Halloween has come and gone, and you know what that means: the year’s major shopping holidays are just around the corner. As the temperatures dip and the weather gets chilly, your customers’ thoughts turn to finding the perfect holiday gift for their loved ones and friends.
Your job, as a consignment store owner, is to do everything you can to set the mood and provide the perfect shopping environment. Here are a few tips to help you get started:
5 Ideas to Prepare Your Store for the Holiday Season
Whether you’re a new consignment store or an established business that wants to treat your customers extra-special this year, these tips will ensure some holly-jolly shopping for everyone:
1. Make Your Store Smell Nice
Walk into any home store right now, and you’ll notice one thing: the smell. Smell is a powerful sense. In fact, it’s so powerful that it’s our single most memorable sense. Today, about 65% of people can remember smells accurately after one year. Smell also has a powerful impact on our mood, happiness, and outlook on a place or experience.
With this in mind, make your store smell delicious this holiday season. A great Frasier Fir candle will do the trick, as will a plate of freshly-baked cookies sitting out on your sales counter. No matter what you choose to do, bringing warm, cozy holiday scents into your retail space is a great way to get customers in the holiday spirit.
2. Light the Space
Bring the festiveness and warmth of the holiday season indoors by hanging some holiday lights in your store space.
Use a string of pure white lights to offset a unique display, to guide the way to your dressing rooms, or to decorate the door or outdoor space of your store. Strategically-placed lights are welcoming, and can also help your customers and consignors see your location as the days get shorter.
Take your decor efforts a step further by hanging some wreaths, garlands, or additional holiday decorations in and around the store to boost the holiday spirit!
3. Update Your Website
Online shopping is huge during the holiday season, so it’s well worth your time to make sure your website is prim and proper heading into this major shopping season. Are your items listed online? Are the photos detailed and high-quality? Are your product descriptions detailed and complete? Is there a sense of holiday flair to your website? If you’re offering any sales or discounts, are they made obvious on your website? Make sure you’ve checked all these boxes as we move forward into holiday shopping. If you have, customers will find your site easier to navigate and more welcoming to use.
4. Get a Facebook Campaign Going
Give yourself an extra leg-up on holiday shopping and sales by establishing a Facebook campaign. For best results, use it to retarget people that have liked your Facebook page. Or just target a specific demographic within a few miles of your store. You can also use Facebook to push your sales and discounts and raise awareness about holiday events you might be holding at your store.
An open-house or Ladies Night will be a great option to get people through the door and make some additional sales. Regardless of which campaign you opt for, be sure to start it a few weeks in advance of the holidays. This gives you time to edit it accordingly and ensure it’s hitting the mark with your customers.
You should also share updates on Instagram Stories and other social platforms.
5. Dress Your Mannequins up
Make your store feel cozy and welcoming by dressing your mannequins in cozy clothing and cute holiday outfits. Offer free hot chocolate or biscotti to customers as they browse, and play some holiday music in the background. Anything you can do to make your store cozier and easier to browse will go a long way toward boosting your holiday sales and ensuring customers can find what they’re looking for.
Happy Holidays!
The holidays are a warm, cozy, and exciting time. Make sure our consignment store offers a similar experience with these five tips. Want to take things one step further? Contact our team to learn more about how our Consignment Store software can help you serve customers and make more sales.
