updated September 7, 2022
The products and strategies you need for a merry Q4
To understand the upcoming holiday season and prep for Q4 sales, let’s see how the 2021 holiday shopping season fared. According to Insider Intelligence:
“The 2021 US holiday season posted the strongest retail growth in more than 20 years, bolstered by resurgent brick-and-mortar sales and healthy ecommerce growth.
“Total retail spending grew 16.1% year over year (YoY) to $1.221 trillion. Brick-and-mortar sales surged 17.3% to $1.017 trillion, while ecommerce rose 10.4% to $204.20 billion.
“We expect 2022 holiday retail sales to increase 3.3% to $1.262 trillion, with brick-and-mortar increasing 0.9% to $1.026 trillion and ecommerce climbing 15.5% to $235.86 billion.”
Now, given how this year is turning out economically, forecasts must be taken with a grain of salt. The above report was released in February 2022. But one thing is certain: brick and mortar stores will continue to see more shoppers.
So, the question is, how are you going to turn that increased foot traffic into strong Q4 sales?
We have some ideas.
- Know what today’s customers want and expect from the in-store shopping experience
- Optimize your store’s layout and marketing plan before Q4 hits
- Stock up now with products that are perennial crowd-pleasers
Q4 sales: The blockbuster Q4 shopping days
Although people do shop for Halloween, there’s no specific shopping day designated for this spook-filled fest. However, the rest of Q4 has its own set shopping schedule and customer expectations:
• BFCM. The Black Friday Cyber Monday stretch is the 5 shopping days between the two biggest days. This is also known as Cyber 5 or Turkey 5 and is the peak of shopping. Many stores, of course, jumpstart their discounts ahead of the official window, but this specific block of days is what your customers have in mind.
• Green Monday. The second Monday of December is the last safe day to send presents due to holiday shipping deadlines. Generally, discounts aren’t as good as those found during BFCM, but there are bargains worth pursuing. “Green” refers to money, but you can certainly use it to promote eco-friendly products!
• Super Saturday. The last Saturday before Christmas. Shoppers still expect to find some great deals.
• Christmas Eve. Procrastinators’ favorite shopping day. They are hopeful for bargains, but they know they’ve missed the best deals.
• After Christmas Sales. These are 6 days between Christmas and New Year—7 if you include New Year’s Day. There should be some leftover deals plus special clearance items. It’s also a great time for selling accessories for those big-ticket items purchased earlier.
A little more about Green Monday
Green Monday was the brainchild of eBay back in 2007. It typically doesn’t have the same hype as the other big shopping days, but that shouldn’t stop you from capitalizing on it.
Ideas to make this a big event in your store include:
• Build anticipation through online marketing.
Using social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, you can promote your upcoming Green Monday deals. You can post upcoming deals, incorporate a countdown, and even run like/share/retweet promotions to get the word out. Social Media is one of the strongest marketing tools available to you, and it’s free!
• Start sales at midnight to get a head start on selling.
Don’t waste a single second of your sales opportunities. After building excitement on social media, unleash your customers onto the deals you’ve been promoting as soon as the clock strikes midnight. Remember, you might see an increase in traffic, so you’ll want to ensure your website is ready for the load.
• Use a virtual warehouse to handle inventory and fulfillment.
If you’re looking for additional items to sell, a wholesale distributor such as Petra can help you tackle several hurdles. Petra offers no minimum order on product, so you get only the inventory numbers you need. And we provide dropship, blind ship, and FBA solutions to fulfill orders from our warehouse that will go directly to your customers. This saves your time, energy, and resources for other pressing business matters, such as customer service and marketing.
And a little more about After Christmas sales
According to Statista, in 2021, 13% of holiday shoppers were expected to buy items in December and January. That means that After Christmas sales can still be captured to give you momentum going into the new year.
So even though holidays will be winding down, customers will be visiting your store for accessories to go along with their new presents, or to buy for themselves what others failed to put under the tree.
In-store shopper expectations
Consumer expectations for the in-store shopping experience have changed over the years. Raydiant.com has released their State of Consumer Behavior 2022 report and it’s an eye-opener.
Here are some key stats that will help you tailor your brick-and-mortar store to best meet today’s customer expectations.
• 44.4% of consumers prefer to shop in-store
Why? Customers:
• Enjoy the experience of shopping in and visiting a physical location
• Like to see and touch products directly before purchasing
• Don’t want to wait for delivery
• Don’t want to pay shipping costs
• Enjoy unique products local retailers offer that can’t be found online
• 77% consider the in-store customer experience to be either “important” or “very important”
“The consumers we surveyed are clear: when it comes to shopping in a store, the reason they do so isn’t convenience or even necessarily price. It’s the ability to have an experience that sets in-store shopping apart. In an era where momentum seems to be shifting ever-further towards convenience, the value of great in-store experiences is at an all-time high.”
The takeaway here? Embrace WHY they like to shop in-person. Play to those expectations.
• 83% of consumers are more likely to return to your store after a positive in-store experience
“The relative success or failure of your in-store experiences is arguably the single most important factor influencing your organization’s bottom line.”
• 63% of shoppers will spend more per visit when they have a positive in-store experience
Repeat business and more money spent per visit? Slam dunk.
So, what makes for a positive in-store experience in 2022?
And to win their business, shoppers suggested 5 things retail stores can do:
For strong Q4 sales, let your store do the selling
Since customers want to shop in your store and they are anticipating a good retail shopping experience, this is the perfect time to make your store stand out. Don’t be a scrooge—create a warm and inviting holiday ambience! This means you need to optimize the outside and inside of your store to maximize Q4 sales.
And don’t forget—90% of customers turn right when entering a store. So, bear that in mind as you create a holiday-themed walking path through your store.
• Combine holiday music with real scents or industrial-grade diffusers to evoke warm memories; use string lighting for holiday ambiance
• Create a holiday-themed event space for events like a holiday kickoff with free beverages and cookies, joint fundraisers with a local non-profit, a kids’ fun zone, and a pampering station for tired shoppers
• Use lots of short, easy-to-read red sales signs
• Put stocking stuffers in your impulse-buy areas
• Create and display your own gift basket bundles
• Offer bargains, limited-time deals, 2-for-1 deals, and extra holiday perks like free wrapping, local delivery, and gift cards/certificates
• And don’t forget to use your social media platforms to keep your customers in the loop
Stocking stuffers and impulse sales
Your customers have spent hours in your business considering, picking up, putting down, and turning over items—inspecting each as closely as they can. Now they’re in line at the register. This is your chance to promote impulse buys.
Whatever your business, a colorful, eye-catching display coupled with universally needed items or hot holiday deals is the perfect recipe to net those last-minute buys. Urgency is a solid strategy to encourage those impulse sales. If you’re running a “limited time” or “today only” sale, try placing those items as close to the register as possible so they see them as they’re waiting in line.
You can increase that sense of urgency by highlighting the value of your deal. For example, if you’re running a 2-for-1 or BOGO sale, try placing those items near the register and calling out that sale with colorful, eye-catching signs. Making customers see a limited-time-but-exciting offer sweetens the pot and heightens that sense of urgency and fear of missing out.
Just the Stats
Let’s examine some of the statistics surrounding impulse sales to better understand their importance. According to soocial.com:
• 95% of Americans make in-store impulse purchases, and 88.6% buy things impulsively online
• Americans make up to 156 impulse purchases every year; annual spending is about $5,400 with the average individual purchase about $81.75
• 67.2% of male and 62.6% of female Americans admitted making impulse purchases once a month
• 1 in 3 purchases made around the holidays is on a whim
• FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) seems to be a massive driver of impulse purchases online
Choosing products for outstanding Q4 sales
What’s going to be hot this year? Although we don’t have a crystal ball to predict which products will fly off your shelves, we do know certain categories will be VERY popular.
Kitchen appliances
Food is arguably the most important part of any holiday gathering. Your customers want to create and indulge in dishes they don’t get to any other time of year. Whether it’s a Thanksgiving feast, Hanukkah or Christmas dinner, or New Year’s dinner party, ensure your customers have the small kitchen appliances they need. From specialty appliances to bakeware, and other kitchen accessories, we have the kitchen selections your customers are looking for to both gift and use themselves!
Smart home gifts
Smart products for the home continue to grow in popularity. We have a huge “smart” selection that you can browse to see what works best for your store. From smart photo frames, bulbs, security systems, and outlets to watches, TVs, scales, prepaid smartphones, and more, Petra is your smart choice when it comes to smart products.
Earbuds, headphones, and personal electronics
Audio-centric gifts are sure-fire sellers. Whether it’s a turntable, Bluetooth speaker, boombox, sound bar, portable wired or Bluetooth earbuds and headphones, Petra has what you need in stock and ready to ship.
Gaming accessories
Gaming is another slam dunk category of gifts. Petra carries handheld gaming systems, controllers, gaming headsets, and other gaming accessories.
TV mounts and antennas
If a new 4K or 8K TV is on a gift list, a matching TV mount is a must. And as streaming TV continues to increase in popularity and customers dump their cable/satellite TV provider, standalone antennas provide access to free locally broadcasts as well as network television.
Cell phone accessories
There are more cell phone accessories beyond the basic protective cases and screen protectors.
There are also mounts, home and vehicle signal boosters, chargers, power banks, cables, etc.
Q4 sales can make or break many companies. So, plan now to make the most of every sales opportunity to finish the year out strong. And fill your brick-and-mortar store with the latest tech and gift-worthy presents by first shopping at PetraCentral! No order is too small or too large.
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Happy Q4 sales!