Getting Your Store Ready to Sell More at Christmas

In parts of the world where Christmas is celebrated, most retailers rely heavily on the profits they make then to get them through the quieter months. So, naturally, they put a huge amount of effort into getting it right. For example, in the UK, most supermarkets begin their Christmas planning and preparation around Easter.

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The first week or two of December is when much of the in-store preparations happen. By then, the stock is in place, and it is time to attract as many customers into your store as possible. Then, inspire them to buy as many items as possible from you.

Tweak your decorations

Most stores put up their main decorations at the end of November. But that does not mean that you should not be tweaking them to maximize the impact they have. Tapping into any last-minute trends is a good approach. As is showing off any decorations that you are selling, by putting them up in-store.

Change your window display regularly

Attracting people into your store is vital during the festive shopping season. This is particularly important when it comes to last-minute shoppers. They tend to be in a bit of a rush, so will buy virtually everything in one store if they can. So, you need to focus a lot of your efforts on catching the eye of passers-by and attracting them in. Changing your festive window display every few days helps to spark interest and get people to notice your store more. Christmas-inspired digital signs are a particularly good way to mix things up. Incorporating one, or maybe more, into your window display enables you to change what is being advertised.

You can also use digital screens to brighten things up using images or short festive-themed videos. Most retail display screen packages now include the software that enables retailers to create their own images or use the library of stock photos and videos.

Use sandwich boards and leafleting

Don´t forget that display screens can also be used as sandwich boards. If you are allowed to do so, set one up in front of your store and advertise some of your promos. When deciding which ads to display, think about the kind of people that are likely to be walking past, at various points in the day. Doing this enables you to tailor your message to appeal to them. How to avoid financial worries this Christmas

It is also worth putting someone outside the store to hand out discount leaflets. If you locate them about a 45-second walk from the store´s doors the person who is handed the leaflet has just enough time to glance at and read the offer before they reach the entranceway. When you time it right you greatly improve the chances of them going in, there and then. That is especially the case if the offer is only available that day. This is because of the psychological effect scarcity has on people.

Monitor what is selling in real-time

Before it gets busy, pull a member of staff off the shop floor, and get them to monitor and analyze your sales data, several times, during the day. Doing this will enable them to spot the lines that are starting to take off and work to maximize those opportunities. For example, if a line of Christmas cake is selling particularly well, it can be displayed at the end of an aisle everyone will see. Or a display can be set up near the till. If a line sells well when located in an aisle, it will sell even faster when displayed in a more prominent position.

Put in place a team to prevent stock-outs

You can also make that same person responsible for spotting low stock levels in live time and making sure that the shelf stacking team is aware. That way, those lines can be replenished before the store runs out completely.

Preventing stock outs is vital. After all, a customer having to leave without an item can be enough to ruin their Christmas. That is a negative experience that someone will not forget in a hurry. A comprehensive collaborative study carried out by the University of Colorado and IE Business School Madrid showed that 31% of shoppers go elsewhere when something is out of stock. If it happens twice that figure rises to 50%. A third out-of-stock incident results in 70% of shoppers deciding to shop elsewhere. You can read the study above.

Fortunately, none of the above is difficult to implement, even at the last minute, if necessary. There is plenty of training available online to help you to get your staff up to speed so that you can implement the above strategies straight away.

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Dan Dunn

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Editor and Admin at MarkMeets since Nov 2012. Columnist, reviewer and entertainment writer and oversees all of the section's news, features and interviews. During his career, he has written for numerous magazines.

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