Year on year November has seen massive spikes in retail sales with the major contributors being Black Friday and Cyber Monday. A 13.2% increase was recorded in November 2020 compared to the same time in 2019 according to the Australian Retailers Association. This alongside the economic reopening of Australia will likely result in a record number of sales through both brick and mortar stores as well as online retailers.

The main cause of this unprecedented behaviour is mainly due to the timing of Australia’s reopening. With the Melbourne Cup, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas right around the corner, and the stress that lockdowns have caused all over Australia, people are excited to undergo some retail therapy to bring back the excitement in their lives. Retailers will be bombarded in the next couple of months and will need to carefully plan and execute strategies to fully grasp the opportunity of this sudden influx of customers and not be overwhelmed or else both their business image and sales will suffer drastically.

How can retailers prepare themselves?

This intensified shopping ecosystem is the perfect opportunity for businesses post lockdown. Preparation is everything if retailers want to make the most out of this opportunity and help boost their revenue and revive their cash flow. Retailers need to fully utilise all resources on hand and roster on sufficient staff in order to maximise their sales conversion. To achieve maximum conversion rates, it is paramount that retailers understand the customers so that they can efficiently sell products and services to them as well as prepare their staff members so that they can handle the increased pressure. This is extremely important especially after the recent downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as staff might need to be retrained in order to provide a level of service that is better than what was provided previously to ensure peak customer satisfaction.

Retailers should start planning as soon as possible for this unprecedented time as it is hard to predict the scale of this upcoming retail storm. People counting information from previous years, if available, can be a good way to start, as they can compare the changes in previous sales conversions, staff numbers and revenue and look for ways to improve on it. Managers could brainstorm service strategies to help maximise the retailer’s ability to uplift sales and boost sales conversion. Staff will also need to be quick and dynamic towards their approach in order to fill in gaps in services so that they can provide the best possible service to their customers.

How can retailers use people counting to leverage the storm?

Having the right people counting technologies in place provides retailers with the ability to make the most out of the retail storm. Key historical data enables retailers to properly prepare and execute strategies efficiently and allows them to brace for anything that comes at them. Adapting to the live data for the days leading up to and on Black Friday and Cyber Monday could make or break their success as the severity of the storm is still uncertain. Smart yet rapid adaptation to the situation is the only way stores can optimise their performance and maximise revenue to help recover from the financial slump COVID-19 has caused.

Once you tap into the potential of people counting to utilise this to your advantage, you can achieve compounding benefits for your store and sales. If you are interested in upgrading your existing people counting technology or even starting your people counting journey contact us to book a time to chat with our friendly people counting team. We are here to help you optimise your store’s performance and prepare you for the retail storm that is coming.