4 Strategies To Prepare Your Retail Business For The Holidays

According to the National Retail Federation, 2016 shopping trends have proven that online browsing begins as early as October. What does this mean for you? It means you should ensure that by now your business is fully prepared with a strategy, trends, and inventory! But if you’re not, don’t worry, we can help! Here are four points that will help determine if your business is ready for the holiday season:

Review past successes and failures

Hopefully you have access to sales data from past promotional campaigns. It’s extremely important to track what worked well for you and what didn’t turn out as expected.

Consider which products were your best sellers and what made them stand out. Additionally, track which items you struggled to sell. By having this data readily available, it will ensure that past mistakes are not repeated.

Prepare your marketing initiatives

Social media is one of the most successful forms of free marketing. The different types of creative campaigns you could run are endless. Make sure to research the new trends and topics and implement them into any new campaigns. By encouraging contests and social sharing, you will immediately increase your viewers.

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Manage your vendors

There is no time for vendors that deliver inventory late. When vendors are less than reliable, it’s best to avoid them and search for others. Think of a time when it was crucial that you received new inventory by a certain deadline. There were probably a lot of customers that were relying on you, right? During the holidays it’s especially important to keep to a tight schedule because you do not want to disappoint.

Research inventory financing options

During the holiday season especially, it’s important that you are fully equipt with enough inventory for the busy season. If you’re tight on the funds needed for pre-ordering, inventory financing is something to look into. Inventory financing is a line of credit or short-term loan made to a company so it can purchase products for sale.

Access to ‘quick cash’ to fulfill orders can be your lifeline during the holiday season. It can set you apart from your competitors when they tell their customers “I’m sorry we’re out of that product right now.”

The Bottom Line

Working capital loans, merchant capital, and business loans are all safe ways to expand inventory. Companies such as ourselves take pride in their reputation and would never steer you the wrong way. Take a look at what CMS Funding clients have to say!