5 ways to increase Christmas sales
At Christmas every retailer and every brand wants to get as a big a share of sales as possible. Some companies can make up to half their annual sales over the Christmas period.
Customers are looking out for something special, something different and are open to ideas and products being promoted as it could appeal to their loved ones. Amid the noise of so many promotions, brands have to make themselves stand out and capture the attention of shoppers. But to do this, brands have to plan ahead, creating connections often months ahead as well as last minute solutions during the final Christmas shopping rush.
Follow our tips to get ahead this Christmas
Create a regular – even daily – promotional calendar.
Keep customers interested, with new, special offers continuously appearing. Make them varied, so that customers never know quite what to expect. Some offers might lead directly to a sale, while others offer an incentive, showing your company as a desirable brand
Think about adding items like these to your promotional calendar:
• Holiday recipes
• Limited-time coupons
• Highlight some products by offering special discounts
• Offer gift buying tips
• Suggest creative ways to wrap
Produce gift buying guides
Everyone has some person in their family or friends who is a nightmare to find that special gift. Suggestions are always welcomed. Produce a simple gift guide putting forward a variety of ideas, from pets to new boyfriends, co-workers and rarely seen relatives.
Offer some product sampling – a great way to encourage purchases of food, drink and chocolates! Hiring a few product sampling staff to deal with this takes the pressure off retail staff who can concentrate on sales.
Ask for feedback
Customers like to feel connected to a brand, and that their opinions are valued. Asking for feedback on product sampling can result in very useful information on likes and dislikes. Even offering a simple choice between two products and asking why they made that decision, can highlight valuable data, for example the type of products that they wish were available. Offer a money-off coupon as a ‘thank you’ for taking part. A skilled product demonstrator will know how to engage people in conversation, gather up the data and encourage them to take advantage of the discount.
Instant prizes
Offer instant prizes and discounts by spinning a wheel or lucky dip. People are immediately engaged with competitions of this kind, and are willing to take part. Make sure that everyone gets something – even if it is just a ten per cent off coupon.
Up-sell
Make sure your promotional staff know which products work together, or the benefits of one over the other. By providing additional information, they can often encourage upselling, encouraging people to get extra value by making an additional purchase to improve their original choice.
Access discounts online
Offering customers the opportunity to access the day’s discount online can encourage more purchases. They may not have time to do extra shopping at that moment, but are able to go online later on, or suddenly remember that a specific product would be ideal for someone. Being able to make an immediate discounted purchase could swing their decision.
