5 Ways Small Businesses Can Avoid Cutting Prices During The Holidays

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According to IBIS World this year, holiday retail sales are projected to rise by 4.5%— and while that is an increase it is nowhere near where holiday sales have been in the past.

According to the wall street journal low holiday sales will most affect small retailers, “Industry experts forecast another disappointing Christmas ahead. That’s especially troublesome for small merchants since their businesses rely on holiday sales even more than large ones.” Low holiday retail sales are particularly difficult for small businesses that can make upwards of 50% of their overall sales during the holidays.

In the past most small business have turned to cutting prices to bring in customers, and while this can work most small merchants can’t sustain drastically cutting prices for too long.  Today, small businesses have to be creative to remain profitable during the holiday season. “Small merchants may be able to attract consumers this Christmas through means other than to continue offering deals that chip away at profits,” says Daniel Butler, vice president of retail operations for the National Retail Federation in Washington, D.C.

5 ways small businesses can survive the holidays without cutting prices.

1. Give a little- Offer Free Shipping or include a free gift with purchase especially over the holiday season. Customers are more likely to purchase more and make return purchases if there is a little something in it for them.
2. Judge a Book by its cover- Presentation is everything. Make sure your product is well presented online or in store. Your website or store needs to be clean and easy to navigate.
3. Show don’t tell- Do demos: include videos on your website, your Facebook fan page on your blog. Show people using and loving your products.
4. Share reviews- transparency is everything share user generated reviews on your blog, in Facebook posts, on Twitter, on your website etc…
5. Run giveaways- Give away one item instead of cutting prices on all of your items. Getting people to want your product is always a good start. Use your social media channels to leverage this and engage your potential customers.