How to prepare your retail business for the Christmas shopping season?
2021 has nearly come to an end, which means that the jingle bells sounds are almost here. It's the most magical time of the year as everyone is high on the holiday spirit and out buying gifts for their loved ones and going on a shopping spree at Christmas carnivals.
The Christmas season is the biggest shopping event of the year, and for many merchants, holiday sales can account for up to 30 per cent of their annual revenue. This means that every business, no matter its size, can take advantage of this unique holiday season.
So if you're a retailer looking to gain every possible edge to maximise their cash flow and profits throughout the festive season, this blog is just for you. Holiday retail success is within your reach if you plan ahead.
To help you do that, we've put together several key tasks you should complete to prepare you and your POS system for the upcoming seasonal rush. Check them out below and see if you need to add anything to your to-do list.
Fill your store with festivities
Whenever customers come to your store, they must notice the essence of joy and festivity. So make sure you set up your in-store displays and decorate shop layouts that grab attention and entice people to buy.
You can also use Christmas classics, such as candles, Christmas trees, holiday stockings and rice lights or try something creative like fake snow throughout the store. Start planning what you’ll showcase in your store and craft the stories you want to tell through your displays.
Get your elves ready
Like elves help Santa deliver all the gifts, your staff help you deliver a seamless shopping experience to your customers. To keep your shelves full and customers happy, you need to take care of your staff situation beforehand, including seasonal staff.
Luckily, Tagrain retail POS system allows you to create unlimited users, and with designated roles and permissions, you don’t have to worry about any erroneous operations. What’s more, you can set a personal level or store level sales target to motivate them for the big holiday rush!
Stock up on Christmas favourites
Shoppers want what’s cool and popular for Christmas, so your business must have some hot-ticket items. Luckily, your POS system can tell you what sells and what doesn’t. Check past sales reports to see what products have done well in sales recently and what products were in demand during last holiday season.
Start with giving discounts to move old stock and make space for new items. Plan your holiday inventory and order merchandise in advance to stock up on in-demand holiday items. Furthermore, you can use them to set up your in-store display and put your best-sellers at the front to attract customers.
No long lines at the checkout
Everyone wants to sip on eggnog with their loved ones instead of standing in checkout lines on Christmas. Set up more POS throughout your store with Tagrain to handle the in-store traffic surge during the holiday season.
To bust the queues throughout, you could equip your salespersons with a Mobile POS unit so they can assist and checkout shoppers anywhere in the store. Check out without the checkout line with Tagrain's free tablet apps for iPad and Android devices, a compact POS point that gives your staff the ability to sell more and serve better.
Set surcharges to secure extra holiday profits
To meet the demand of the holiday season rush, most retail businesses are open till late and over the public holidays. This will increase expenses as they also have to pay their staff overtime and holiday rates. So it’s important that surcharges are set up correctly in your POS system to help offset these costs.
Since it’s the holiday season, you can create Christmas surcharges like “gift wrapping services” or “personal shopper services” to your POS. Your customers will appreciate these personalised customer experiences especially during the holiday season. Get creative by giving personalised customer experiences to increase sales and in return valued customers.
To wrap it up
After a year full of ups and downs, we want this holiday season to be a huge success for you and your business. Get everything ready and set up your retail POS software effectively to have a profitable Christmas and a prosperous new year for your business!
If you need a hand with anything, get in touch with our retail specialists over chat or email, and we would be happy to assist you.
Happy selling & upscaling!
