How To Develop A Holiday Gift Guide For Your Store

With November now in full swing, the retail industry is on the verge of seeing a major spike in sales. Naturally, this is the time of year when shoppers all over Canada are searching for gifts. The holiday shopping season is notoriously the busiest of the year. How is your store taking advantage?

Even if you believe your business isn’t generally one that is widely considered a go-to gift shopping destination, it’s wise to develop a holiday gift guide. But how do you go about it?

Create inventive categories for your products.

It’s not enough to simply list your store’s products in your gift guide. A crucial step in creating a successful gift guide is to specify categories. If you sell housewares, for example, consider such sections as “Things for the kitchen” or “Things for the bathroom”. If you are a clothing retailer, categories like “For Dad” or “For Mom” make sense. A gift guide with such categories makes it so much easier for consumers to find what they’re looking for.

“How products are arranged and categorized can make or break your guide, so take some time to come up with the right categories,” encourages Francesca Nicasio of Vend, “There’s no one right answer when it comes to how to categorize your products, as this depends on your business and customers.”

Offer special discounts in your gift guide.

Unquestionably, holiday shoppers are currently on the hunt for bargains. If they can find discounts in your gift guide, it will help to boost sales in your store. Consider offering a discount code such as “GUIDE2020” that customers can type in during the checkout process in your online store. By giving people opportunities to save money this holiday season, your gift guide will grow in popularity and your sales will increase.

“A great way to incentivize your customers to purchase from your gift guide post is by including a special discount code,” agrees Stephanie Heitman of LOCAL, “Your holiday gift guide might bring shoppers to your site but offering a discount could be the extra push they need to make a purchase with you.”

Get in touch with your customers.

Not sure which products to highlight in your gift guide? Reach out to your customers! Who better than those who have supported your business to ask what products they like best? Take to your social media accounts to engage your audience. Not only will it help you to create a stronger guide, it will kick start the conversation with consumers about visiting your store for their holiday shopping needs.

“You shouldn’t be creating your gift guide in a vacuum,” insists Nicasio, “Go out there and talk to your customers about their ideas or any items that they think should be included. When chatting up shoppers in-store, casually ask them about what they’re planning to buy for the holidays and what they’d like to receive. You’ll get a lot of anecdotal information, but if you do it enough times you and your staff should be able to spot patterns.”

Need some help getting your holiday marketing plans off the ground?

Contact Synergy Merchants to learn about how our unique merchant cash advance program can assist you! Call us at 1-877-718-2026 or email us at info@synergymerchants.com. You can also apply online for a free, no obligation quote!