How to Prepare Your Fashion Retail Business for the Holiday Season

Posted 14 June 2022 in Uncategorized by wholawholesale

It’s never too early to start preparing for the holiday shopping season. The end-of-year rush presents an opportunity for clothing store owners to make record sales and cement customer relationships – but only if you have a plan.

Every year, there’s a spike in Christmas sales, and despite the pandemic, this year will be no different. According to the AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, Aussies are set to spend over $11 billion on Christmas gifts this year. GUMTREE found that 64% of Australians plan to spend more than $250 on presents, while 38% plan to spend more than $500.

So how can you capture this demand without making rookie mistakes like ordering too much stock or selling out too fast?

In this guide, we’ll help you prepare every aspect of your fashion business for the 2021 holiday season, from PRODUCT SOURCING to marketing and customer service. Read on to find out how to holiday-proof your store this year.

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WILL CONSUMERS SHOP IN-STORE OR ONLINE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON?

Before we get into the store preparations, let’s have a look at how consumers’ shopping habits have changed over the past year. The biggest question is, will most people shop online or in-store?

In 2020, online shopping skyrocketed, with more people shopping online than ever before. This trend may have been accelerated by COVID-19 health concerns and restrictions, but the industry had already been heading in this direction before the pandemic because of convenience.

According to the global sales data of Criteo, a major online advertising company, online retail sales increased 22% year over year in early December 2020.

The company’s 2021 HOLIDAY SEASON SHOPPING REPORT found that 85% of Australian consumers say it’s either “somewhat likely” or “very likely” that they’ll shop for presents online this holiday season, while 75% plan to shop for presents in a physical store.

At the same time, in-store shopping remains popular for various reasons. In Criteo’s study, 67% of Australian respondents said they “enjoy the experience of visiting stores during the holiday season”, while 51% said they “get good ides in store” and 49% said they’re “keen to support local businesses”.

Seeing these numbers, it’s likely that “hybrid shopping” (a combination of online and in-store shopping) will be the way that most customers purchase their Christmas presents.

With this in mind, whether you own a PHYSICAL OR ONLINE CLOTHING STORE, it’s imperative that you get ready in time for the holiday season.

HOW TO PREPARE YOUR FASHION BOUTIQUE FOR THE HOLIDAYS

1. HAVE A BUDGET

It’s extremely important to have a clear budget in place for the holiday shopping season. How much stock do you need and how much are you going to spend on it?

You’ll need to find a balance between not ordering enough stock and ordering too much.

In the former case, you’ll sell out too fast and you’ll have to scramble for extra inventory last-minute. This way, you could miss out on profit.

In the latter case, you’ll be left with lots of dead stock that you’ll have to discount after the holidays. This could severely impact your bottom line.

Using data from previous years is a great way to gain insights and predict this year’s sales. See how much you sold last year in the run-up to the holiday season, and spend 10-20% more this year to account for the projected increase in demand.

If this is your first year, don’t order too much stock in advance. You have no idea how much you’ll be able to sell. Instead, use a wholesale marketplace like Whola where you can purchase quick-selling fashion items in small packs and place orders as often as you need.

We’re open 24/7 and aim to dispatch within 24 hours so you can restock quickly and often until you have a better understanding of how much you can sell during the holidays.

If you need support in buying into new styles, sign up for our BUY NOW PAY LATER programme and defer payment by 30 days, only on Whola!

2. PLAN YOUR INVENTORY

Once you have a budget in mind, it’s time to strategically purchase items that you know will sell. There are two main ways of deciding what stock to buy:

Use last year’s data. Identify which items sold out and repurchase similar ones. Knowing which stock didn’t perform well will also help you avoid any leftover stock this year.
Test stock in the lead-up to the season. Test your stock before rushing to bulk-buy items straight away. Order a small amount of stock leading up to the peak shopping period and see how it performs. If it does well, you can reorder it in bulk for the holiday season.

It’s also a good idea to order a mix of trending items and long-time bestsellers.

Ordering all new-in styles is risky as you have no way of knowing whether your customers will like them. It’s best to have a healthy mix between trendy styles that will draw customers in, alongside classic items you know your customers love year after year.

Whola has a huge variety of styles that you can mix and match to stock your entire fashion boutique. Our wholesale marketplace has over 100 hot-selling Australian labels in one place. If you need advice, our support team is ready to help you choose the styles that will work best for your business.

In addition, you can browse our GIFTING MUST-HAVES and merchandise brands like DAN300, SWIISH BEAUTY and DAMSELFLY CANDLES to provide your guests with fast gift-buying opportunities at checkout.

And best of all, we aim to dispatch all orders within 24 hours, so you can be sure that your products will arrive in time for the holiday shopping frenzy.

3. REVAMP YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY

The lead-up to the holiday season is the perfect time to revamp your marketing strategy and get your audience excited about what you have to offer.

For successful marketing, you need to have a solid understanding of your CUSTOMER AVATARS and which channels are best to target them on. There are many types of marketing tactics that you can use to maximise your reach and generate as much interest in your fashion store as possible:

Create holiday-themed content across all marketing channels. Lean into the Christmas spirit and help get your customers in the mood for this special time of year with holiday-themed content. Make sure to let your customers know that you have exciting things coming their way that are only available at this time of the year.
Share holiday gift guides via email: With 60% OF CUSTOMERS saying that they’ve purchased a new product in a marketing email they’ve received, creating a holiday gift guide is a no-brainer. You can even target niche audience segments by creating custom guides. For example, curate a list of “Christmas gifts for her”, or “holiday gifts for boho babes”.
Offer sneak peeks of new items on social media. Sharing sneak peeks of new items that you’ll have in stock during the holiday season will also generate interest among your target audience. Make sure you’re choosing the right social media channels for your customer avatar – you can find out more in the social media section of our RETAIL STRATEGY GUIDE.
Think about offers and promotions for your store. Offering a limited-time sale or a free holiday gift with orders is a great way to get ahead of your competition. For example, if a customer buys apparel over $100, you can offer them a free gift to give to someone (or keep for themselves) with a value of $20 or less. Such promotions won’t break the bank but they’ll attract budget-conscious customers looking for Christmas deals.

For more tips on how to supercharge your marketing, check out our new MARKETING COURSE for fashion retailers. We’ll take your hand and walk you through everything you need to know about driving online sales.

5. DECORATE YOUR STORE FOR THE HOLIDAYS

In-store shopping is still so popular thanks to the magical shopping experience you just can’t get online. So, creating the perfect holiday atmosphere for your customers is essential.

However, beware that decorating your physical store in October might be too early to turn your store into a Christmas wonderland. Keep an eye on nearby stores and direct competitors to see when they decorate: you don’t want to seem too eager to welcome Santa into your store.

Also consider the style of decorations you use this year. You may not want to invest in cheesy, mass-produced red-white-and-green holiday décor. Instead, opt for more neutral colours and organic materials. For example, you can use paper, dried flowers and branches.

You can even try DIY-ing your Christmas décor and upcycling some unique decorations. Your customers will appreciate the effort, the personal touch and the sustainable approach.

Look up “organic modern Christmas décor” on Pinterest for some ideas on how to make your store’s decorations and window displays stand out this holiday season.

5. MAKE SURE YOUR ECOMMERCE STORE IS READY

During the peak of holiday shopping (usually late November to December), online sales will skyrocket. The last thing you want is your ecommerce to crash because of an influx of visitors and multiple checkouts at the same time.

Now is the best time to do a thorough health check of your online store, whilst things are still relatively calm. Is the customer journey smooth? Are product images and descriptions high-quality? Are your shipping and return policies updated?

Optimise your ecommerce for the season by adding your gift guides and other holiday-themed promotional content directly to your site. That way, customers are more likely to add even more items to their shopping baskets.

7. PROVIDE OUTSTANDING CUSTOMER SERVICE

Customer service is key for every store, especially during the holiday season. Customers want to feel safe, calm and supported whilst shopping during one of the busiest times of the year.

Make sure your staff are trained properly in dealing with customers professionally. They need to offer a stress-free, personal shopping experience to not only boost sales but also increase customer loyalty.

The holidays are a joyful time, but they can also be overwhelming as we all try to plan a perfect evening, cook a perfect dinner, and buy perfect gifts for all our loved ones. Have compassion for your customers and make them feel like you’re there for them no matter how rushed they’re feeling.

CONCLUSION: PREPARING YOUR RETAIL BUSINESS FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON

The holiday season can be a mad rush for fashion stores. Luckily, there are several steps you can take to prepare well before most people start their Christmas shopping sprees.

Planning your budget and ordering your inventory using online wholesalers like Whola will help to ensure you have everything you need for your customers. In addition, investing time and money into your marketing strategy now will help generate the interest of your audience and provide the magical experience they’re looking for.

Finally, make sure that both your physical and online stores are prepped for the peak shopping times so that your retail business will run smoothly.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT PREPARING YOUR FASHION STORE FOR THE HOLIDAYS

HOW DO I PREPARE MY BUSINESS FOR THE HOLIDAYS?

The best way to prepare your business for the holidays is to start early with the planning. You need to make sure that your retail and marketing strategies are optimised for the holiday season. Make sure that your budget and product sourcing is accurate and reliable, and your stores are fully prepped for the influx of shoppers.

HOW DO I PREPARE FOR CHRISTMAS IN RETAIL?

There are several aspects of your retail business that you need to consider when preparing for Christmas:

Establishing your budget.
Planning your inventory.
Revamping your marketing strategy.
Decorating your store.
Optimising your ecommerce store.
Perfecting your customer service.

HOW DO I PREPARE FOR HOLIDAY SALES?

First thing’s first, make sure you have enough budget set aside. Strategically plan your inventory to gain maximum profit and minimum dead stock. Optimise your marketing to generate interest and grow your customer base. Prep your online and offline stores for a seamless shopping experience. And have the best holiday season ever!