3 Ways Retailers Can Capitalize on Holiday Sales

It’s that time of the year when sales take on new horizons and retailers have the opportunity to capitalize on fresh consumer enthusiasm during the holiday season. The festive period is here, and retailers must prepare and refine their approach to make the most of increased sales opportunities.

The holiday period proves itself to be one of the most important times of the year for retailers, providing significant sales opportunities that can drive growth. According to Statista, U.S. consumers spent approximately $923 billion during the shopping season in 2023. This year’s estimates are expected to record a 4 percent increase, with retail sales over the holiday shopping season expected to reach $960 billion in 2024.

While it's critical to drive sales during the festive season, retailers need to think long term and deploy results-driven strategies that can help them thrive even after the holiday season.

Personalization Becoming a Game-Changer

Creating personalized discounts for consumers can play an important role in enabling retailers to make their customers feel valued and thus drive long-term customer loyalty. Personalization comes through more than just messaging and emails. The importance of merchants fully understanding their customers — their preferences, purchasing habits and styles — is key.

Utilizing technologies such as customer relationship management (CRM) software provides retailers with visibility of each shopper’s activity. It provides in-store associates with actionable data around customer preferences, sizing and purchase history, which allows associates to tailor every interaction to specific customers.

The integration of personalization can be paired with loyalty schemes and personalized promotions that leave customers feeling valued, driving loyalty and helping retailers develop long-term relationships with shoppers. Customers will feel more connected to the brand with memorable interactions and associates can easily add value to their in-store visit, increasing sales opportunities and encouraging future purchases.

Turbocharging Transactions

Today’s retail landscape is fast-paced, and so are consumers. Self-checkout technology is being adopted frequently by retailers as it enables faster purchases, which, in turn, increases the number of transactions that retailers can complete in a day. Importantly, self-checkout solutions ensure that in-store associates are no longer tied to checkouts, enabling them to spend their time delivering enhanced customer experiences. Solutions such as RFID-powered self-checkout technology, where all items are automatically scanned for the customer with 100 percent accuracy, significantly enhance the checkout process, reducing the time spent completing purchases for customers and creating a seamless experience at the final touchpoint of the retail journey.

As we approach the holiday season, retailers will experience increased foot traffic. In order to remain efficient, their point-of-sale (POS) system must operate effectively. Aside from self-checkout, retailers can equip their in-store associates with mobile POS solutions that allow customers to check out from anywhere in-store. This plays an important role in reducing shop floor queuing, significantly increasing customer satisfaction. Associates can meet customers on the shop floor, provide recommendations and promotions tailored to each individual consumer, and complete the transaction on the spot.

Driving Customer Retention

Retailers want to succeed long term and build a loyal customer base. It's important during the holiday season to keep the long-term picture in mind. Their short-term actions can play an important role in this, delivering high-quality experiences that convert in-store visitors into loyal customers. The festive period is a great time to do this. Ultimately, the technology that retailers utilize will be the key to supporting this goal. Innovative solutions can help retailers achieve increased revenue as well as secure a valuable customer base and attract new customers for the long term.

While tech can be extremely useful and important when developing and perfecting retail processes, it cannot replace the human touch. It’s important to display the correct balance when deploying new technology; keep the human element involved to promote the ultimate shopping experience. If retailers are able to master this, they'll see an uplift in sales and strengthen their customer loyalty base.

A Festive Feast

The festive season is one of the most important periods of the year for retailers. As the end of 2024 approaches, the appetite for gift-giving and capitalizing on in-store promotions can make or break a retailer’s year. Those that succeed this winter will be the retailers that can deliver speed, convenience and, importantly, high-quality in-store experiences.

Amber Hovious is vice president of marketing and partnerships at Teamwork Commerce, a leading omnichannel solution provider.