4 Ways To Prepare Your Store For The Holiday Rush

Business is about to pick up if it hasn’t already. With the holiday shopping rush in full swing and only three weeks left to go before Christmas Day, businesses all over Canada are ramping up their efforts to accommodate the heavy increase in shoppers they are getting. Of course, this takes a lot of effort and the implementation of many steps. So what are the best ways to prepare your store for the holiday rush?

Here are four:

1. Stock up on inventory. It’s all about supply and demand. And during the busy holiday season, the demand of your products is generally at an all time high. Be sure to stock your shelves with enough of your products so that you don’t run out this holiday season. It’s important, however, to not overdo it. On HuffingtonPost.com, Teddy Nykiel warns that you have to take a careful approach to much inventory you order.

“Look back on how much you\’ve sold of various products in previous years and use that to estimate how much inventory you\’ll need this season,” he advises, “If you don\’t already, consider using an inventory management software or a point-of-sale system with inventory tracking capabilities to more easily monitor how much product you have and what you still need.”

2. Make sure your customer service is on point. It’s important to provide excellent customer service all year round. But during the holiday shopping season, customers become extra mindful of the various locations they can go to in order to get the items they need. The ones they choose are often based on how good the customer service is. If yours is better than your competition’s, you stand to earn a few extra bucks!

“If you haven’t completely nailed down customer service essentials, or have been thinking about revising your current policies, now is a good time to carve them out,” says Justine Grey on AmericanExpress.com, “Both retail and service-based businesses should have clearly defined policies in place to help customers through their buying or service experience.”

3. Get your whole team on board. This is definitely the time of year when you’ll need all the members of your staff to be at their best. It may even be in your best interests to hire additional staff members to take on the holiday shopping rush. You definitely want to make sure that each member of your team is on the same page as it relates to handling customer inquiries, locating products and making everyone’s shopping experiences great.

“For many businesses, it\’s all hands on deck during the holidays,” reminds Nykiel, “But if you need more hands, consider hiring a temporary employee or two… Remember, though, that training someone new can be time-consuming.” He notes that cross-training your full-time and part-time employees will be important so that they’ll know how to do each other’s jobs.

4. Offer payment options and gift cards. At Canadian POS Corporation, we know that there are two things that make the majority of holiday shoppers happy. Firstly, they enjoy the freedom of being able to pay with the payment method of their choice. And often, it’s either credit card or debit card. Secondly, they love being able to buy gift cards. They make holiday shopping so much easier!

To begin accepting credit and debit with either Countertop or Wireless POS terminals, give us a call at 1-877-748-2884 or email us at info@localhost. We can also get you those gift cards that everyone is looking for!