spike in consumer spending by following the tips above. If you’d like more help with ways to add value to customers and increase your sales, not just at Christmas, but all year round, call us now on 09 918 3690 or visit www.resgroup.co.nz