Q4 Selling Season Quick Guide

07.15.2019 Articles

Q3 is in full swing, which means…it’s time to plan for Q4! With the year’s biggest holidays happening during this time frame, this selling season is your largest opportunity to make an impact on your brand awareness, engagement, market share, and sales. Just like in our Q3 Selling Season Quick Guide, we’re outlining key insights and holidays you should be aware of as you’re planning for the next quarter.

October

Q4 is here! October means shorter days, longer nights, and – of course – lots of candy. Halloween is the perfect opportunity to give your retail displays a spooky refresh. Don’t be afraid to have fun with it! October is when you should focus on November and December mega selling seasons by launching new training tools for store associates to use when educating consumers and selling products. Now is also the time to start executing your seasonal hire strategy. Find a strong team of seasonal hires who will be well-versed store associates advocating for your products – this will lead to an explosive holiday season of sales. October is the last opportunity to take a deep breath and prepare for the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Hanukkah excitement, so make sure you’re entering Q4 with the right people on your team and effective tools to support them and the store associates they’re interacting with.

October 2019 Holidays to Note:

  • Monday, October 14: Columbus Day
  • Wednesday, October 14: Boss’s Day
  • Saturday, October 19: Sweetest Day
  • Thursday, October 31: Halloween

November

November means Black Friday and Cyber Monday – the two most important sales days of the year! Black Friday traditionally kicks off the holiday season, which is crucial for the economy since 30-40% of annual retail sales occur during this time. Although in-store traffic has declined in recent years as more shoppers turn away from the frenzy of 3 AM mall trips, the average person spent over $1,000 in 2018 on Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, and 263,820 seasonal hires were made to assist with the extra influx of holiday shoppers. Online shopping is becoming increasingly popular, so it’s essential to leverage your online audience to support in-store initiatives. Holiday pop-up shops, new product demos, and in-store assisted sales events are great opportunities to run targeted PPC campaigns to capture a new audience and bring them in-store. It’s crucial to hire the right people who understand your brand, your products, and who can advocate for your company during the biggest sales month of the year. With the right people in place, you’ll be able to convert interested consumers into lifetime customers.

November Holidays to Note:

  • Sunday, November 3: Daylight Savings
  • Monday, November 11: Veterans Day
  • Thursday, November 28: Thanksgiving
  • Friday, November 29: Black Friday

December

While another Black Friday and Cyber Monday have come and gone, there are still a few more critical weeks of sales opportunities ahead before the holiday season comes to an end. It’s essential to keep both regular and seasonal team members motivated with incentives and encouraging feedback. It’s time to end the year on a positive note! Take advantage of last-minute shopping trips by making the overall in-store experience as helpful as possible for your customers – trust us, they’ll remember the extra effort and the smiling faces of your employees when it comes time to buy again. Also – don’t forget that this season is about giving. Brands that show a sense of social responsibility are more desirable to the younger generation of shoppers, so be sure to weave that type of messaging into your marketing campaigns if possible.

December Holidays To Note:

  • Monday, December 2: Cyber Monday
  • Saturday, December 7: Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
  • Sunday, December 22: Beginning of Hanukkah
  • Wednesday, December 25: Christmas Day
  • Tuesday, December 31: New Year’s Eve

Although the end of the holiday season can seem like a let down for retail, New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and St. Patrick’s Day are just around the corner. Not to mention those after-holiday sales and returns activity. January has also become a major spending month, when shoppers cash in their holiday gift cards, so be ready to capture your share of those sales!

So, there you have it – a month-by-month guide to set you up for success in Q4 of 2019! But it doesn’t end there. As you know, 2020 will be here before you know it, and it will present its own set of opportunities and challenges for sales growth and brand elevation. With proper strategic planning with an experienced go-to-market partner, you will always have a fresh, engaging, financially-savvy retail marketing strategy that will delight your customers and boost your sales.

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