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Taking the Chore Out of Holiday Shopping

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Submitted By DonnaGeary
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Taking the Chore Out of Holiday Shopping
By Donna Geary

Will the holiday shopper find what they are looking for quickly and easily in your store this season? According to a recent AC Neilson report, the number one customer motivator for selecting a retail store is the ease in finding what they need. Granted, many gift shoppers may not know exactly what they are looking for. That is – until your store ambience and impeccable merchandising stories inspire them. Or, perhaps your website can dish up some tantalizing suggestions that will send shoppers flocking to your location. Multi-channel influences are changing how customers shop and although on-line sales in the last year account for a mere 1% of the total dollars spent, consumers are using the internet to ‘look and see’ and the store to ‘touch and feel’ in about one out of every four purchase decisions. How can you take the chore out of shopping and make your store more touchy feely?

The First Impression – A Theme
There are only two types of customers out there – the one’s you already have and the one’s you don’t. Each of the two groups will form an immediate impression of your store from the first glance – whether it is an ad, your website or your storefront. The holidays are a good time to step back and see if your first impression is communicating consistently. Remember also, that word-of-mouth advertising is the best (and least expensive) way to get your existing customers ‘talking up’ your store with family and friends.

Give some thought to the holiday message you plan to portray and carry it through each ‘point of contact’ with the customer. Chose an underlying holiday theme, based on the merchandise assortments you have purchased. Your theme should carry a message, images and colours associated with your story topic. Some successful holiday themes are based around snow, fantasy,

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