2020 is about to end and that means the holiday season is upon us. Just like every year, shoppers are hunting down the best deals to make the most of the biggest shopping event of the year. But things are a little different this time. Retail stores need to step up to make sure these holiday shoppers come straight to them. Here’s everything you need to do ace the game of holiday season sales.

Stock up on inventory

Stocking up on inventory is a no-brainer for retailers. But the key here is to study your sales from the last years and make a list of your best-selling products and most popular services. You can also ask customers directly about the things they are planning on buying this holiday season. Create a poll on your Facebook page, use the ask question feature on Instagram to reach holiday shoppers through social media.

And then, when you get their answers, draft the final list and make sure to get all those items in stock. Don’t play hard people, play smart!

Cook up exciting product and service deals

Now that you have what the holiday shoppers want, it’s time to spice things up. Bundle the products and services together and tag them off with bargained prices to make customers go crazy after them. 

Set up your online store

Since, this year, everything is under the pandemic, shoppers will probably stay home. That means, you have to take your offers where your customers are — online. So, if you don’t have an online store, it’s high time that you set it up. And if you already have one, don’t forget to make it shine with all your holiday season offers and deals. 

Integrate an appointment booking system on your website

If your retail store is all about services like food, beauty, or cell phone repairs, you definitely need to have an appointment booking system in place. Customers can simply go to your website, choose the service they like, fill in their contact details, and book an appointment with your store. You can then follow up by sending them an email or ringing up their phones. Sealing those service deals!

Pro-Tip: Refresh the SEO (search engine optimization) of your website as well as your online store to make sure your store appears at the top when the local shoppers ask Google for the best holiday deals in town.

Offer free shipping and free gift wrapping services

Encourage shoppers to stay home and stay safe by offering them free shipping services. So they can place their orders online with your store without having to worry about the extra bucks on getting them shipped to their addresses. 

Now, the holiday season is all about spreading happiness and giving each other presents. So, why not join in on the holiday fun by offering free gift wrapping to your customers? Tell them they can pick the best presents for their loved ones and rest assured that you’ll take care of wrapping them up and delivering them. 

These are all small gestures that show how much you care for your customers and will go a long way with building a loyal customer base. 

Create hype on your social media channels

You have cooked up the best holiday deals and put them on display on your online store and website, what now? Use the magic of social media to get your customers warmed up about your upcoming deals. Post about your discounts and offers and let them know what’s coming and how they can get their hands on all the good stuff. 

Engage with the shoppers by replying to their comments and answering their queries. Offer special discounts to the first commenters and get the attention of your audience.

Send out emails and SMS updates to existing customers

Driving sales out of your existing customers is another smart move and the one you should not miss at all. So, while you post about your upcoming deals on social media to attract new buyers, don’t forget to keep your existing customers in the loop as well. 

Send them email and SMS notifications to let them know how much you miss them, what offers you have for them in store, and that you’d love to have them back.

Get a POS software and automate everything!

Our final sales tip for retail stores is to invest in a point of sale (POS) software. Why? Because it will automate everything you need to do to get the best bang of this holiday season. 

• You can order and manage your inventory with just a few clicks.

• You can create product and service bundles and sell them with the POS system.

• You can set up your online store with WooCommerce and display your holiday deals with just a few screen clicks.

• You can integrate an appointment booking widget with your website so you can view and manage all the appointments within the POS system.

• You can send automated email and SMS notifications to all your customers.

• You can track your sales numbers and analyze how well your business is performing every day.

What you need is the right POS software for your business type and you’re halfway done with your holiday season preparations. All that’s left is setting your account up and you can start running your business like a superstar.

The best part is that world-class POS software is also having a holiday offer. So you can get a year-long subscription to the software along with a bunch of cool hardware items. The software will help you automate the day-to-day operations of your retail store so you can put your sales game plan into action.

This holiday season, ride with a POS software and make big bucks! 

Source: https://www.repairdesk.co/