Valentine is the first spending holiday of the year for customer centered businesses. It is necessary to be ready for it and have plans on the way for valentine day sales. We have come up with a list of 10 easy ideas to help you rack up sales this valentines season.
1. Take A look at Your Insight from the previous Valentine Day Sales:
Keeping a pulse on your numbers should be a norm in your business, as your historical data is needed to review your yearly or quarterly benchmark based on your business decision. If you have been using a POS system, this process will be much easier since you will have sales from the previous year to help with your inventory forecasting.
Take the information your system presents, and apply them. This information will serve as a valuable baseline for the season. Analyze the data to see what sold more during previous valentine day sales. Ensure that you are stocking up on the correct inventory but not too much that you can not sell when the season is over.
2. Reconnect with Your Holiday Season Customers:
The Christmas/New Year holiday may be over, but you can still benefit from it. This shiny new romantic day coming up presents itself a perfect opportunity to reengage new customers that joined during the last holiday as well as your loyal customers who have been with you through the years. You can achieve this by sending targeted emails based on the products they purchased in the past, their gender, and preferences. This information is in your point of sales solution. If they bought your products as a gift for someone, that is even more brilliant, given that this holiday is about gift-giving, you might be one of the options on their mind. A little nudge by you might be all they need. Be creative and thoughtful in the message you send. The aim ultimately is not just to sell but to connect with them.
3. Special Offers and Incentives for Valentine Day Sales:
Almost every retailer will be offering discounts and incentives during this season. However, you can set yourself apart from your competition by giving free delivery to your customers or conditional delivery (for example, delivering free when they purchase goods of x+ amount). Free shipping is a top factor that influences shoppers buying decisions, and given that shoppers are still recovering from their Christmas shopping, they would consider this gesture a show of love.
4. Post Your Offers and Incentives:
In 2021 retail e-commerce sales amounted to an estimated 4.9 trillion U.S. dollars and are expected to grow by 50 percent over the next four years, reaching about 7.4 trillion dollars (source: Statista). The potential your business has online should not be underestimated. Be sure to post any special offers or events on your social media pages. Build the hype by leaning into limited time only (FOMO works). Use interactive tools presented by your social media to your advantage. You can also reward your most engaged followers with exclusive offers and incentives to drive sales and loyalty.
5. Think Beyond Romance for Valentine Day Sales:
Romantic love started valentine’s, but realistically speaking, some of your customers will not be celebrating valentine probably because they are single. So, rather than alienating this category of customers, mix in promos, products, and messages that cater to the singles. You can encourage single shoppers to treat themselves and their friends by offering discounts that will be worth their while. It is no surprise that customers have adopted this day as an opportunity to spend money on more than just their partners.
Then there is galantines day taking place on February 13. This day is a day for celebrating female friendships. So, do not box your store by focusing only on couples and romantic relationships. Moreover, this day being the first event of the year, customers may be interested in ways to give themselves (and their loved ones) some self-care. So, instead of filling up your store with the typical valentines day gift only, mix it up with the less traditional presents like journals, art supplies, spa vouchers, comfortable clothes, etc.
6. Offer Gift Ideas:
If there were ever a perfect time to guide prospects with relevant and helpful gift guides, it is in the days leading up to valentines day because truthfully, with so many options, it is only normal to be a little confused.
Group valentines day products onto a section of your website, so it is easy to click add to cart or even popups. Or offer gift guides and send them out via email. You can help a potential customer make a better buying decision and position your products as great gift ideas.
7. Promote Relevant Products:
Valentine gifts differ from Christmas or birthday gifts by nature, so it is the time to get creative with your product catalog. Your competitors also want to take advantage of increased eCommerce sales in February, so you have to bring that extra oomph. An example of what you can sell is customized items such as jewelry, throw pillows and blankets. If the products you sell do not associate with this concept, a brilliant well-thought copy is what you require.
8. Guarantee Shipping:
It can be infuriating when customers order presents and the presents do not arrive on time. If your store can guarantee that items will arrive by February 14, that is a great incentive to get more orders. Mention this guarantee in any valentine’s email marketing campaigns, your social media page, and your website.
9. Team Up with Influencers:
Influencers are a longshot. They will cost you a few bucks, but they have the traffic and high engagement capabilities. So if you have the budget for it, consider scouting for talents that fit your business brand and genuinely care about your products for maximum success.
10. Last Minute Valentine Day Sales:
Appeal to procrastinators by springing a last-minute flash sale on your valentine gifts. You can put up a post-last-minute to generate more online orders. You can equally change your website banner or hang signage in your storefront window to let passers-by know about any last-minute deals.
Finally, valentine’s day is a great day to reach out to your customers and ask them for feedback and reviews. Not only will it help you in getting a constructive view of your business, but it will also attract new customers and remind your loyal ones to reengage.
We hope these tips will help you spike your customers’ interest and make those sales you need this season.
To find out how to set up your retail store for success for valentine day sales, you can speak with our experts by sending details of your request to solutions@yanot.ng.
