Prepare your store for Valentine’s upselling

Valentine’s Day has become one of the most lucrative holidays for retailers. Even though the holiday is biggest in the US, the habit of buying presents for Valentine’s Day has spread to every corner of the world. Most Valentine’s customers wait until the very last minute to buy their gifts, and they very often buy their gifts from the same stores where they purchase their groceries. That is why Valentine’s Day is a golden opportunity to capitalise on your sales—even if you are not selling ladies’ lingerie or jewellery.

Create gift baskets

Help your customers by making creative gifts with your products. Put several related products together, arrange them in a basket wrapped in cellophane, and put on a red bow. Examples of gift packages could be kits with soaps and lotions, a bottle of wine with a selection of cheeses and crackers, or a little teddy bear and a chocolate cake.

Offer gift wrapping

Make the buyers’ lives more comfortable increase your Valentine´s upselling with an offer to wrap the gift for them. Eleventh-hour shoppers will especially appreciate this service. If you do not want your staff to spend time wrapping packages, you can sell fine glossy gift bags or folded gift boxes.

Sell outside your shop

Prepare your store for Valentine´s upselling and place bouquets of flowers, boxes of chocolate, and greeting card holders outside the store. If you have the possibility, you could complete it with a cashier so that customers do not have to fight their way into the shop. If you are not able to put the goods outdoors, you should at least put a sign outside saying that your store has a range of perfect Valentine’s gifts.

Display related merchandise

Valentine’s Day provides retailers with the chance to take advantage of increased foot traffic to encourage cross-promotional sales. Showcase your Valentine’s Day-related items, such as chocolates, sweets, flowers, and candles. Position all of your Valentine’s Day merchandise in the front of the store and in the centre so that it can be found quickly. Take great care in how you display the items so that your store will look inviting with a variety of gift options.

Don’t forget the gift cards

Gift cards are the most commonly sold Valentine’s gift, so be sure to have an attractive variety of them so people can find a card that says just the right thing they want to express. Display all the cards near the checkout. Even the most stubborn opponent of Valentine’s Day may fall for a humorous and original greeting card at the checkout.