US retail sales are at an all-time high this holiday, with the highest growth over 20 years. Online consumers are likely to spend time in physical stores as well. As the holiday season approaches, retail stores need to kick into high gear and make big plans for Black Friday.
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Now, it’s time to start your strategy and be ready for upcoming November.
Black Friday 2022 preparation Advice for Retail Workers
Doing your Black Friday preparation after the Thanksgiving season can mean last-minute shopping and disorganised staff. The first step should be identifying your Black Friday strategy.
Here are some tips:
- Schedule all your campaigning to start as soon as possible (This year, Black Friday is on the 25nd of November 2022). If you prepare and schedule before the start of the holiday season, you can be sure your team will not get burned out.
- Set a detailed schedule in advance and ensure that everyone gets a specific plan throughout the week leading up to the big event.
- Also, include break times in the overall schedule. Ideally, you should set up guardrails around employee preferences and agreed days/times of working.
- Transparency will help to keep everyone happy while still meeting demand—and remember to build some instant communication channels!
Your employees’ happiness will be a determining factor in your success.
Ensure adequate staffing, or it could hurt your bottom line.
It’s also essential to consider the demand of your staff throughout the Black Friday season. If you don’t have enough people to work during your opening hours, you’ll find it hard to manage a store for a long time. Consider hiring additional staff if you feel that your team can’t handle it to make sure you Black Friday 2022 preparation plan is successful.
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For example, if the flu strikes your workplace and you offer staff members sick leave you will need to be able to cover this emergency by swapping them with another qualified employee that can cover the job. In this case, having a few people on hand is good if things get busy. You can opt for seasonal workers to supplement your working force or use a staffing agency that can provide you with temporary retail workers.
To ensure the best results, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of what expectations are.
Some employees may ask about call-outs (any situation when an employee is called from the employee’s place of residence to work and subsequently to return to such place of residence, outside of the employee’s regular hours) over Black Friday (and before), overtime, and compensation policies. These are good questions to discuss as soon as possible, so everything is clear and everyone is prepared for this busy time. This is important because your employees need to know what has expected of them to understand their job’s requirements.
In addition, don’t forget to assign areas of the store that need prioritized customer support services on Black Friday. This way customers have easy access to help at these strategic spots within the store.
Calculate your inventory.
Stockouts (A stockout or out-of-stock event is an event that causes inventory to be exhausted) and Black Friday are two events that come to mind. But you’ll want to ensure you have enough supplies on hand to entice shoppers to come. It’s wise to order your supplies far in advance. As the big day approaches, so will an influx of orders, which means manufacturers and suppliers will be busy, leading to slower production and shipping (or even shortages).
Create backup plans for events that might happen.
No plan is perfect.
No plan is perfect but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to be as prepared as possible. If you’ve been through Black Friday before, you probably know what troubles might arise.
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Every retail business deals with several challenges. From sick employees and server failures to dealing with customers and unexpected sales, navigating these issues can be daunting. Share your plans with your retail workers so everyone knows what to do when help is needed.
Spice up your product line!
When it comes to the layout of your store, there are some things you can do to maximise space and minimise overcrowding.
Wider lanes, for instance, can help make all the products on your shelves visible. This is a good solution if you know which items will often attract attention.
If you have a limited supply of products, try placing them behind the counter. This can reduce people fighting over the items, and it’s great for crowd control.
1. Make sure your staff knows the store’s busiest hours.
2. Map out the customer traffic flow and have enough cashiers on hand to handle the crowds.
3. Arrange for security for large crowds, additional back-office workers, customers expecting a purchase to be shipped and more.
Train your retail workers in the best ways to control a crowd
To make your Black Friday 2022 preparation for Retail Employees go well, you must train your team well.
They should be able to handle any sudden things that might happen during the Black Friday season. For example, a large group is trying to enter the store simultaneously. You should already plan a separate entrance and exit to the store. This ensures a secure flow for incoming customers as well as leaving customers.
You can set up a queue line to guide your customers through the entrance of your store. This will make them feel more comfortable and prevent physical damage or harm. We encourage you to instruct your employees about how to react in high-pressure situations.
Furthermore, when you have some vital information, let your employees know constantly. It’s essential for staff to know about promotions and deals on particular products. Train them ahead, so they know what to expect when customers ask questions, especially on Black Friday.
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It’s also helpful to train them on where these deals are so they can lead customers immediately to the shelves. The chances are that you’ll have a few deals that will intrigue most people. You can also notice exchanges with your cashiers so they’re aware.
Be Grateful to your Retail Employees.
The busiest retail stores are captivated by Black Friday. However, it would be impossible to manage the increasing sales volume without workers. Store managers should show their appreciation to ensure these hardworking individuals feel valued. Sometimes employees will quit during a stressful period, like Black Friday, which can be a huge problem.
Train supervisors to improve communication and address any harassment towards your workers. A small “thank you” can go a long way. A personalised employee gift or bonus will show them that you care. Small “thank-you’s” like personalised mugs, pens, or stickers make it easy to display a little goodwill from the heart.
Tips for what to do after the Black Friday 2022 preparation for your Retail Team
Black Friday is over! And so are the opportunities to grab the best deals. However, don’t worry! We should not let customers miss out. There could be a customer support team to monitor holiday sales, not only during the holiday itself but also through the following month. Specifically, your store could update customers with all the latest price drops and current stocks.
After Black Friday, you should also inform customers that the store is full of new and astonishing items that have just been added to the catalogue. However, you should be prepared to handle order returns by keeping extra money on hand to cover the transactions. It will help if experienced managers clarify the complex returns so the team will be delegated to act or know how to do it.
Additional sales events after Black Friday
Cyber Monday is just around the corner!
Many companies offer special discounts on their products for Cyber Monday. It is also a great time to plan for these promotions. Train your staff on processing orders from online purchases and physical stores properly since you never know when a massive wave of orders will come in, leaving your team confused and disorganised.
Let’s start planning for the post-holiday sales. Black Friday has come and gone, and it’s time to start looking forward to the last month of the year, December – Christmas.
Tips for Black Friday 2022 preparation for the Retail Industry
Tips for Black Friday 2022
Although Black Friday is a popular time for holiday shopping, you can make the most of it with an online strategy.
You could offer the same deals in-store and online or provide captivating discounts to maximise revenue. You can also offer customers a pleasant discount or voucher, which will reduce overstocked items. Putting “best-seller” products on window display at a retail store increases sales as well.
The better you and your retail staff work together, the easier it’ll be to have a smooth experience for all of your customers. Therefore, ensure that you take well care of pre-planning, promotional deals, the store’s layout and employee schedule.
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