Table of contents
Boxing Day remains one of the calendar’s most significant sales shopping days, despite the rise of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. With the right preparation, businesses can transform a day that shoppers might dread (crowded stores and hassles in the returns and exchanges line) into one that will keep their post-Christmas spirits up all day long.
Here are some tips to make the most of it:
Promote your Boxing Day sales and offers
It’s a given that people will be out shopping on December 26, even if they might not want to be. But you need to give them a reason (amid all the major sales at various retailers that day) why they should visit your business.
Send your email subscribers a message (with an enticing subject line, of course) outlining your offers.
Streamline the returns and exchanges process
Assign a dedicated area for returns and exchanges, and schedule enough employees to ensure each area of the store is properly staffed. It also helps to station an employee at the front of the store to greet customers, inform them of the day’s promotions and, if needed, direct them to the returns and exchanges area.
Make shopping a relaxing experience
After a frenzied holiday season, most consumers need a break from long queues, loud music, and the general madness of Christmas shopping. So, create a Zen oasis in your store with soothing music and beverages like tea and cucumber water. Also, make sure everything is organised and tidy — you don’t want it to look like it was just hit by a tornado of Christmas Eve shoppers (even if it was).
Highlight new merchandise
Boxing Day sales are obviously a huge draw, but you need to get customers to keep coming back afterwards too. Display new items front and centre, and consider offering a slight discount on new merchandise to incentivise shoppers who came in to return presents or to make a purchase with a gift card.
Give customers a reason to come back
Turn a single purchase into multiple sales by incentivising return visits. When customers make a purchase at your store on Boxing Day, give them (or email them) a voucher for significant savings in the days and weeks ahead.
For example, offer them 25 percent off of new merchandise during the first week of January, and maybe 30 percent off the following week. Whatever the promotion, make it attractive enough to entice shoppers to keep coming back long after Christmas, building a solid foundation of sales to carry you through the beginning of the new year.
You might also encourage shoppers to join your loyalty programme so they can get rewards or savings throughout the year.
