Santa’s On Holiday But Your Business Isn’t: Start Preparing Today

The man with the sack may still be on his holidays, but that doesn’t mean your business can forget about the busiest season of the year. For most companies the festive period translates into soaring sales, sky high demand and fantastic opportunities to launch new products and services. That said, for the best results you need to make the right choices. Everything from selecting the perfect packaging to nailing festive designs will give you the edge once the Xmas shopping season begins.

Let’s take a closer look.

Research Your Highest & Lowest Selling Products

Before summer has even ended, you should start your research for the festive season. Look at your sales trends from the past five years. Identify the highs and lows including what products become more popular through the festive period.

Candles are a great example because sales for candles always climb come autumn and winter.

By exploring the right data on Shopify or Google Analytics, you can start crafting a focused marketing strategy that will deliver.

Create a simple checklist or use a downloadable template to guarantee you’re not forgetting to check key metrics.

Think About Discounts

As customers are already incentivised to buy, discounts become less important through the festive period. However, you should keep a close eye on competitors. If they start dropping prices, you may need to follow suit to remain in the game.

Consider slashing the prices for items with lower sales. If the products aren’t going to sell regardless, you have nothing to lose. It could also give customers the push they need to give lesser known items a try.

Choose Your Packaging

At Christmas, packaging sells. Whether it’s a decorated tin or the standard box decorated with festive favourites, your packaging can make all the difference to those sales figures. That’s why you need to choose the perfect packaging for your product. Metal candle tins look stunning and help your candles stand out on shop shelves. Alternatively, you can explore cardboard tubes for an eco-spin that highlights the high level of nonrecyclable waste generated by other companies. There’s lots of ways to use packaging to win at Christmas.

Explore Festive Designs

Once you have selected the right packaging, you can start to finalise your festive design. It’s important to take care here. Certain design choices are easy to misconstrue and you might even miss out on a key demographic if your packaging is too festive-focused. Subtle choices are often best while remembering to maintain your brand identity.

Prepare Video & Photography

Once you have finalised the aesthetic of your products, consider arranging a photoshoot. This will provide you with plenty of images and videos to share on your socials whether that’s X, Instagram, or TikTok. With the right photography, you can capture the imagination of your audience and prepare them for a future sale.

Set A Plan For Your Warehouse

Often the greatest issues during the Christmas rush crop up in the warehouse. If you only have a small facility, it might not be suited for high levels of demand. That’s why it’s important to have a plan in place and the right staff on hand. You can also explore hiring temporary warehouse space if required for your business.

Holiday Prep Checklist

Here’s a quick Xmas prep checklist to ensure you’re on the right check:

• Check which product sells more through the Xmas period

• Consider a discount 

• Check product quantities and reorder stock where required

• Assess your warehouse setup and ensure it’s equipped for higher demand

• Choose your Christmas packaging and labels 

• Finalise festive marketing materials 

• Prep your sales team
  
  

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there’s a lot to consider when planning for the festive season with your business. That’s why you need to prepare early. As soon as summer ends, it’s time to start ticking off that checklist.

Get in touch with our team for advice on the best festive packaging for any product whether you’re looking for candle tins, cosmetic packaging or food pouches.