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Holiday Retailing Series Part 1
I know, you do not want to speak of the crazy, stupid, coming way to flipping fast ‘H-word’…but we are knocking on September’s door and what you thought you knew about HOLIDAY retailing is completely different.
That is right. COVID has changed one more thing, YOUR retail game. If you did not have a retail game, you have an advantage. Your slate is already clean. If you have been successful in the past, get out the Windex and paper towel, roll up your sleeves and clean that slate, RIGHT NOW. Today we are going to talk about 3 ways the retail game has changed.
If this is your first time reading one of my blog post, WELCOME! I consult and assist salons and stylists with their retail. The kicker, I LOVE sales! I know, weird, considering most in of my customers hate it. What is crazy to me is that most people I know, say they hate it but do it all the time and are amazing at it. At this point in their career they have not reached the true conclusion, that selling is serving. It is not an old, slimy guy trying to sell you a hunk of junk on a used car lot. I always think of Danny DeVito in Matilda…LOL. No, it is sharing your goods and/or services to help someone create a better life by solving a problem. I choose hair and beauty, well because, quite frankly, in the words of Deion Sanders, ‘If you look good, you feel good, if you feel good, you play good, if you play good, they pay good.’ (If you are just getting to know me, I am quite simple and to the point. With simple language as well. Welcome!)
NOW, lets get down to business!!! The 3 things you MUST know to start your Holiday Retail Strategy!
1.) Big Box Retailers are CLOSING on Thanksgiving: That is right, according to an article in USA Today, (find it here) large retailers that were traditionally open will be CLOSED for Thanksgiving Day 2020.You heard me correctly, if you look forward to dodging out of Thanksgiving Dinner early because your crazy Aunt Karen loves to give her mindless opinion about your life. Get another plan sis. The closure list includes Target, Wal-Mart, and Kohls to name a few.
2.) Retailers are starting Holiday promos earlier that EVER: Some retail strategists have explained in several articles across sources like Fortune (find the article here) and USA Today (this article linked above or here), that retailers are seriously concerned about crowd control with COVID. So, as a consumer we will begin to see aggressive online sales and, more importantly, those screaming holiday deals starting after Halloween!
3.) Consumers will be more VALUE conscious than EVER: According to the Google blog (find the post here) on helping retailer prepare for 2020, as retailers we NEED to be showing as much value as we can when it comes to selling our products and services. Check out this link on a study done in 45 countries, COVID has seriously affected buying habits of consumers. The biggest take away for me is when this article explains the shift of buying habits to being focused on VALUE and ESSENTIALS. This season, our strategy MUST focus on all the guest/customer is being provided for their hard earned dollar. Globally we are still seeing incomes fall, as retailers, we must take this into consideration.
THE WHY:
Why do we need to understand this? We need to understand what the consumer is thinking so we know and understand the problem that we need to solve. For salons and other small business retailers, this is a time to really go after our guests and bring in a shopping experience. WHY???? According to all of these articles, people are looking for great gifts at a great price point. READ MY LIPS – that is the business we are in. Forget the jewelry and electronics this year – consumers are looking to purchase great gifts at under $100. HUGE OPPORTUNITY!!!
SO – What have you done so far to prepare for this change??? You are in luck; next week’s post will be on preparation and strategy. The 3 things you can do to make sure you are serving your customers through these holiday buying changes.
XO and Cheers,
Heather Pod
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