Christmas is just around the corner and for most retailers it’s the biggest trading time of the year. A great Christmas and you’re set up for 2020, a poor Christmas trade and you’re chasing your tail from the get-go.
Stock will have been bought months ago, marketing will be in place so now is the time to concentrate on the people in your business.
Your team and their performance are within your sphere of influence and where you can impact your store result.So what are our 3 top tips for making the most of your Christmas trade?
To maximise your revenue, you need to think about where you will need extra people to take up the extra pressure and load. Is it on your shop floor, at the cash register, in the stock room or at the fitting rooms? Wherever the need, make sure you have enough people to take up the slack. It’s a tough time of the year in retail, give your team a break and set them up for success by making sure that you have enough people, they all get time off and reasonable breaks.
Overworked and exhausted people don’t do your brand or your customers any favours. Check and double-check...there’s still time to hire!
The most critical part of any sale is to be able to engage your customers and to open the sale. If you can’t do that, then nothing else matters!
A warm welcome and interested team members who genuinely want to help will trump a technical product expert any day. So make sure you set aside the time and the resource to equip your people with the skills to help customers and to maximise the revenue going through your till. Concentrate on the absolute basics of selling, putting more emphasis on opening the sale, and uncovering the customers' needs.
In the height of the Christmas season, it’s hot and frantic. Customers get frustrated and a bit short on patience. They like it when their shopping experience is seamless and your team is efficient. Look at the things that you need to change to make the process smoother for your customers. Make sure you can have the maximum number of tills open, consider having a second person on each till to help bag goods, ensure that you can keep your shelves full of stock especially promotions and hot items.
If you need to manage queues think about the best way to do it, and consider stationing team members in different areas of the store to reduce the risk of theft and to make sure there is always a team member available if a customer needs help.
The Christmas period is the biggest trading opportunity of the year, and with good planning, you can maximise your revenue, have a blast, and stay sane!
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