Preparing For The Festive Season

Every year in retail, we look forward to what the festive season might bring. With Black Friday and Christmas around the corner, we hope you have started preparing so your business can reap the rewards.

We know that Covid-19 has had a devastating effect on businesses and our economy, not to mention all the personal issues some of us had to go through during these times. But the reality is that many businesses had to close their doors, and consumers had less money to spend.

But let's look at it from a positive perspective; we are sitting at 1/3 of the country vaccinated. We have made it through another year of Covid-19 and are stronger for it. We had to adapt a different strategy and constantly create new plans to ensure the success of our businesses. We can travel again, and the economy seems to be turning in a positive direction.

But with the festive season ahead, it offers the opportunity to make a lot of money and solidify our future with Covid-19 still lurking.

Let's talk about preparing your business for a fruitful festive season and what areas you need to focus on to enhance your shopper's experience. Firstly, make sure you are ready for this event. Clients are starting to look for what they want to purchase and where they would buy as early as October. Preparing includes setting up your online presence as many clients have adapted a more distant approach and feel more comfortable buying what they need from a website and having it delivered. If you are taking the online approach, consider your distribution channels and ensure that you can deliver on time.

Over this period, you will have a lot more visitors to the website and to your store. Make sure your site can handle the traffic and that your server is working at optimal capacity, and that they can check out with ease. Get more staff to facilitate your efficiency in the store and have enough tills open. A short line is a happy line. If you have more staff, it’s easier to assist with the shortcomings that may occur when you are overwhelmingly busy.

Market to your potential clientele and set your prices early, so people know their designated stores they will go to before the festive season is upon us. Make sure you have enough stock and leverage your relationship with your suppliers to get your supply early. Get your supplier to get the stock to you on time, and the quantities check to ease that process. Correctly set up your visual merchandise and price accordingly.  These will separate you from your competitors.

Make sure you have enough money to fulfil all your orders. There are some great options available like Cash Flow Capital to ensure you have a business partner that will be the financial driving force behind your decision making over this period.

Plan your marketing campaign and social media campaign to inform your market of your offerings. Create in-store promotions to encourage your clients to come to your business. Set up alternatives and cross-selling opportunities to get your clients to spend more.

Be prepared, have fun and have a successful festive season.