It’s never too late to start a festive retail plan. Or is it?
Nearly two years into the Covid pandemic, consumers are spending more time outside the home and according to IGD 27% of shoppers are expecting ‘Christmas 2021 to be bigger than normal’.
So it’s worth ensuring you don’t miss any festive retail opportunities, and maximise those easy wins and the low hanging fruit. The most important rule is to always make it easy to buy your products.
Ideas to support and drive sales
There are a wide range of both digital and in store display ideas that can support and drive sales as we move into the key shopping period. For those dependent on brick and mortar, consider how you can make existing displays work harder for you. Talk to retailers, even making up the displays for them.
- Make recommendations on merchandising displays, what works and what drives sales for your products: showcase the high margin, high rate of sale products in your range. Make it easy for the retailer to sell your products
- Use props and lighting, guide the eyes to products and displays you really want the shopper to see.
- Exclusive product pairings / events / offers can really make a difference. Offer easy to execute suggestions that can be part of existing shopper events. Or create a bespoke pack offer if you are agile enough to respond to demand, or lack of demand.
- Put neck tags, labels or similar on your products to highlight what they ‘go with’. E.g. goes deliciously with x cheese for the perfect party treat
- Go in-store and see for yourself. If your product is hidden, difficult to find or just not well displayed it will be much easier to solve the issue by speaking to staff and understanding what is possible.
Making sure your online and digital platforms as well as delivery service is in good shape will keep consumers coming back again.
Make full use of retail opportunities on your social media channels
On your instagram and any social media platforms make sure to:
- Talk about and highlight where your products are stocked to drive footfall into store
- Highlight your cut off date for delivery to build momentum and encourage consumers to shop now
- Always add a Call to Action on your posts. Encourage the consumer to click through to your website. This will also help your SEO
- Team up with another business/brand to offer special or exclusive offers and promotions. This can expose you to another set of consumers
- Use your mailing list to send emails with special offers, bundles etc
But be careful not to follow these three social media mistakes!
Customise your website for the festive season
Your website is your shopfront so make sure to customise it for the festive season.
- Make it easy for consumers to click through with specials, easy to click to offers etc.
- Showcase and communicate your delivery cut off date. Build a sense of urgency!
- Offer free delivery
- Keep a close eye on your analytics, be agile and make changes as you need
The festive season offers a great opportunity to connect with customers and shoppers, so good luck and get festive!