So it’s now 11 weeks until Black Friday and the official
start of the holiday shopping season, so what’s your game plan this year? If
you haven’t mapped it out yet now is the time before things get too hectic, so
what factors should you consider? Well cover all the basics but also try to
factor in those unexpected hiccups that invariably occur.
Apply what you have learned from previous seasons- Let’s
face facts the holiday shopping season gets earlier every year. Shockingly a
lot of people are shopping now for the holidays and over the next few weeks
both brick & mortar and online retail will be throwing sales galore at
these early shoppers to entice them into spending now instead of at the last
minute. What’s the takeaway here? Get prepped early! October is the new
November in terms of shopping for the holidays, so get started now or risk
missing out on those holiday dollars.
Fill the pipeline- We said it before and will say it again,
the key to planning ahead when it comes to inventory is to keep a steady flow
of merchandise coming in ,after all it can’t go out as a sale if it’s not
coming in.
Time the pipeline- Having inventory at the right time is
also very critical. Consider that it takes roughly 10 business days for you to
receive your order add on a few days to check it in and either post it or tag
it for sale and you could easily be looking at 3 weeks between the order being
placed and the goods being up for sale. Want to have a ton of goods for sale
right before Black Friday? Then you better plan on placing that order NOW which will leave enough time to process your
order and to have it available for sale on the big day.
Planning for the unexpected-
it’s bound to happen that bump in the road it could be an unexpected
bill eating up your capital or a family crisis that can cost you precious time.
The key here is to try not to be under the gun either financially or for time.
Plan ahead and factor in these hiccups by setting aside funds to keep the
business rolling and by staying ahead of the game and process your orders now, so
you have plenty of time in the heart of
the busy season.
Having a plan in place also saves your sanity! – There’s
nothing worse than getting totally stressed out in the busy season, it will
happen at some point but minimize the effects by keeping to your schedule. It’s
also a good idea to set aside some down time just so you can collect your
thoughts and make changes if needs demand it.
The race for the holiday season is on. Order wholesale lots today, don’t delay!