Retailers’ efforts will make
holiday season successful

High gas prices! Internet competition! No good help! “Just excuses,” says retail consultant Doug Fleener, who believes profitable retailers will make their own successful holiday season.

Fleener—retail consultant and author of The Profitable Retailer: 56 Surprisingly Simple and Effective Lessons to Boost Your Sales and Profits—says the key to being profitable during the holidays is being well prepared and customer-focused. He offers these tips for a profitable holiday season:

• Welcome every customer. This cues the customer that no matter how busy the store looks, the staff is there to help and make the shopping experience a good one. Take down those “No food and drink” signs and offer everyone holiday drinks and snacks.

• Offer gift cards. Gift cards are an absolute must now that they account for close to one-third of holiday purchases. Provide gift boxes and wrapping to make the cards more special and differentiate them from other retailers’ cards.

• All holiday hires don’t have to be sales associates. Hire a person whose key functions include running purchases to customers’ cars, receiving shipments and keeping doors and windows clean. That person might also double as a greeter.

• Create a holiday mentor program. Match up seasonal hires with your permanent employees. Who better to teach than those who do it every day?

• Seek out a top-notch seasonal cashier. Those last 10 feet can make or break the store experience for many customers, so finding a good cashier may be worth thousands of dollars.

• Pre-wrap top-selling items. People love them. Always make sure your employees know how to wrap properly. A poorly wrapped present is worse than not offering gift wrapping at all.

• If you’re in a mall, do something nice for your mall manager. You never know when you might need a favor. The more you can make the manager feel appreciated, the more opportunities will come your way—media coverage, for example.

• To be a great place to shop, a retailer has to be a great place to work. Wow your staff this holiday by giving them retail survival kits that include energy bars, 10-minute break passes and aspirin. Bring in a masseuse. Order in lunch. Sing holiday songs to them. Keep it fun for the staff.

• Make the return process as painless as possible. When a customer enters the store with a return, have the employee approach the customer and offer to carry the product. Teach employees that returns are the second opportunity to wow the customer.

To learn more about Fleener and his retail consulting business, visit the Dynamic Experiences Group website: www.dynamicexperiencesgroup.com.