How to Turn Your Business Into the Shopping Home for the Holidays
You would be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t enjoy the holidays. It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The joy of the holiday season is so infectious that it can melt the heart of any Scrooge and soften the heart of every Grinch! Furthermore, if you’re a business owner, it’s the prime time to rake in some serious dough.
Aside from the deeper “reasons for the season,” the things that people love most about this time of year are gifts, music, sweets, and decorations. You can enhance your bottom line this season by infusing your business with an abundance of holiday cheer. Continue reading to see how to turn your business into the shopping home for the holidays.
The science behind getting in the spirit
The sights, smells, and sounds of the holiday are enough to produce feelings of joy, nostalgia, and longing. In other words, it produces a sensory overload. You see it in the faces of people who light up at the sight of decorations. You hear it in the out-of- key voices of passers-by humming timeless Christmas carols. It’s evident in the way that kids from ages 2 to 92 rush excitedly — or shuffle cautiously — to the kitchen at the whiff of freshly baked treats.
Psychologists say that some serious brain activity takes place because of the stimulants that the holidays unleash on the mind and senses. The pomp and circumstance of the holidays cause a spike in dopamine, the naturally occurring chemical in the brain that produces feelings of happiness. Happy customers are great for your bottom line! (Hint, hint.) The better people feel when they walk into your establishment, the more money they are likely to spend. Overload their senses with glistening decor, nostalgia-inducing music, and sweet aromas (even if you don’t have anything baking).
Ideas to turn your business into a home away from home for the holidays
The holidays create a major uptick in consumer spending. While your profit margin might naturally increase during the season, you can do certain things to catalyze larger profits, too.
You should already have a relationship with the other small businesses on your block. If not, shame on you! Start building some bridges with the other local merchants. During popular national holidays, you can come together to create events to bring people to the area.
One such idea is partnering with your peers to deck the block with commercial holiday decorations! That way, you can all benefit from the feel-good effect of holiday decorations. If people enter a winter wonderland upon arriving at your shopping district, they will be in the spirit of spending by the time they walk into your establishment.
In keeping with the theme of being neighborly, throw a holiday block party with the other businesses in your area. This will allow you to showcase what makes your business unique and special to people who have never frequented it before. It will also provide the perfect opportunity for cross-promoting. Praise of one business from another is the highest, most effective form of word-of- mouth.
Another way to increase revenue during the holidays is to offer extra services. Anything you can do to make life a little less hectic for Christmas shoppers is worth money. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel here.
Gift-wrapping is always a service that is popular with customers. You should also consider offering layaway if it’s not something that you usually offer. You can charge a little extra when customers put something in layaway, and your customers will appreciate being able to pay at their own pace. Also, it allows them to have a place to hide their gifts until they are ready to bring them home.
Speaking of getting gifts at the right time, you should consider offering gift delivery. One problem that parents face at Christmas is curious children who want to know what the big box bearing their name contains. A gift delivery option could alleviate the stress of having to hide presents from eager, adventurous little ones. What do they place under the tree until the night before the big day? Well, of course, your prewrapped decorative Christmas boxes!
