5 Reasons You May Not Reach Your Sales Goals This Holiday Season

Call me Scrooge or just call me honest, but either way, some retailers will reflect back on their 2013 Holiday sales and realize they didn’t meet their goals. I understand it’s not ideal to look ahead with these thoughts in mind, but I’m more of a realist and the reality is, not all retailers are prepared for the tough work the Holidays will bring to their stores. In an effort to AVOID this, however, here are 5 things NOT to do this holiday season.

1. Do not wait until the last minute to order your Holiday “extras”. This means ordering extra tissue paper, store bags for customer check outs, wrapping paper, Scotch tape, bows or ribbon or any other holiday “extra” that will be necessary to accommodate your customers. We love Premier Packaging for these types of goods if you are still looking to stock up.

2. Do not neglect your existing customer base to promote Holiday sales & events. Loyal customers are the best kind to have, so make sure to capture their attention early and make them aware of any special events you are having. Their calendars are sure to fill up fast, so there is no time to spare if you have not done this already! Email them a “Save the Date”, send out an actual postcard announcing your big event or personally call them to invite them. Extra TLC goes a long way here.

3. Do not ignore the “spirit” of the season. Not every customer wants to feel the holidays give them a hug every time they shop, but many do… therefore, do not ignore this powerful advantage you have on your side this time of year. Make your store festive, play holiday music, ask your customers about their holiday plans or who they need to still shop for and support your local community events that embrace the Holidays this time of year.

4. Do not underestimate add on sales. This time of year is a powerful time to add on to sales… every single sale, that is. Stock up your cash wrap area with impulse buys priced at $1, $3, $5, $10 or $20 dollars. Your ideal price point will vary based on your store assortment and customer, but generally speaking you want to offer fun and interesting products near your cash wrap that would “add on” great to any sale. If you are wrapping gifts, have items near your cash wrap you can suggest “tying” into the bow on the wrapped gift. This is a nice touch and adds up if you do this to every customer!

5. Do not NOT plan ahead your merchandising, marketing, sales staff and more. The weeks ahead should be clearly identified in everything you can control already. In other words, do not let surprises happen where they don’t have to. Know what your window displays will be and when you will be doing them. Know who is working and who is on call for high volume days. Know how you plan to market your special events and who is in charge of what. There will be surprises… but let them be for reasons out of your control.

Finally, don’t accept the reality of what past seasons have told us or more importantly,  YOU. Only you have the insight to know what is taking place in your local community, when high volume days may be expected, how you did last year on Small Business Saturday vs. what you think you may do this year and so on. The list is endless. Utilize the resources you already have to help you prepare for a bigger, brighter and more lucrative 2013 Holiday selling season!