Summer's Here - So Let's Think About The Holidays!

By Gary Whittemore, Global Sales and Marketing Director at Experian FootFall

It only seems like yesterday that we were discussing the 2014 holiday season and associated store traffic but, as summer approaches, it is time for retailers to start preparing for this year’s peak period.

Indeed, it is important for retailers to maximize sales opportunities right up to the wire; First Data found that Christmas Eve, not Black Friday, was the busiest spending day in the 2014 holiday period, demonstrating the importance of optimizing stores at all times.

The potential for profit increase is much greater when shopper traffic surges. However, at the same time, so does the probability of long queues, the strain on customer service support and the chance of purchase abandonment.

It doesn’t have to be inevitable that customer satisfaction decreases as the crowds increase, provided retailers and shopping malls are prepared for, and react to, spikes in activity. Knowing there’s going to be more visitors is no longer enough; organizations need to understand what’s happening on their premises throughout each day, and respond to those trends in order to continually meet shopper expectations.

Please log in or register below to read the full article.