Department stores have developed the after-Christmas sale into one of their biggest events of the year.  But few small shops have the traffic to ensure that all of the post seasonal merchandise is sold within a few days of a holiday.  A post seasonal sale should not be allowed to go on for very long;  goods that haven’t been sold while the holiday is still on everyone’s mind are not likely to sell. 

The second, less obvious, problem with not planning for seasonal sales is that you may have too little inventory on hand.  You can’t sell 12 Santa figurines if you have only 4 in stock, unless you are lucky enough to find a supplier who can ship a reorder at the last minute.  “You can’t sell from an empty cart”, the saying goes. Customers want what appears to be a full selection to choose from right up to the holiday itself.  They usually will not buy the very last item on hand, even at closing time on Christmas Eve.

Creating a Seasonal Planning System

A seasonal planning program can make life easier for anyone who buys holiday merchandise and should lead to better stockturns and a more profitable operation.  It is especially helpful to new buyers.

The basic premise behind a seasonal planning system is that the buying patterns of customers can be predicted based on their past patterns.  If you sold 30 dozen Valentine cards in 2008, you are more likely to sell 35 dozen in 2009 that you are to sell 3 dozen – or 300 dozen.  And if hand-painted Easter eggs sold out early this season, you will probably want to make sure you have more on hand next year.

A new store will not have any history to go on, of course, but it is never too early to start keeping records to help plan for future years.

Download this Perpetual Inventory Sheet to assist you with your planning

Perpetual Inventory Sheet (15 KB)