Holiday Pet Product Buying - Optimizing Your Assortment
Small and independent retailers know: The holiday season can make or break the bottom line. When it comes to holiday sales, it all comes down to optimizing your assortment.
A few key strategies can keep your assortment on point:
Fill Inventory Gaps
Make sure you have the right mix of products, combining ones that customers already know they want with products that are unique to you and will give your customers the perfect surprise purchase. It sounds obvious, but the secret to holiday success is to stock the items your customer wants along with ones they don’t know they want … yet! That might include gifty items you don’t shelve deeply since you can’t sell them the rest of the year--no one wants to be left with a huge inventory of one-off holiday items.
Meet Expectations
When it comes to holiday shopping, customers are looking for gifts for their own pets, as well as their pet-loving friends. Special items that aren’t run-of-the-mill must be included in the holiday assortment. Find items that are wrapped in packaging that looks gift-worthy for those last-minute shoppers.
Create Themes
Vignettes sell the holidays. Consider displays that showcase products thematically: Thanksgiving dinner, snow-time play, deck the halls, and so on. Lifestyle displays sell! Likewise, include an assortment of thematic grab-and-go gifts at the checkout counter for stocking stuffers.
Finally, be prepared to adjust your assortment as needed. If you thought you had THE hot item of the year but it’s just not selling, mark it down. Or, if you do have items flying off the shelves, or perennial bestsellers you know customers will want, stay on top of your vendors to make sure you have plenty for the post-holiday rush of gift-card redemptions!
