Seasonal Success Stories
Retailers Reveal The Strategies That Helped This Holiday Season
EVENTS & GIVE-BACK INITIATIVES
“We had some great events where we hit our sales targets,” shares a Minnesota retailer while a store owner from Maryland writes, “We had an amazing girls’ night! It was our best event ever. We had a massage therapist that did mini seated massages plus cocktails and treats. The massage therapist never got a break. We were packed from 4 p.m. when it began until after 8 p.m. when we closed. Such a fun night!”
A Massachusetts store owner shares, “We decided to participate in Pink Friday with only 10 days to plan it and it really saved my special event holiday season!”
A Florida retailer also had success with this event, and Small Business Saturday (SBS), writing, “We had a great Pink Friday and SBS promotion.”
“We had lots of events,” says a single store owner from Ohio. “I did a quick thing similar to a ‘Giving Tree’. I contacted the office on aging and asked for the names of shut ins and had my customers pick a name and buy that person an ornament. We wrapped the ornaments, and we had every person bought for in a little over a week. The organization was thrilled!”
PROMOTIONS
A reporting store from California with multiple locations shares, “We mailed out our Christmas catalog and it did very well. We also did the 12 Days of Christmas campaign and each day we had special offers. It did very well.”
STRONG TEAM
“We had a strong team that worked together seamlessly,” shares a Florida store owner. “Our inventory team kept product stocked while our sales team continued to push it out the door. Without such a high-functioning team, we would not have beat our sales goals.”
“Staffing was spot on,” says a New Hampshire retailer. “Our staff was ready. We had a bunch of returning holiday helpers which really helps to lighten the load.”
MARGIN MAKERS
“Purchasing more items with better margin,” was a winning strategy for a Texas store owner while in Oregon a retailer writes, “We negotiated and took advantage of closeouts, free or reduced freight and any promotion offered to us that made sense for our business.”