Flash sales is a sale offered with very little notice for a short time, and it is extremely easy to set up on our point of sale software.
It can be an extremely effective way to quickly unload extra stock. For example, a sandwich bar, has at 2:00pm excess sandwitches. Rather then chuck them, it turns a negative into a positive by suddenly offering a great buy on sandwitches.Another example I have seen is a shop that suffered a fire needed to clearout most of the items in the shop because who wants the stock that been partly burnt and full of smoke. While the shoppers could see the shop had suffered a fire, they grabbed the bargains.
Properly used flash sales can be a great opportunity promote the shop.
This is also where it pays to have a functional VIP loyalty program as flash sale can be promoted with a personalised email offer. This way, you are as well rewarding the loyalty of those people that shop in your shop.
* A flash sale should be simple. You are not on a flash sale going to get much interest in buy six coffees, and the next is free.
* It should be of short duration. Its purpose is to get rid of limited excess stock.
* Your offer should stand out. If its not much of an offer what is the point of it?
* Promote as much as possible with signs, Facebook and your VIP loyalty program
* Be unexpected, you do not want to be too predictable, for example, if people learn that your sandwiches at 2:00pm are very cheaper, many full paying customers will delay their purchase until after 2:00pm
