It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The holidays are fast approaching, and while your potential customers are dreaming about eating festive food (and lots of it), sipping pumpkin spice lattes, listening to holiday music on repeat, and exchanging gifts, you’re busy preparing your business for the holiday sales surge.
The National Retail Federation (NRF), citing U.S. Census Bureau data, reveals that spending during the 2023 holiday season reached a record $964.4 billion. That’s billion with a “B”. Incredibly, the NRF is forecasting that 2024’s holiday sales will be between 2.5% and 3.5% higher.
This is fantastic news for your business, but there’s a catch. According to Cin7’s research, 56% of surveyed shoppers plan to begin holiday shopping before December and 18% admit they’ve already begun.
If you’re not quite ready, don’t panic. We’ve put together a handy list of tasks that will help make this season your merriest yet.
Of the people who told Cin7 that they’re planning to start their holiday shopping soon or have already done so, 39% plan to purchase their gifts from a small business like yours. So, to help you increase your sales this holiday season, here are a few important tasks you should take care of pronto. Want to a copy of this list for your company? We’ve made an editable version!
The holidays are the perfect time to treat both new and current customers like royalty, but they have to find you first. For brick-and-mortar and e-commerce stores, here are a few suggestions for attracting attention:
Once customers enter your door or log on to your website, provide them with exceptional customer service so they’ll continue to buy from you all year long.
Though holiday spending continues to rise, Cin7’s survey reveals that 74% of respondents are determined to stick to their budget this year, while 69% say they’ll keep to a well-defined shopping list. But they admit they’re willing to deviate from their plans if they encounter deals, flash sales, and limited-time offers.
Enter your pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns.
Like email campaigns, PPC advertising targets a broad audience through a digital format with the goal of increasing brand awareness and generating leads. With PPC advertising, you only pay when someone clicks on your video, image, or text-based ad on Google, Amazon, Etsy, Facebook, Instagram, and so on.
It’s a great way to publicize your special holiday promotions that appeal to even the most budget-conscious buyer, but to ensure that your online marketing succeeds, you should audit and optimize your ad performance.
A recent article by digital media company business.com explains how you can do just that:
A winning PPC campaign requires attention to detail. Take time to analyze every element and develop a comprehensive strategy – the results will be worth the investment.
As a small retail or manufacturing business, the holidays can represent a large portion of your annual revenue. You need to know exactly how and where your money is being spent. This begins with evaluating and analyzing your financial data in order to make sound financial decisions, which all hinges on having your accounting ducks—or, in this case, your accounting reindeer—in a row.
With your accounting dialed in, you can review historical sales data to determine which products are your most popular—and profitable—and to decide how many of these high-demand items you should stock for the holiday season. Additionally, monitoring your cash flow during the holiday season ensures you have enough funds to cover the inevitable increase in labor, shipping, and marketing costs. Not sure you have the working capital to cover that purchase order? With Cin7 Capital, Cin7 customers can borrow against outstanding invoices, unlocking cash flow and liquidity when you really need it.
An added bonus? Employing precise accounting processes helps you remain compliant with holiday sales tax requirements.
Aside from your crucial marketing and accounting efforts, the effective planning and management of your inventory is one of the most important factors in retail success. Per Cin7’s survey, having sufficient inventory is key to keeping customers happy.
Talk about the importance of having the right inventory! Stocking up on popular holiday items (but not overstocking!) via advanced demand forecasting, offering specials (including special holiday bundles for the holidays), planning for increased shipping needs, and implementing a smooth, seamless return process guarantees that you and your team will have happy, satisfied customers.
Your success this holiday season ultimately rests on securing your customers’ happiness through personalized marketing, detailed accounting, and smart, connected inventory. That’s where Cin7 comes in.
Cin7’s inventory management system (IMS) delivers a real-time picture of your products across multiple systems, channels, marketplaces, and regions. We help you visualize all your inventory data, track every event, and automate the complex inventory process, plus we offer 700+ pre-built integrations and capabilities, empowering you to manage your business in one place.
Additionally, our new ForesightAI advanced inventory forecasting delivers AI-driven insights that ensures your inventory stays perfectly balanced through effortless demand forecasting, automated reordering, comprehensive reporting, and smart replenishment.
Just ask Cin7 customer HairCo.
The Australian-based importer and distributor of beauty and barbershop products decided to implement Cin7, including ForesightAI, and according to General Manager Dion Alessi, it was something they should have done much sooner.
“Looking back, I would have done this ten years ago,” Dion says. “The accuracy in the numbers and the time saved with Cin7 is huge.”
By following ForesightAI’s recommendations, HairCo experienced a whopping 10% increase in sales. They also simplified their reordering, made their order receiving more efficient, and reduced their picking and packing errors.
HairCo’s hair-raising success story is a perfect example of how Cin7 can make this holiday season—and every season—an easy, joy-filled experience for you and your customers. Reach out to our experts to set up a demo today.
