How to Woo Last-Minute Shoppers? It Helps to Have Festive Snacks and Customer Service on High Alert
Black Friday was a hit, but the holidays aren’t over. To capture would-be, in-person buyers this year, give them something to see.
Consumers spent a record $9.8 billion online for Black Friday this year according to Adobe, up 7.5 percent from last year. Overall, retail sales grew 2.5 percent on Black Friday, according to Mastercard Spendingpulse–a strong kick-off to the estimated billion-dollar cyber week. While online shopping dominated the majority of spend, roughly 130 million people planned to shop in person on Black Friday, according to the National Retail Federation.
The bad news? Shoppers are feeling more cautious about spending, given the heavy toll of inflation, as they navigate higher costs for everything from Christmas trees to pumpkin pie—and they really hate lines. Wait times at checkout and getting into stores, generally, was the biggest complaint among shoppers in 2022, according to data from HappyOrNot, makers of the ‘smiley face’ customer feedback terminals.
Here are six things small business owners can do now to make in-store shopping more pleasant:
1. Incentivize early birds
Shoppers may not have the stomach for long lines during the shopping holiday, but not all times of the day are altogether unpallatable. To wit, in-store customers experienced the highest shopper happiness around 9am (94.2 percent positive customer feedback), when there are arguably fewer people in the store and wait-times are shorter, according to the HappyOrNot survey. In addition to encouraging customers to shop sooner with earlier discounts, Miika Mäkitalo, CEO of HappyOrNot also suggests trying to replicate early-morning conditions throughout the day.
Specifically, he suggests ensuring there is enough staff on hand to help shoppers–and that they have sufficient breaks so they can feel rested and replenish their energy. Continual cleaning should take place, too, throughout the day to encourage higher levels of customer satisfaction, he adds.
2. Invest in mobility
Crowds are inevitable, but waiting for an open register doesn’t have to be, according to Tony DiPaolo of Manhattan Associates supply chain consultants. He says that retailers who prioritize speedier checkouts are the ones who will come out as “winners,” because when customers are waiting in lines, they lose morale and feel like they’re wasting their time. Investments that allow for increased efficiency, like self-checkout terminals and mobile shopping pick-up, help reduce customers’ time spent in lines, he says. Many shoppers are used to “checking themselves out,” so ensuring mobile technology and terminals are prepared for the influx is crucial ahead of Black Friday.
If you don’t have this technology in place now, consider it for next year. Until then place an employee near the check out to ensure folks get to open registers swiftly.
3. Try a “speed lane”
When in doubt, adopt an express checkout. Melodie van der Baan, co-founder of West Palm Beach, Florida-based overstock marketplace Max Retail notes that swiftness to the customer experience is another element to be mindful of on Black Friday. She suggests having a “speed lane” to ring up smaller purchases, where shoppers with 10 items or fewer can checkout, to keep lanes moving.
4. Be flexible with inventory
Saving time is the key to an enhanced customer experience, DiPaolo says. And if lines are unavoidable, at least ensure that you have inventory accounted for. “If a consumer walks into a store, make sure that they’re able to get what it is they’re looking for,” he says. If you’re only now attempting to forecast the what will be your company’s hot holiday items, you may be out of luck. But there is reason to believe that shoppers will accept other fulfillment options–like finding specific inventory at warehouses or nearby locations, and offering to deliver it to the customer’s house or ship it to the current store–so you never have to say no to a customer, DiPaolo says.
5. Use employees strategically
Retailers have already made their seasonal hires, so finding useful tasks for the extra help is key to making Black Friday run smoothly. “Have extra staff ready behind the registers to restock ‘go backs’–those last minute items customers decide not to purchase once they get to checkout,” van der Baan says, because it helps merchandise return to the floor faster. “Extra staff at the register can also help with price checks, like when customers get to checkout but the item is missing a price tag,” which can also mitigate the cost of pricing errors, she suggests.
6. Make the environment enjoyable
In addition to short lines, a pleasant atmosphere for shoppers can aid their experience. Van der Baan says that free offerings like sweets, refreshments and samples can set a playful mood, and make the environment more enjoyable. Good music is another element to consider, specifically “holiday jams” because they help get customers in the mood to shop for others, she adds.
