10 Ways to Prepare Your Retail or E-Commerce Store for the Holidays

The holiday season is the most wonderful time of the year — and the busiest. For some businesses,

holiday sales represent 20 - 40% of their total annual revenue. Maximize your small business’s holiday

season sales (and cheer) with these 10 tips.

If you were in business last year, review sales from that holiday season to measure your inventory needs. It’s also important to check your inventory management system to make sure it’s up to date and accurate.

01. Review Your Inventory

02. Research Industry Trends Every year hot items hit the market during the holidays and draw consumers out in droves. Talk to vendors and customers to get the scoop on the latest trends. Does your industry have something on this year’s must-have list?

03. Prepare Your WebsiteIs your website ready to handle a boost in traffic and transactions? Online sales during the 2015 holiday season are expected to be 13.9 percent higher than last year, and a down site means lost income. Ensure you have IT support that can keep your business up and running through the last-minute holiday rush.

04. Plan Holiday PromotionsHoliday shoppers want to maximize their budgets. Increase sales with promotions such as coupons or free- gift-with-purchase offers. Providing free shipping is another option and can boost sales by as much as 90 percent, according to Red Door Interactive.

05. Make Shipping SimpleWhile shipping holiday orders can certainly feel like a win, waiting in long lines at the post office can put a damper on that success. Instead of heading to the post office, purchase your shipping supplies at STAPLES in advance, and then ship your packages with UPS or the U.S. Postal Service at your nearest STAPLES.

06. Ready Your StaffStart your seasonal hiring process as early as possible so you can choose from the best candidates. Give all employees a refresher course on store policies and thorough details on holiday promotions. The more your employees know about your great deals, the easier it will be for them to communicate specials with customers.

07. Get Social Is your business taking advantage of the most popular social media platforms? Before you get busy with the holidays, revamp your social media presence and campaigns, and schedule as many posts as possible in advance.

08. Improve Your Ranking Sixty-one percent of online shoppers use the Internet for the research phase, according to a report by market research firm Ipsos,making it worthwhile for you to spend time on SEO. Start by brainstorming words and phrases that are relevant to your business. Add these terms to the product and meta descriptions on your website.

09. Deck the HallsGet into the holiday spirit with festive decorations. Shop for holiday décor that will fill your customers and employees with good cheer, or design personalized seasonal signage with STAPLES Copy & Print services. Don’t forget to deck your online halls, too; update your web banners and social media sites with some seasonal imagery.

10. Plan After-Holiday Promotions Keep customers coming back after the holidays by offering promotions for the New Year. Design and print post-holiday discount cards that you can include in your holiday shipments or with in-store sales.

Schedule holiday prep on your

calendar now so you won’t be

scrambling at the last minute.

This will result in a successful

and sane holiday season.

Advice InspirationActionIf you make shopping at your

business an enjoyable part of

a customer’s holiday season,

they’ll thank you with their

business all year long.

“Planning is bringing the future

into the present so that you can

do something about it now.”

— Alan Lakein, author on time management

Keep your business organized during the holiday season with more tips from the

Staples Small Business Hub.