It is not an overstatement when they say that the Holidays amount to over 25% of the yearly sales of small businesses, sometimes the percentage is even larger! What does this mean? This means that for small businesses, preparing for the holiday season that comes once every year can make a big impact on their overall sales, and be able to make actual profit and recover from any discrepancy or loss they may have had earlier in the year.
In one survey done in Australia for, it revealed that more than 2 in every 3 people plan to hold a festive shopping spree and 1 in every 3 of those same people are expecting to at least spend more than $500! This automatically means that this holiday season will be different from last year’s as more and more people are expected to go back to their norms of going holiday shopping.
For small businesses, how should one go about in order to maximize their Holiday Season Sales?
It’s the little things
Making and giving out “Thank you!” or “Happy Holidays!” Gift cards with your logo on them can go a long way. How many businesses actually have the mindset to thank their regular customers? The holiday seasons can be the best time to thank them because hey, you won’t even be here without them. While it may seem like a piece of paper to others, trust us, when it comes to getting your brand out there, nothing is trash.
Decorate Decorate Decorate
What’s the difference between last year’s and this year’s holiday shopping? The upcoming holidays already have that option of going to a brick and mortar store, rather than simply going online to buy all of their holiday stuff. So get everybody into that holiday mood! Even your employees will most likely liven up with the new set up.
One must also never forget their online footprint, so decking out your website is a must, after all, there are still people who will do their shopping online.
Review your Shoppers’ Traffic
You would want to ensure that you have your staff ready and are not understaffed once the holiday rush starts, on the other hand, you also would not want to be over staffed. Take another look and study up on your shopper’s traffic patterns, this can help you understand if you are the type of business where it’s quiet in the afternoons but was really busy during that same morning?
It also helps you to better plan the inside of your store or business and ensure a safe, socially distanced, and comfortable shopping experience for your shoppers. This way, you can also already have plans for the holidays in 2022.
Do your market research and inventory
One of the most important aspects in your preparations is this one. What use are your holiday ready storefront, website, and employees if your stocks don’t cater to what your shoppers would want from you? Make sure that you display your bestsellers and ensure that you have enough of them to last you through the holidays. You would not want to reorder and get your stocks stuck somewhere due to the very same reason you’re preparing for: the holiday rush.
The truth in everything is, while it may seem like there’s still time, the holiday rush can come swiftly and quickly. An owner of a small business needs to be prepared to personally help out in their own store/website because during the holidays, an extra pair of hands can go and serve a long way.