NRF Stats to Help You with Your Holiday Retail Planning

The Christmas shopping season is here! This year combine the consumer review and retailer perspective with survey data, insights, and more to drive your sales.

Did you know that the National Retail Federation (NRF) expects retail sales in November and December (excluding autos, gas and restaurants) to increase to 3.6 percent to $655.8 billion. Online sales are forecast to increase between 7 and 10 percent over last year to as much as $117 billion.

Use these stats to help you make decisions about your business this holiday season. Then let your point-of-sale (POS) do the work!

Plan with Mobile in Mind

On weekends, holiday traffic on smart phones surpassed desktops with 56% of searches conducted on mobile devices.

A quality POS system with omni-channel order management solution software can make it possible to introduce a single stock display across all sales channels, integrate product information and stock levels with the online catalog, offer flexible fulfillment options, and provide a great shopping experience for your customers.

Enrich In-Store Experience

Shoppers report that they make 43% of their purchase decision in the store.

Help them make their decisions even easier. Use your WIFI-enabled POS tablet to cut down on time at the register, and keep long lines moving faster. Plus, associates will be able to help customers place online orders or answer questions about a certain product right in the aisles.

Promotions and Marketing

Last year online-only sales, limited time offers and free shipping were the most profitable promotions for the seasons.

Utilize your POS to help you manage your customer communication through emails, social media, and texts. Let your most loyal customers know your best deals, and use any channel you can to promote!

Promote Gift Cards

In 2015, two-thirds of shoppers purchased at least one gift card.

Promote gifts cards through package deals, automatic card reloading and signing up through your loyalty program. Use your POS to make modifications to the cards and packages.

This holiday season, be on the lookout for mobile and alternative payment, location-based strategies, social commerce, online marketing and new in-store experiences. Retailers that embrace these strategies will end up with the best gift of all – great bottom line numbers.