tats show that in the past three years, sales for retailers were up by 22 percent in December and by nearly 4 percent in November. This, in itself, is great motivation for EFMP Dutch partners, PSfm, to prepare for, and to make the most of retail’s ‘silly season’.
November 29, Black Friday, is the starting shot that sets off the buying madness.
On Black Friday, most Americans are already doing Christmas shopping. Almost all stores give substantial discounts on certain products on this day. It is not only an American phenomenon, however, now the whole world seems to be in the grip of Black Friday fever, and more and more stores are participating worldwide. And the Netherlands is no exception.
The spending frenzy does not end with Black Friday though, because on December 2nd, Cyber Monday follows Black Friday, and even after Cyber Monday, promotions continue tirelessly with “Sinterklaas” or “Saint Nicholas” doing his bit to push sales, especially of Christmas gifts for the family. And, as is typical of people in so many parts of the world, in the Netherlands, shopping for Christmas does not end on Black Friday, but continues unabated until December 24th. During this period the Netherlands, quite literally,’ heaves’ with potential shoppers.
Being aware of all this buying hyperactivity, and in order to take advantage of the potential for a super sales situation, PSfm feel that it is advisable that both retailers and producers commit themselves for months of preparation ahead of time in order to perform optimally during this important retail period; not least so that they can close 2019 with excellent figures.
The role of PSfm
At the end of September this year, Psfm sat down with some of their clients, such as Nespresso (to give one example) in order to plan for the buying madness of November / December. They started with the recruitment team, who recruited extra brand ambassadors to increase the specially trained pool of Coffee Advisors. And then, importantly, PSfm also organised extra training for staff working for the Nespresso brand. They further concluded that doubling the shifts of their Coffee Advisors was a logical measure, and so acted accordingly to implement this.
Furthermore, within the Brand Activation team, they supported the Nespresso Coffee Advisors with specially trained Hostesses. Taking into account the enormous crowds during this period, Nespresso deploy hostesses, who can guide consumers in creating their accounts and in placing initial coffee capsule orders, and who can assist in making the sales process a seamless, user-friendly experience.
PSfm’s AEG employees (to quote another example) are also preparing to deliver fantastic sales figures, and their ‘Shop in Shop’ Managers from Samsung are more than happy to plan for longer shifts in order to reap the potential benefits of extra sales.
These are just a few examples of how PSfm goes all out to respond to this end-of year buying-fest. Throughout the year they think enthusiastically about the best approach to achieve optimal sales results for the brands that they represent; and they pay a lot of attention to the most exciting sales months of the year, November and December, bearing in mind that February sales are always forecast to be low.
“Be prepared!”, seems to be PSfm’s advice for the retail community, and they are setting the example of just how this can be done in order to maximise sales, increase profits and minimise the effects of the annual post-Christmas sales slump.