Quarter 4 for any retailer in the United States is more often than not the most profitable quarter of the whole year.  Something about the season of giving and the amazing Black Friday and Christmas deals makes customers want to purchase more for their loved ones and themselves.  

This is the time of year where clothing retailers should feel more pressure than ever to provide the best possible shopping experience for their customers.  From the store’s appearance to its attention to customer service and products, it is very important that customers walking into your boutique in Q4 are getting a near-magical holiday shopping experience.  

By following our five tips below, you can ensure that your boutique not only entices customers to come into your store, but also to utilize the service you provide and purchase your incredible products.

Create impactful window displays.

There is nothing like a gorgeous window display to grab the attention of passers-bys and bring them through your doors, into your store, and making purchases.  It is important to display the most bold and unique pieces that they won’t easily find at other boutiques this season. You want your store’s windows to be memorable and ever-exciting.  You must switch out mannequins’ outfits frequently to reflect the most exciting pieces in your inventory.  

Investing the time and effort into displaying your coolest clothing items in clean, decorative window displays is bound to make your customers feel like they are entering a store that is high-quality, fashion forward, and a great place to spend their time and money.

Make sure the store is visually-appealing, tidy, and easy to navigate.

Just as it is important to put on the best outward appearance in your boutique’s windows, it is equally important to uphold that same clean, sleek appearance once the customers enter the store and browse the sales floor.  People are doing more shopping than ever during the fourth quarter of the year and that means that they are bound to tire of shopping more easily.

Entering a store that is dirty, hard to navigate, or displays undesirable products will give any customer an excuse to walk right out the door.  During this time of year and any other time, you must ensure an easy and intuitive browsing and checkout process. You can do this by having simple and easy-to-read item navigation (including visible price tags, clear item descriptions, and thorough inventory style maps).  Making sure that your customers understand the layout of your store with clearly visible try-on and checkout processes is very important. Don’t let your customers get lost!

Starve the tables and fill the walls.

“Starve the tables, fill the walls” is an age-old visual merchandising tactic. Having unfilled wall displays puts an adverse image of emptiness right in front of your customers line of sight.  It is important to have the walls hanging with plenty of inventory to show customers that you have plenty of clothing for them to choose from and purchase.  

Not to mention, clothes that are hung up are much more difficult to knock over than folded items.  Folding can easily get messy as customers are fighting to find their size or accidentally brushing up against piles of clothes and messing up perfect stats. Minimize folding to maintainable amounts that your sales associates can fix easily and quickly to keep the store looking in top-shape.

Provide stellar customer service.

Holiday season is known for its craziness.  Store associates are often being monopolized by far more customers than they should handle.  This means that, often times, customers are not getting enough attention to be making the most high volume purchases possible.  It is important to hire enough quality associates who have the time and energy to help your customers throughout every point in the customer journey.  Train your associates to discover your customers needs, assist them in finding the products they need, ask if they want a fitting room, and ensure available and efficient help on the sales floor, in the backroom, in the fitting rooms, and at the checkout station.  By hiring people who have the time and energy to share their excitement about fashion with your customers, revenues and customer loyalty are sure to increase.

Offer gift wrap, gift bags, boxes, tissue paper, bows, and cards.

It may seem old fashioned, but during the holiday season, this small detail goes a long way.  Choose sustainable and desirable gift wrap, boxes, tissues, and bags so that your customers want to keep buying from you for all of their gifting needs during this last quarter of the year.  Providing the packaging right there in store for free makes gift shopping so convenient, easy, and luxurious.

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The most important part of providing a great shopping experience for your customers is by selling the best products at the best prices.  Shop Wholesale Fashion Square and stock up on all of the most fashion-forward products of the holiday season– for less.