We’re now less than a month away from Christmas Day! The next several weeks are bound to be the busiest for retail stores all over Canada. It’s important for their owners to not simply sit back and assume sales will be plentiful. It’s crunch time! The promotional tactics used all throughout the next month will be vital to the success of your store.
Here are four ways to get consumers to choose your shop for their holiday purchases:
1. Provide your best customer service ever.
It’s hard to argue that this is the time of year when your customer service must be at its best. Consider the fact that your store is likely to see heavier foot traffic than at any other time of year. Your job isn’t just to satisfy your customers’ holiday shopping needs. It’s to create memorable customer experiences that will both generate current sales and encourage repeat business in the future. Muskaan Sabarwal of WP Swings suggests that you offer gift wrapping services.
“Offering complimentary gift wrapping takes the stress out of the busy holiday season for your shoppers,” she writes, “It’s a value-added service that can set your store apart from the competition, attracting customers who appreciate the attention to detail. This gesture also resonates well with the spirit of giving during the holidays.”
2. Appeal to last minute shoppers.
Believe it or not, there are many Canadians who haven’t even begun their holiday shopping yet. You’d be wise to let them know you have their backs. Launch a “Last Minute Shopper Sale” the week before Christmas to encourage those procrastinators to visit your store over others.
“The week before Christmas is the panic week!” alerts Bob Phibbs, The Retail Doctor, “Think ‘mission’ shoppers. It’s also the best time to mark down slow movers and seasonal items…Send an email again with a big picture. Give them last-minute shopping tips and parking secrets for your store’s downtown area or mall. Remind them if you offer online ordering and in-store pickup, that you offer free gift-wrapping or versatile gift cards.”
3. Promote your top-selling products.
It’s a go-to idea that’s practically a no-brainer at this time of year. Promoting your top seller is a great way to maximize profits. To step things up, you may wish to come up with an inventive way to use your top seller to move other products. Perhaps creating a bundle package at a discounted price would do the trick. You can also market other products as great companions to your top seller.
“Your best sellers have already proved their mettle,” points out Sabarwal, “Showing them often will attract more customers towards it and boost holiday sales, conversions, etc…. Seize the holiday sale ideas by spotlighting your proven winners and making the most of the holiday season sale for increased online holiday sales.”
4. Accept all methods of payment.
At Divvia, we offer a wide variety of top-of-the-line payment terminals. They enable your company to easily process debit and credit card transactions all throughout the holiday season and beyond. To learn all about them, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-877-748-2884 or send us a message on our Contact Us page!
