The holiday is the happiest time of the year. That may or may not be true in the retail industry, but in any case, the run-up to the end-of-year festive season is unquestionably the busiest. Research has shown that the holiday shopping season has moved forward and now begins in mid-October. To help retailers prepare for it, we’ve compiled some of the most fascinating tips to improve the sales in retail during holiday seasons.
Plan your promotion strategies
To improve the sales in retail, you should evaluate the data as you design your promos to discover what has previously worked for you. Was it a successful promotion to provide free shipping? When you gave your lowest price ever, did you sell out? Based on this analysis, you can thus decide on which types of promotions are useful, as well as the effect they have on your profit.
You can use a variety of promotional ideas for your products, such as:
- Bundle pricing: You can offer a discount if a consumer buys two or more goods at the same time. This can not only encourage more sales, but also clear up your stocks faster.
- Discounts: You can deduct money off the retail price to make customers feel that they are saving money by having a bargain.
- Free Shipping: It is uncommon that a consumer loves paying for shipping. Free shipping is not only a fantastic way to encourage e-commerce consumers who aren’t ready to return to a physical store, but it’s also a great way to encourage eCommerce shoppers.
Build an omnichannel shopping journey
Omnichannel shopping is the experience when customers can move seamlessly between online and offline channels to shop. In fact, the number of businesses adopting digital-first strategies to attract customers has increased in 2020. According to Bluecore’s COVID-19 Retail Trends Report, first-time online sales from traditional chain shops increased by 119% in the United States and Canada compared to the previous year.
A great example of a retail company going omnichannel during the holiday season is Sephora. Everyone knows that Sephora faces a large number of customers during holidays. To tackle this problem, Sephora has allowed consumers to access a load of data by tapping into the Beauty Bag on their phone or PC. Customers can shop, view their favorites list and any previous purchases, as well as how many rewards points they have. Moreover, they can also scan goods in-store to discover additional online possibilities, watch training videos, and find a store near them.
It’s essential to discover the locations where your consumers engage to build an omnichannel shopping experience. Make sure that your customers have a positive and consistent experience across all of your customer touchpoints. If being managed well, online and offline channels can support each other in handling high shopping traffic.
To provide a consistent omnichannel experience, real-time synchronization is very important. Retailers should inform customers about the accurate stocks that are available. If you’re looking for a solution that can handle omnichannel requirements like this, consider ConnectPOS. Being a leading point of sale provider, ConnectPOS takes pride in providing retailers with a seamless omnichannel experience.
Host an exclusive event
Hosting exclusive events is another method to get people excited about your holiday offers and improve your sales in retail. Whether you’re an eCommerce or physical shop, these events can take various formats.
You can provide your consumer with a unique, insiders-only experience. Some examples of events are making a special offer to your email list subscribers, sending your private group a newsletter, or creating a Facebook group that is only accessible via invitation. Besides, physical events may also help you build buzz and enthusiasm for your shop. If you really want to stand out, try to think out of the box.
For example, The Coca-Cola Christmas Truck Tour, organized by the soft drink giant Coca-Cola, makes 19 stops across the different locations. The project involves taking over digital displays and spaces in transport hubs, decorating buses with lights and lenticular graphics of Santa, and holding Christmas karaoke at Piccadilly Lights. The tour is also in collaboration with the national homeless charity Crisis, doubling the meaning of these exclusive events. From this project, Coca-Cola stands out as the leading soft drink choice for people during the holiday season.
Pay attention to sanitization
With consumer and staff safety at the forefront, it’s important to make sanitization a top priority to improve sales in retail. Customers will be considerably more willing to enter your store if they see that you are treating the Coronavirus seriously and taking additional measures.
Providing multiple hand disinfection spots around your store is one method to make your customers’ shopping experience safer. According to a recent study, 64% of shoppers feel that offering hand sanitizer to clients is the most essential move businesses can take. Because shopping is generally a high-contact activity, customers want to be able to disinfect their hands on a frequent basis while in the store. During the holiday, you can also gain more trust from customers and raise the brand’s social responsibility.
Offer free or speedy delivery
One of the most vital elements of the online buying experience is shipping. Customers prefer to have different options to choose from and don’t want to pay too much. Therefore, we recommend giving a free shipping promotion if you want to improve the sales in retail. It’s also important to have a variety of faster delivery choices available for those last-minute consumers. According to research, more than half of buyers wait until the 23rd of December to finish their holiday shopping. With so many people waiting until the last few days before the holiday to purchase, it’s essential to provide overnight and fast delivery alternatives.
Wrapping up
All in all, your top focus should be to provide a comfortable purchasing experience for your consumers, whether in-store, online, or through a different pick-up option. If you are interested in knowing more about the solutions to improve sales in retail, don’t hesitate to contact ConnectPOS about the top-notch point of sale technologies.
ConnectPOS is a all-in-one point of sale solution tailored to meet your eCommerce POS needs, streamline business operations, boost sales, and enhance customer experience in diverse industries. We offer custom POS with features, pricing, and plans to suit your unique business requirements.
