Tips to Retain Customer after Christmas

If you aren’t doing everything you can to boost post-holiday sales, you’re leaving a lot of money on the table. Smart retailers know there are many ways to retain customers after Christmas and into the New Year. It goes far beyond holding the obligatory clearance sale on seasonal items and unsold gift-intended merchandise. Here are some tips to keep the holiday shopping season going even after the holidays are over.

Start Now to Retain Customers after Christmas

Gift cards provide excellent opportunities to boost your post-holiday sales. Shoppers looking for gifts – especially as time gets short – turn to gift cards because they’re quick and easy. Most gift card recipients – 72 percent in 2010 – spend more than the card’s face value.

You can use gift cards to reward your holiday shoppers, too, giving them an automatic reason to return. Or you can use discount coupons instead, making this an ideal way to extend both online and in-store shopping after Christmas. Make the cards or discounts exclusive to January.

Many Happy Returns

Industry experts say 20 percent of Americans plan to return one or more holiday gifts. Will you be waiting for them with open arms?

Most people expect long lines and cranky encounters when they return merchandise. Turning returns into a welcoming, upbeat experience will please customers and encourage them to hang around and buy more. Make the process as simple and fast as possible. If lines are inevitable, promote new merchandise to those who are waiting, via signage, video, or product displays.

In fact, re-merchandising your entire store will drive more sales. Tired as you may be after the holiday rush, if your store or products look haggard, you’ll turn away shoppers intent on spending. We’re heading into a fresh new year, so a store or website that looks fresh and offers tempting new inventory can attract and retain customers. Remember that every customer service interaction, return or exchange represents an opportunity to up-sell that customer.

Additional Opportunities

Engage with customers who are not waiting in line. Demonstrate a new product, hand out samples, and keep the festive atmosphere in play.

Keep your original marketing, but change it up. Create a social media promotion that offers a time-sensitive discount, which can only be redeemed in-store. Or run a contest asking fans and followers to post a picture of the weirdest gift they received. Reward everyone who participates with something small, and choose an overall winner you can give a new product you want to promote.

For Online Customers:

• Abandoned carts can be deadly for retailers. But you know who those folks are, so send them a post-holiday email retargeting them.
• For customers who indicated their purchase was a gift, send an email that says “your recipient may also like…”.
• Send a follow-up email to holiday purchasers, thanking them and making them a new January-only offer.

Promotions, activities and procedures aimed at helping you retain customers after Christmas so you can turn those customers from bargain-hunters into full-price shoppers, boosting sales and getting your new year off to a great start.

Palmer Retail Solutions strives to offer our clients the absolute best combination of innovation, quality, service, and value for our diversified custom store fixtures and merchandising displays. For more information about our designs, retail fixtures, cash wraps, kiosks, or point of purchase displays, visit our website at: http://www.palmerretailsolutions.com.