February 14 — Valentine’s Day — is a day for consumers to celebrate love, but it’s also a day retailers will love for its profit-boosting potential. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), more than half of U.S. consumers (54.7 percent) plan on celebrating the holiday this year. Spending is expected to reach $19.6 billion, up from $18.2 billion in 2017, with 35.6 percent of shoppers heading to department stores to buy gifts. With this in mind, here are three ways to leverage Valentine’s sales to woo customers and boost in-store traffic.
1. Connect with customers by engaging with them and providing a great shopping experience.
The more you do this, the more likely consumers will be to make most of or all of their Valentine’s Day purchases at your store. Start by leveraging online promotions. For example, offer a “buy online, pick up in-store” option where customers can buy one gift online and get a discounted one in-store. In many cases, customers who take advantage of online sales and promotions will purchase additional items when picking up their purchases at the store.
Social media and email marketing campaigns also spark Valentine’s sales and increase in-store traffic. Spotlight promotions, share gift ideas, and publicize pre-Valentine’s Day events using Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. Do the same via individual emails and email newsletters, sending them to customers who have shared their contact information at the point of sale (POS).
2. Encourage employee engagement.
Employees should exhibit a friendly, helpful attitude — not an air of indifference that does nothing to increase in-store traffic. Instruct them to demonstrate enthusiasm about your store’s Valentine’s Day gift options and to proactively help shoppers to select the right gift or gifts. Gift suggestions have the highest potential to boost Valentine’s sales when they are based on answers to questions about the gift recipient. For example, what is the person’s favorite color? Does he or she like to wear a certain type of accessory? What are the recipient’s interests?
Free gift wrap services can also attract more customers to your store. Many consumers are simply too busy to wrap gifts themselves. Others prefer to give gifts that are professionally wrapped.
3. Include everyone in Valentine’s Day offers.
Yet another way to attract more in-store traffic and take Valentine’s sales to new heights: Recognize that couples aren’t the only ones who celebrate the holiday. People buy Valentine’s Day gifts for their children, friends, and co-workers — even if they also exchange presents with a partner. Pets, too, get their share of holiday love in the form of gifts.
Recognizing this trend, it’s important that retailers offer and promote appropriate Valentine’s Day gifts for each target market they serve. For example, if your target market is children, spark Valentine’s sales with plush or promote toys for customers’ “littlest Valentines.” Does your establishment cater to office workers? Kick in-store traffic up a notch on Valentine’s Day with fun, novelty items that would be fun for the office.
Valentine’s Day can be a lucrative holiday for retailers. Customer and employee engagement, coupled with a more inclusive approach to merchandising can make this a day your business loves.
