Advice for leveraging Christmas now

Here is a small selection of some of the Christmas marketing and management advice that is part of the newsXpress store management / advice kit:

1. Always:
   1. Pitch 3 Christmas cards at the counter, on the newsXpress stand – carefully selected, changed weekly.
   2. Have gift wrap tape with wrapping paper.
   3. Have a selection wrapping paper and bags with cards, at the counter and with newspapers.
   4. Run your loyalty programs through Christmas – to bring them back.
   5. Make the shop smell like Christmas.
   6. Keep all everyday and lifestyle cards up – they sell through.
2. Let your customers help each other. Setup a whiteboard or sheets of butcher’s paper, yes keep it simple. Get customers to write gift suggestions under different age/gender groups. For example: Girls 18 – 25, Boys 55+. Encourage your customers to help each other through their suggestions.
3. Facilitate sharing stories. Find space in your shop for customers to share their Christmas stories. It could be a story wall inside or in front of the shop. This initiative encourages storytelling by locals and better connects the business with the community.
4. Share Christmas recipes. Each week for, say, four weeks, give customers a family Christmas recipe. This personalises Christmas in your business, creates a talking point and makes shopping with you different to your bigger competitors.
5. Help people rest and recharge. Create a Christmas shopping rest and recovery zone. Offer free tea, coffee, water and something to eat. Encourage people to take a break in your shop – without any obligation for them to spend money with you.

I am sharing this today to encourage others to think about and engage with Christmas 2020. It’s an odd year and results will benefit from fresh, not your usual, engagement.