We love Christmas and although it’s only mid-October, where is all the Christmas stock and promos???

America Kmart’s 100 days till Christmas layby promotion is fantastic and while the promotion attracts a huge number of complaints, it's a sensible message from the big box retailer – choose your gifts now, layby and spread the financial stress of the festive season. Laybuy plugin's are available so make sure you sign up and get them on your online store.  Our favourite is Laybuy.

So how early is too early to start your Christmas promotion? Last year Target began their Christmas promotion in early October and like Kmart received a huge number of complaints.  What is interesting is that almost 40% of shoppers have begun their Christmas shopping by Labour Weekend so why are people complaining? Traditionally retailers in New Zealand begin to promote Christmas from Labour weekend, but does that mean that those waiting to launch promotions are missing out on sales?

Personally I love Christmas so bring out the tinsel and the jolly red-suited gentleman when you like, but if your promotional offer is focused on giftware, Christmas food and wine or that perfect outfit for the endless rounds of Christmas functions, when can you successfully launch your promotion to maximise sales without incurring the wrath of your customers? And what can you do through social media to reach more potential customers?

Christmas is traditionally the most important sales period of the year for retailers, the festive trading period can constitute up to 40% of a retailer's annual trade.  It is not only important from a financial perspective but it is also the most crucial time to develop new relationships with customers. 

To maximise this opportunity retailers need to use creativity in their Christmas Promotional Strategy to build a point of difference to competitors.

So are you ready to take full advantage of Christmas Trading?

• Robust Christmas Promotional Calendar which creates increased average sales value and repeat custom
• Online Store to take advantage of hours your physical store isn’t open but customers are wanting to shop
• Mobile and tablet shopping to drive traffic and sales
• Pop-Up store presence for online businesses to maximise sales opportunities and increase brand penetration
• Delivery options – convenience is paramount over the festive period and will lead to increased sales
• Fully trained sales team confident in upselling, add-on sales and focused on delivering outstanding customer service
• Operational processes optimised to ensure costs do not increase out of line with sales growth

We have been working with a number of clients in different sectors to ensure their Christmas Promotions are Smart, Simple and Deliver Results. The key to a successful strategy, convenience. If you are not prepared for the Christmas rush connect with us to have a chat about what will work for you, all businesses are different and you need something that works for your customers and your store. The promotions are heavily weighted in Social Media marketing because it is a cost-effective way to reach customers. Make sure you have graphics designed and ready to post and have a consistent feel across all your customer touchpoints. 

Finally, if you are looking for inspiration look no further than the emotion that a well-executed Christmas promotion like our favourite, John Lewis delivers every year.  This one is still our favourite from 2013, The Hare and The Bear (though it was a tough call) and we are waiting with baited breath for the gorgeousness which is sure to be 2018's advert (should be around the 9^th November). Hope you enjoy it and it gets you thinking about the importance of planning and executing a successful Bricks and Clicks Christmas Strategy.