We are in the last month of the year; December. October to December happens to be the busiest quarter of the year. Schools have closed and as such more customer traffic is witnessed in the outlets of children coming either to shop with their parents, others just window shopping, and others just there to enjoy the ambiance of the shops.

It’s that time when appreciating and gifting friends and loved ones come in handy. So, customers are all over looking for those unique items that they can gift their loved ones; be it clothing, toys, or even household items for newlyweds and parents. Social events are crowding all the weekends which involve lots of impulse purchases.

Every business person is running up and down to make a kill this Christmas holidays. New Retail outlets and branches are being opened up. New restaurants and beer joints are coming up on every corner. Manufacturers on the other hand are busy working 24 hours to meet the high demand/orders of their clients. Everyone is busy trying to make a ‘kill all these businesses is good for retailers, but it comes along with its bundle of challenges. The increased traffic in the shops means the possibility of pilferage is very high. The possibility of breakages could also be very high. The possibility of dead stocks could also be very high as manufacturers want to introduce new items in the market during this period and take advantage of ‘impulse buying’ by customers. It could also mean the possibility of Shorts and Excesses will be very high amongst the cashiers. Shops will most definitely be pushed to open early and close late into the night. Increased customer traffic will mean that the aisle needs to be well-manned and more customer service/ assistance is required. On the actual holiday days, the retailers in the CBD and town areas could again turn out to be ghost shops as most of the customers have traveled upcountry. Any Smart retailers should have planned accordingly for these businesses…in terms of staff shifts and allocations, merchandisers management, stock ordering patterns, and shop opening/ closing procedures. But just in case one hasn’t, reach out to info@retailworth.co.ke. We will help you navigate through the festivities and beyond. From team Retail Worth…. Happy selling!