Around here on the 25th of August most people are thinking about summer winding down and the kids heading back to school. But I know what you're thinking. . . . it's only four months to Christmas! That may seem far away to most people but we retailers know it will be here before we know it. We'd better be ready.
Here are some of my predictions, thoughts, and tips to prepare for the 2008 holiday season.
1. My 2008 prediction. While most pundits and experts will be predicting holiday shopping season that falls somewhere between soft and disastrous, I'm taking a different route. I'm predicting that (short of some catastrophic event beyond human comprehension) there will be a holiday season. That's right; I'm going out on a limb and predicting that we will indeed have a holiday season in 2008.
Since we know the holiday is coming, why not plan to make it a successful one? Why go into the holiday not planning to succeed? Here's my advice: Look at your 2007 holiday results, review how you're trending over the last eight months, then create a realistic stretch goal. Don't plan low, don't plan unrealistically high, but do plan to be successful.
2. Be very picky about your seasonal hiring. One of the upsides of this "challenging" economy will be the higher number of quality people in the seasonal hiring pool. People who either would not have considered a second job or are re-entering the workforce will be looking for a holiday opportunity. You might as well be the person to give it to them - if they have the makings of great employees.
Don't settle for a run-of-the-mill carbon-based life form when you can hire people who will help you achieve your planned success. And don't be afraid of hiring highly-, if not over-, qualified applicants. Some of my best seasonal hires have been pharmaceutical salespeople, bankers, and college professors. As with every holiday season, be aggressive in seeking out qualified applicants and wrap up your seasonal hires as early as possible.
3. Use this holiday to successfully steal your competitor's customers. I'm calling this year the Beg, Borrow, or Steal Holiday Season. Retailers without unique products, enticing store events, or a differentiated store experience engaging events will Beg for shoppers to no avail. There are too many options available to consumers for them to settle for shopping in boring me-too stores. Those are the retailers likely to lose their own customers this holiday season.
Other retailers will successfully Borrow their competitor's customers by advertising rock-bottom low prices. While this may create a short-term sales bump, unless the retailer can profit from this approach the benefit will be extremely short-lived. January and February could be littered with broken-down retailers who tried to Borrow their way through the holidays.
The most successful retailers will use the 2008 holiday season to Steal their competitor's customers. Attracting customers through a blend of unique products, compelling events, and aggressive pricing all delivered via a memorable experience will result in new loyal customers with a future revenue stream. At the same time, these retailers will be able to retail their own customers against the aggressive discounters and e-tailers.
4. Last but not least, now is the time to plan how you will capture every single store visitor's contact information. Prepare now for drawings, giveaways, and birthday clubs - whatever it takes to get that store visitor to tell you his name and how to contact him again. Every contact is a potential future sale. Use your success this holiday season to create a successful 2009.
Ho, Ho, Ho, four months and counting. And now it's off to the pool for the last weekday visit before the kids start school tomorrow.
