Maximize Holiday Sales with POS Tools and Early Preparation
The busy Holiday shopping season is just around the corner. The kids are back to school. The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting longer and much cooler. It’s time for merchants to start preparing for another busy time. Whether you operate a retail shop, a coffee shop, a small café or a children’s play center, the Holidays will impact your business and it is time to prepare.
So, what are some of the simpler things merchants can do to maximize the Holiday Season shopping opportunity?
- Marketing – Get as much information out to your customer base as possible. Use your web site, SEO, social media, email marketing and text marketing to make sure your business is the first the consumer thinks about when shopping in the competitive marketplace. A survey conducted on the 2011 Holiday Season by the Pew Internet & American Life Project states that 57% of adult Holiday shoppers used their cell phones to get help with purchasing decisions while they were in a store. Unfortunately, 37% of those adults left the store and decided to purchase elsewhere. So, make sure you are at the top of the list on the web, in their smart phones and in their minds this Holiday Season.
- Inventory Planning – Many retailers wait until the Holiday Season is over to perform a physical inventory. I would argue that RIGHT NOW is the best time to perform this function. Make sure the inventory in the POS system is 100% accurate now. Then, review the trends from 2011 to make sure your merchandise orders are optimized for the 2012 Holiday Season. Don’t get caught scrambling for product in the middle or end of December. Likewise, be careful not to have tons of unwanted inventory the first week of January. Use the tools provided by your POS solution to maximize profitability during this opportunistic season.
- Staffing & Training – Now is a great time to review daily and hourly sales trends from the 2011 Holiday Season. I am certain you will find that you were overstaffed at times and understaffed at times. Analyze the data in your POS system to plan for maximum efficiency in the 2012 season. Reach out to your part-time college and high school students in an effort to bring them back to work for the Holidays. This will decrease training time for seasonal help and typically provide a better experience for your customers dealing with tenured employees.
- Gift Cards – Maximize the sales opportunity of gift cards. Obviously, now is the time to re-order gift cards if you are running low. Be sure to advertise the availability of gift cards inside and outside the store. Train employees to suggestively sell gift cards to in-store customers. Display gift cards at the POS area so customers can make impulse gift card buys at checkout time. The more gift cards you sell during the Holidays, the more sales you will have during the slower months of January and February.
- Housekeeping – Review your merchandising materials and overall store layout objectively. Get a second and third opinion from people both inside and outside your organization. Make changes now that will maximize the Holiday sales opportunity. Once the madness begins, it may be too late to make any changes. Review the interior and exterior condition of the facility. Is the signage attractive? Is the store neat, clean and organized? The visual appeal of your facility can sometimes be the difference maker between your business and your competition. Make improvements and changes now in preparation for the busy Holiday Season.
The Holiday Season is the most profitable time of year for most merchants. Capitalize on this opportunity by being prepared in every way. Lincoln once said “If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I would spend six hours sharpening my ax.” This is great advice for retailers and QSR’s. Your six hours is right now!