Five Tools to Increase Holiday Retail Sales

by David Wing

As the holiday gift-buying season begins, successful retailers are launching festive shopping experiences for their customers that are fast, easy and unusual.

Ideally, doing business with these customers shouldn't end when they leave your store with bags of gifts. Instead, it should be the start of a long relationship.

Remind your customers of their importance by following up with thank-you postcards, and try these tips to make the most of the holiday.

1. Kids Shopping Day

This is really perfect for almost any type of store. Choose a day where parents can drop off their children in your store to do their shopping. Kids like to feel important, that they have control. Giving them a day for their holiday shopping can have a dramatic showing on your bottom line. American Demographics reports that parents given $14.4 billion per year is given to preteens to spend as they wish. Then there is the other $130 billion worth of spending because these preteens influenced household buying decisions.

2. Husbands Day

Perfect for a jeweler or ladies apparel store. Lets face it, most men don't know how to buy anything but lunch, televisions (for the remote), cars (the more buttons the better), and tools. Set up a day where the wives come in for a special showing, letting them try items on and put outfits together. These items go on their wish list, you then have their husbands come in and buy those items their wives have picked out. This cuts down on your returns, makes both spouses happy, and those wives will end up buying when they are in the store picking for their husbands. This really gives you two good sale days.

3. Give a Gift Holiday Party

This works great for public relations. Charities are very big during the holiday season, and a good time for you to help those less fortunate. Set up a preferred customer holiday party, where customers can shop for themselves, and for a local charity. Gifts for children work best and are needed during this time a year. You can also set a special day a side for an in store Santa party, during which these gifts are passed out to the children.

4. Holiday Party Show Case

There just never seems to be enough time to attend all the holiday parties. There also doesn't seem to be enough time to shop for those parties. Set up an evening or weekend holiday show case, where your customers can see the latest holiday fashions, and get ideas on what to wear for those big evenings out. Make this a big deal, invite your most valued customers and have refreshments.

5. Thank you for Shopping Gift

Did you know that you have lost 68% of your customers to your competition because you made them feel ignored? Now is the time to remember those customers that helped you pay your bills during the year. Send out post cards to your customers offering them a gift with purchase. Make sure you put a deadline on the offer, and that offer is only good for purchases over a set amount. You can call this "A holiday gift for you, just because we know you deserve it."