Holiday Planning

After the Holiday Buzz is Over: How to Keep the Magic Alive (and Avoid the Hangover)

Posted onAuthorericw@specialtystoreservices.com

holiday-hangover2-254x300If a group of retail professionals was asked this question, “What lies at the core of high sales and profits?” how would they answer? Some would say great products and others might suggest competitive prices, but they are both wrong. Studies have proven over and over again that an outstanding customer experience is the number one answer. Without an outstanding first impression—followed by many more great experiences—your potential customers won’t give you a second thought. Providing customers with a memorable and superior customer experience should surpass the excellence of your product or low prices, especially during the holiday season.

Exterior and Interior Impressions

The festive, warm atmosphere is one of the major reasons why so many people enjoy the holiday season. Can a customer enter one of your stores and immediately be cheered up by the holiday lights, garlands, and other colorful decorations and have their shopper mojo activated? The decorations help create a positive, memorable customer experience and stimulate buying—an accomplishment that you want to maintain all year long.

Need a Boost? Some Quick & Easy Fixes

If your store branding needs a boost, you have some great options to choose from. Here are some proven ways to create a colorful, inviting atmosphere and encourage your customers to buy:

  • Use new store fixtures to add interest and excitement in different areas of the store
  • Design and develop a unique line of custom store fixtures for an entire store chain makeover
  • Choose a bright, welcoming color and repaint your stores’ exteriors and interiors
  • Add framed pictures or custom banners or signs to select areas in your stores

Creating warm, inviting storefronts and interiors is easy to accomplish during the holidays; the challenge is keeping this feeling when the holidays end. When you take the decorations down, the welcoming store atmosphere can disappear. How does your current store branding measure up when the holiday glitz and glitter are gone? As you evaluate the situation don’t gloss over areas of improvement. Be honest with yourself and your employees. The sooner you figure out what needs to be improved, the sooner you can begin building an atmosphere that welcomes and cheers customers year-round—and ultimately keeps customers buying.

Interested in learning more about how to avoid the post holiday shopping hangover? The retail experts at Specialty Store Services can help. Call us today at 800.999.0771 or click here to visit our website for more information.

There is No Such Thing as Being Too Prepared: Tips on how your business can survive the impending holiday season

Posted onAuthorericw@specialtystoreservices.com

 

It’s not uncommon to spot Halloween and fall                                                  black-friday-crowd                                         merchandise on the sales floor by September 1st. For most store owners, managers and employees, this incites a sense of pressure and anxiety for the upcoming holiday season. There are simple steps and action plans you and your team can take to ensure you are prepared for the chaos that’s to come.

Here are four important tips to help you plan a stress-free and successful holiday season:

 1.     Train Staff. Your employees are the backbone of the operation, so take the time to make sure your team is knowledgeable and trained for holiday traffic.

  •  Is your staff trained for potential shoplifters? The month of December can be a costly month for a lot of retailers. Prepare your staff in advance on what to expect and how to handle a shoplifting situation.
  •  Schedule regular meetings to stay connected to what’s going on in all areas of the store. What needs improvement or more support? Communication can prevent inventory disasters, unhappy customers and store fixtures that need fixing.
  • “Happy wife, happy life”- the saying goes for store associates as well.  You can’t achieve results without your staff being at its best. Develop staff incentives to encourage motivation. Friends and family are heading out of town for the holidays, taking the spirit out of the holidays for many of your employees. Give your staff an extra reason to work their hardest to offer customers the best possible experience.
  • Plan for employee time off before the holiday season. This is smart for two reasons: 1) making sure you’re staffed appropriately for the entire season with enough team members to cover expected high traffic weeks 2) ensuring there won’t be any surprises for you or your employees. You’re able to plan ahead and they can plan ahead for time off with family and friends.

2.     Review history. The best way to improve is to learn from past mistakes. Look at past sales records, staff schedules and promotional calendars. What worked last year? What didn’t? Plan ahead and safeguard against past complications. Although the holiday season is hectic, try to note happenings as they come or after the holidays for you or other associates to reference the following year.

 3.     Inventory. You can’t run a store without merchandise. Was there enough last year? Was there inventory on the floor at all times? Have the right inventory available by developing a replenishing function as part of the staff routine, which holds a specific individual accountable to ensure the sales floor is stocked at all times.

 4.    Maintenance. Even in a busy environment, it’s critical your team maintains the clean look of the store. An article from DMS Retail has a great checklist for keeping your store clean: Be sure all light fixtures are working, exit signs are lit, fitting rooms are tidy, fire extinguishers have been checked, your flooring and carpets have no turned up edges that can trip people, your POS and printers are working properly, your doors or door grills are in good repair, ceiling ducts are clean and dust free, fitting rooms are clean and welcoming, shelves are firmly in place to avoid accidents, no chipped glass anywhere, no rough edges on sign holders, the back room is well organized, the plumbing (if any) and any illuminated store signage is working properly. Be prepared so store upkeep is not taking away from sales.

These tips are designed to help streamline your holiday selling season to make it as successful as possible. Plan ahead in all aspects of your business to reduce anxiety before the holidays come; they’ll be here before you can say, “Deck the halls with boughs of holly.”

Not prepared or don’t know where to start? The retail experts at Specialty Store Services can help. Call us today at 800.999.0771 or click here to visit our website for more information.