How to Prepare for This Year’s Holiday Rush
Develop A Promotional Strategy
The key to preparation for this year’s holiday rush will be to start early, and developing a marketing and promotional strategy is no exception. Start yesterday. Take a look at your previous holiday promotions and consider if the same approach will work this year. Likely not. With inventory shortages and price increases abound, you may want to consider promotions that are less discount based and instead based on providing your customers with incentives like freebies or service-based giveaways.
Switching up your strategy can be scary, so here’s a few tips:
Stay on brand.
Plan with inventory in mind.
Consider an omnichannel approach.
Announce sales in advance.
Managing Inventory Shortfalls
Managing inventory for the holiday rush will likely be your biggest challenge. What can be difficult to forecast for a decorator under normal circumstances, will be an ongoing task this year. Open accounts with as many suppliers as you can so that you can shop around to fulfill complete orders if one wholesaler falls short on inventory.
Taking into consideration blank apparel suppliers’ inventory shortfalls due to supply chain issues from COVID-19 fallout, be sure you’re using the tools at your disposal. Vendors like Sanmar have begun supplying customers with resources like an Excel document that’s updated daily with in-stock styles as well as a chart depicting current inventory levels across all brands.
Solidify Your Customer-Supplier Relationships
Take some time to check in with the suppliers you will rely upon heavily during the holiday rush. Strengthening those strategic relationships now will ensure long term benefits. Ask questions and encourage open communication about realistic expectations during the holiday rush.
While many suppliers have been fantastic about providing customers with periodic industry updates regarding supply chain issues, price increases, and inventory shortages, sometimes it pays to ask a few extra questions. Your sales reps or high-level contacts may have a more in-depth understanding of the very complex situation our industry is currently facing.
Account for Parcel Slowdowns and Price Hikes
In regard to parcel shipping, this is a year unlike any other and if your business relies on major providers like UPS, FedEx, or USPS, you should prepare for service slowdowns and price hikes. All three shippers have announced planned peak surcharges this holiday season amid soaring demand that has left a “capacity crunch”, which anticipates higher volume than can be accommodated.
This raises the question – do you pass these price hikes on to your customer? Yes. The pandemic related issues that face the shipping industry are well documented with information readily available. It’s important to be open and honest with your customers about any possible price increases, but generally speaking, people will be understanding.
Be sure to provide yourself with extra time as well. As we inch closer to the holidays, once reliable services will become far less dependable due to labor shortages coupled with demand that surpasses delivery capacity. You may want to consider other options, specifically when shipping locally. Can you utilize a local messenger service? Getting creative will give you a competitive edge.