The ultimate 2024 retail store holiday checklist

Streamline holiday sales: delegate and automate

Preparing your business for holiday shopping demands means you’ll have to juggle extra tasks on top of the expected workload. To avoid burnout, try proactively managing your stress and energy.

To help you manage your energy over the long shopping season, delegate to other team members early and add automation tools–like Clover inventory management and other apps from the Clover App Market–like Order Paper–to keep things running smoothly.

READ: How to automate your business in 5 easy steps

Plan a staged holiday marketing strategy

According to Bankrate’s 2024 Holiday Shopping Survey, almost half of holiday shoppers (48 percent) plan to begin their shopping season before Halloween. You’ll need a marketing strategy in place now to capitalize on every possible sale.

Clover POS reporting and sales tracking analytics provide the customer data you need to create an impactful holiday marketing strategy. Even better, it can help you understand average sales and highest-selling products during last year’s holiday shopping period to set your targets for this year.

READ: Case Study: Inventory management for your online and in-store operations

Create meaningful holiday gift guides

One of the most effective forms of holiday marketing is gift guides. One study found that emails featuring holiday gift guides generated a 48% increase in transactions compared to other kinds of mailings, showing that it’s a great way to convert casual browsers into paying customers. 

Use data from your reporting dashboard to pinpoint your best-selling products based on historical sales data. Coupled with information from Clover Customers, this information can help you tailor holiday gift guides for specific categories like Best Gifts for Teachers, Best Gifts for Gen Zs, and more.

Start planning holiday promotions

You’ll be competing for customers with plenty of other retailers during the holiday shopping season. So, run the numbers to see what holiday promotions you may be able to offer during the peak sales season to attract customers to your business. 

Ideally, your promotions will be structured to increase customer loyalty and customer acquisition. For instance, offer a friends-and-family discount, exclusive sales preview, or a cross-holiday promotion with another local business.

Now is also a good time to experiment with deals to see what resonates with new customers. The resulting new holiday sales can offer quick feedback to see what’s working and what isn’t. Test new deals and promotions at a time when people are motivated to spend. Consider carrying your most successful holiday promotions into the New Year.

Boost gift card sales 

Are you equipped to offer gift cards? If not, you could be missing a critical holiday sales opportunity. There are many benefits of offering gift cards. From moving unique inventory to increasing holiday sales, gift cards are a win-win for customers and merchants alike. Holiday shopping season and special occasions are perfect opportunities to boost gift card sales. Clover makes setting up and managing a gift card program quick and easy. Clover Gift Cards are available in physical or digital options and are simple to design and execute.

Start holiday hiring early

Hiring seasonal staff when most people prefer to be on vacation is always challenging. Many businesses are competing for part-time workers and trying to manage their own employees’ holiday time off. So, prepare early by advertising your holiday hiring needs on social media accounts, getting the word out among your employees, and encouraging employee referrals with an incentive.

The holiday hiring process can be time-consuming, but you can streamline seasonal recruitment. The JazzHR app can help you create and post job listings across multiple sites and keep candidates organized. Likewise, managers can prepare ahead for onboarding by setting up a new hire’s workstation, personal locker, uniform, nametag, or any other employee materials they need.

Put staff scheduling on autopilot

Juggling employee schedules during the holiday season can get especially tricky with requests for time off and busy shopping hours all happening simultaneously. The Time Clock by Homebase app allows employees to message each other and you directly about covering shifts–and easily track their hours.

Create unique holiday shopping moments

Long lines, stockouts, and stressed-out customers can make holiday shopping hectic. Motivate first-time visitors to make a return visit by creating unique experiences like special events, product demonstrations, or crafting workshops.

Get personal

Set your store apart from larger enterprises by personalizing the holiday shopping experience. The simple act of sending a personalized email thanking new customers for their business can have a big impact. Consider sending a note with a discount that can be redeemed during the shopping season–think a gift with purchase, tiered discount, or even an exclusive item available only to those on the mailing list.

Nurture customer loyalty

Clover Rewards helps merchants nurture customer loyalty and satisfaction. Businesses can enroll first-time customers in Clover Rewards and delight them with a discount or exclusive offer sent via email or text a few days after their holiday shopping.

Cut the long lines and reduce missed holiday sales

Build long-lasting customer relationships and exceed expectations this shopping season with touches, like mailing packages with 3-5 day shipping to customers who chose 5-7 day shipping can go a long way. Or, stay open later when you know customers may be rushing for last-minute shopping. Use Clover Promos to send high-value, real-time promotions via email, text, or social media to help you reel in holiday traffic.

Clover’s retail POS solutions can accept all payment options, reducing the wait time for holiday shoppers in-store and online. While many shoppers are researching products online, they may want to go in-store to complete the purchase. And, setting up a Google Business Profile can help last-minute holiday shoppers find and connect with your store on Google Search and Maps.  

Retail businesses aren’t the only ones that need to prepare for higher foot traffic. Restaurants need to be ready for increased demand over the shopping season, too. Make the most of the festive season by designing a menu that maximizes profit. Family-style and take-and-bake meals are popular options for big holiday gatherings. And, if you don’t already, offer additional ways to pay during extra-busy periods to keep things running smoothly–think Clover’s Scan to Pay and Online Ordering.

Plan beyond December 

While the holiday sales season officially lasts from November 1 – December 31, things won’t feel normal again for many businesses until January. You may even get extra-busy post-holidays–thanks to gift cards. And, New Year’s resolutions often mean gyms can get busy in January. So, be sure to work some post-holiday planning into your overall approach to the holiday season.

Celebrate your team

When the dust settles, take time to celebrate the shopping season and all those who made it a success by thanking your team. Recognize full-time and seasonal workers–especially those who fulfilled orders, boosted sales, restocked inventory, baked goods, served customers, and kept your business moving.

Review your metrics

Your holiday checklist should include reviewing sales and other KPIs in your Clover dashboard, so you can understand how your business performed. Clover’s reporting and analytics tools highlight trends and benchmarks to help you track business growth over time. Sales analysis offers insights into customer behavior and buying habits to help you strategize for the rest of the year.

Prepping for holiday shopping takes time and forethought. Clover retail POS solutions offer efficient tools to help you manage holiday sales–and beyond. Reach out to our sales team today to learn more.

Editorial Team

Guides, Holiday, Insights, Marketing, Retail

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