Deck the Aisles: A Retailers Guide to Onsite Branding Holiday Prep
It’s that time of the year… time for gifts, decorating, family gatherings, and, oh yeah… shopping! Especially for the weekend after Thanksgiving—where stores go back into the black with holiday sales—retailers must be ready for the rush. Holiday prep includes more than just store décor and proper stocking. It also includes preparing your onsite brand assets to look their best.
Your site’s signage is your business’s best salesperson. In fact, research shows that stores that repair or update their signage could increase sales by 10% or more! Making sure that your signage looks it’s best for the busiest season of the year is paramount to drawing your customers in. We’ve compiled a comprehensive list of onsite branding holiday prep best practices to help you keep your location looking it’s best for the most wonderful time of the year!
The Power of Onsite Branding Assets
Onsite branding assets encompass everything from in-store signage, displays, and decorations to the overall shopping environment. These assets serve several key purposes during the holiday season:
- Creating an Atmosphere: Shoppers expect a magical and festive ambiance during the holidays. Your branding assets should immerse customers in the holiday spirit, making their shopping experience memorable.
- Increasing Sales: Well-executed onsite branding can lead to impulse purchases and increased customer spending. A well-placed sign or display can make a significant impact on your bottom line.
- Building Brand Loyalty: Consistent branding during the holidays can help reinforce your brand identity and build loyalty among customers who value their positive shopping experiences.
- Attracting Foot Traffic: Attractive branding assets can help you stand out from the competition and draw in more foot traffic. During the holiday rush, this can be a game-changer.
Now that we understand why onsite branding assets are essential during the holidays, let’s delve into how retailers can prepare effectively.
How to Prepare Brand Assets
- Plan Early: The holiday season creeps up quickly, so the earlier you start planning your onsite branding assets, the better. This means you should start brainstorming ideas, setting a budget, and creating a timeline well in advance. By planning early, you can avoid the last-minute scramble and ensure a well-executed holiday branding strategy.
- Maintain Permanent Signage: As we’ve discussed in other blogs, a small investment in preventative signage maintenance can avoid huge reactive maintenance costs later. Maybe your onsite signage has experienced some basic wear and tear and needs a simple cleaning, a fresh coat of paint, or a minor repair. Perhaps it has bigger issues, like sizeable damage or failing LEDs. No matter the maintenance need, making sure your sign is a shining beacon of your brand is a critical aspect of any retailer’s holiday preparedness strategy.
- Create Holiday Wayfinding Signage: Steady traffic is a great problem for retail businesses to have, but busyness is not an excuse for poor traffic management. Wayfinding signage can help shoppers navigate both the interior and exterior of your store, whether it’s to find a specific product or to join the end of the check-out line. Either way, managing traffic flow will improve the shopping experience for customers and ease the headache the holiday rush can bring for employees.
- Promotional & Discount Signage: As anyone who has ever complimented one of my outfits will tell you, I’m always delighted to share how I purchased the outfit at a significant discount—I love a good sale! And who doesn’t? Promotional and discount signage is a critical part of any brand’s holiday preparedness. Appropriate branding and compelling design will help draw customers in to your location.
Onsite branding holiday prep requires planning ahead to ready your branding assets, like permanent, wayfinding, and promotional signage, will help put your business ahead. Remember, it’s not just about selling products; it’s about creating a magical, memorable shopping experience that keeps customers coming back year after year. So, as the holiday rush approaches, start preparing your onsite branding assets now and make this season the most wonderful time of the year for your retail business.