Eight Retail Shop Tips to Stay Sane During the Holidays

This is Creative Kind's sixth holiday as a retailer - holy smokes! We've picked up some special strategies for the holidays over the years. We’re excited to share some tried-and-true holiday retail sales tips for your store!

These strategies have helped us manage the hectic holiday season and stay semi-sane, covering everything from inventory management to customer engagement.

1. Order More Holiday Cards Than You Think You'll Need

Greeting cards (and card sets) are hands down our best sellers items during the holidays. Few things are worse than getting to December 18 and having to message vendors trying to get last minute stock... and missing out on a bunch of potential sales while you're dry.

A week before Christmas in 2021, we realized we were dangerously low on cards. Like... down to one or two of our top sellers, and even cards that had been moving slower were almost gone. We'd ordered based on projected numbers, but had ended up selling more. Thankfully, a vendor was able to ship some cards ASAP, but it made us realize that we'd need to have more stock on hand in the future to not disappoint our guests during a stressful shopping trip.

With that in mind, in 2023 we ordered about 15% over our projections and exceeded our sales estimates. The few extras we had left were just a head start for this year's holiday stash. And gave us on-hand inventory for getting ahead on taking photos for our website and Instagram!

2. Use Wite-Out at Your Store's Point of Sale

No more see-through permanent marker lines! No more half-torn off tags and leftover residue!

Avoid messy price removals with a handheld Wite-Out tape. It's super smooth with no risk of spills. This tip keeps packaging neat and intact, providing a pleasant unboxing experience for customers. This quick fix is also a lifesaver when offering gift wrap services, keeping the line moving smoothly.

3. Keep Occasion Cards Available Throughout the Season

Rather than put the Hanukkah cards away when the eight nights of Hanukkah are over, we keep our cards out through the holiday season. Last year, we found that our guests appreciated having options for belated Hanukkah greetings and to plan ahead for the next year.

Like with all holiday cards, it doesn't hurt to have a few extra on hand to prevent missed opportunities!

And don't forget about Graduation cards for the December graduates!

4. Create Unique Ways to Invite Shoppers Into Your Store

As we get into the busiest retail time of the year, people will be out and about already. We want to increase the ways we invite people to come inside and shop with us!

For us, that looks like:

• Keeping a card spinner outside (so many people get drawn in by seeing a small selection of the greeting cards we carry!)
• Designing a seasonal window display.
• Use an A-frame chalkboard to advertise events and sales.
• Regularly updating our front displays to reflect the season. We had two adorable Christmas tree ornament stands a local woodworker made for us and will be making new stands this year!
• Keeping the doors propped open and the holiday music rockin' - one of the benefits of being located in southern AZ is the mild weather this time of year!

Last November, we had our two front tables full of holiday items - a smaller one with Thanksgiving merchandise, and a larger Christmas-themed table with things like ornaments and popular gift items. After Thanksgiving, we transitioned that small table to stocking stuffers.

We also switched our front journal wall to a holiday card display - this wall is visible from outside the shop, and caught the eye of anyone passing by!

With just a few small changes, you can maximize your impact and encourage more guests to come in to your shop.

5. Use Signage to Drive Holiday Traffic and Sales In-Store and Online

Chalkboards are an effective tool for attracting both in-store and online customers. Here’s how to use them:

• Keep the message short & sweet. People walking by should get the gist without standing still to read it!
• Use all caps for easy-to-read "headlines" and emphasize words that capture attention, like: SALE, DISCOUNT, BOGO, LOCAL, HANDMADE
• Share things that are unique to your business! We were one of the only local shops in our mall, and our last chalkboard shared how many small businesses we carried.
• Tape on a printed out QR code to send folks to your website or to specific collection or product. Great for event ticket pages!
• Keep your chalkboard fresh by updating it at least every couple weeks.
• Sketch an outline with chalk, then go over it with a chalk marker! Makes it easy to start over, and you can erase the chalk once the marker is dry.

With these tips, your chalkboard can become a dynamic advertisement that draws interest and action.

6. Stay Ahead of USPS Holiday Deadlines

The last thing we all want is an upset customer, and sometimes folks seem to think we run the postal service on top of our shop 😜

We share deadlines all over our socials to let people know that if they order past these dates, the order might not arrive by December 24. Orders shipped past these deadlines will still make their way to the recipients, sometimes before Christmas, but it's helps to try and avoid disappointment!

7. Empower Your Staff with Gifting Sales Tips

The holiday season can be overwhelming for everyone, including your staff! Help them feel confident and prepared to handle the increased traffic and sales by providing them with holiday sales tips. This could include:

• Having a list of backup items to suggest if your bestsellers sell out.
• Providing a weekly list of hot holiday items and low-stock items with replacement suggestions.
• Providing information on the most popular items of the season to help guide customer recommendations.
• Offering training on how to handle difficult customers or situations, as tensions may run high during this time of year.

Here's an example of the simple update Hilari sent out!

Having a weekly list helped our staff assist customers more efficiently, and make sales we might have lost without substitution suggestions. Even for seasoned employees, having a list like this was a great help!

8. Decide How to Handle Leftover Seasonal Inventory

Do you discount what's left after Christmas, or put it away to save it for the next year? There's no one-size-fits-all answer, and for us, each year is a little different. We base it on a couple things:

• What's the overall value? Could we sell it at a discount and use that cash flow for a better purpose? Is it a year-after-year best seller worth holding on to for the full price?
• How much space will it take up? Is it a few stacks of cards or boxes that take up shelf space we'll need come March?
• Will it be relevant? If it's gonna expire or if it's trendy, we wanna get rid of it and have space for fun and new come next year.

Evaluate these factors to make informed decisions about leftover stock.

I hope these holiday retail tips help your small business thrive during the busiest shopping months. Here's to a successful and joyful holiday season!