From decorating to cooking, people always get into the holidays. So this is your chance to capitalize on holiday merchandise sales. Just putting out your seasonal merchandise is not going to put you above your competition. You have to go the extra mile and really make your seasonal merchandise stand out. Appeal to your customer’s senses and put them in the holiday buying spirit.
Sight
Your displays are going to be a huge factor in attracting customers to your holiday merchandise. People are going to go towards attention grabbing things like lights, moving objects and sparkle, not a tower of boxes. Here is where you should let your creative talents shine. If you are not very artistic, consult employees or friends who can help.
Smell
Draw customers into your store with a holiday scent like gingerbread or pine. This would be especially helpful if you’re selling holiday candles or potpourri. Many people associate the holidays with certain smells, so put them in the holiday mood with the sent of their mom’s fresh baked apple pie.
Sound
“Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la, la la la …” Nothing puts people in the holiday spirit more than Christmas or holiday music. Make sure it’s not too loud and try to have a variety of music play. Also try to avoid religious music and play songs such as Frosty the Snow Man, Let it Snow, Winter Wonderland, etc. or make sure you represent all traditions in your musical selection in order to keep all customers happy.
Taste
Everyone loves samples. If you have a special holiday drink mix or dip consider putting out samples. This is a great marketing tactic because people won’t have to guess at what they are buying. And it shows that you believe in your products enough to put it out and know that people will like it enough to buy it. This will also make people stay in your store longer and lure in others who are wondering what is so interesting.
Touch
If your merchandise is packaged in a box, we recommend having a display out of the box so that customers can pick things up and touch them. If you don’t, people will end up taking items out of boxes themselves. This could potentially damage several products.
Think of what would appeal to your customer’s senses this holiday and you might be pleasantly surprised at the difference it makes in your store.
How do you attract customers into your store?
Tags: holidays, Promotions, retail tips
