It's becoming evident that retailers across Australia are already gearing up for the festive season. 

Analysing Christmas Interest Trends

To measure public interest in the upcoming holiday season, I turned to Google Trends (www.google.com/trends), a valuable tool, I find for measuring Australian interest over time. The results paint an interesting picture:

• Consistent Interest: Over the past four years, Australian public interest in Christmas-related searches has remained stable.
• Slight Increase: There's a small but noticeable uptick in Christmas-related searches compared to past years.
• Long-Term Stability: Extending the analysis to cover an eight-year period shows little variation, indicating a consistent level of holiday enthusiasm among Australians.

This data shows that despite the current economic conditions, Australians' interest in Christmas celebrations remains constant. For retailers, this presents both opportunities and challenges as we approach the busiest shopping season of the year.

As the holiday season approaches, we must be well-prepared to capitalise on the busiest time of the year. Here is an interesting report

Understanding the 2024 Christmas

Here's what we're seeing:

Consumer Sentiment and Spending Patterns

Cautious Optimism

Despite economic pressures, most (76%) of Australian consumers plan to spend the same or more than in 2023.

Value-Seeking Behaviour

A whopping 70% of shoppers state sales promotions and discounts as the main factor in purchasing.

Early Bird Shopping

55% of Aussie consumers have started their gift shopping by October, indicating your need to be prepared now.

November Peak

63% of consumers plan to complete their Christmas shopping in November, particularly late November.

Black Friday Boom

Black Friday sales are rapidly increasing in importance in Australia, marking the start of the Christmas shopping season.

Category-Specific Trends Expected for Christmas 2024

Clothing

This category has emerged as the most popular gift choice for 2024, overtaking gift cards and electronics for the first time in nearly a decade

Books

Books are among the top gift choices

Gift Cards:

While no longer the top choice, gift cards remain popular, ranking, but the margins are so low that it might be questionable in this category. Many of my clients tell me they feel it costs them money as people spend more on gift cards than on their products.

Food:

Food spending is expected to dominate the peak season; no matter how times may go up or down, people have to eat.

Electronics

While specific figures aren't provided, electronics appear to have dropped in popularity compared to previous years, no longer being among the top gift choices

Overall, most expect a shift towards more practical gifts.

Toys

One category that is not being discussed but I think is worth looking into is kids, people now are not cutting down on their kids. I think you will find strong interest in toys, look at movie-inspired toys, what about toys like the Barbie Rewind 80s edition Career Girl Doll, Wizarding World Harry Potter Interactive Dobby and Batman Mega Mech Playset. Lego is trending on social media exposure. With the predictions of a hot summer water toys are expected to be popular. Learning toys with educational aspects, particularly those focusing on STEM education, are a priority for many parents

Preparing Your Retail Business for Holiday Success

Your POS System

Your point-of-sale system is the backbone of your holiday operations. Here's how to ensure it's ready:

Hardware Check

Test all POS computers, including backup registers. Ensure proper cabling and network connections. This cannot be stressed too much. Make sure everything works now.

Software Updates

Install any necessary updates to your POS software well in advance. You do not want to experiment over Christmas. It is highly recommended that over Christmas, you do not update your computers.

Strategic Inventory Management

Use your POS system's data to inform your inventory decisions:

Analyse Past Sales

See what sold over last year's Christmas period to identify products that sold in your shop.

Supplier Communication

Discuss expected order volumes with suppliers to avoid shortages.

Seasonal Stock

Ensure adequate stock of holiday decorations, gift sets, and greeting cards.

Financial Planning

Proper financial management is crucial during this high-stakes period:

Budget for Increased Expenses

Plan for higher inventory costs and seasonal staffing.

Cash Flow Projections

Use your POS data to forecast cash flow and plan accordingly.

Step 4: Staff Preparation and Scheduling

A well-prepared team is essential for a smooth holiday season:

Analyse Staffing Needs

Review last year's data to inform this year's staffing levels.

Create Flexible Rosters

Use your POS system's staff management tools to create efficient schedules.

Step 5: Marketing and Promotions

Effective marketing can significantly boost your holiday sales:

Social Media Engagement

Start early with holiday-themed social media content to build excitement.

Store Layout

Plan your product placement to maximise the visibility of holiday items.

Festive Decor

Use holiday signage and decorations to create a cheerful shopping environment.

Prepare for Peak Shopping Events

Be ready for high-volume shopping days:

Black Friday

Ensure you can handle increased transaction volumes.

Extended Hours

Plan for extended store hours during peak shopping.

Holiday Preparation Checklist

Use this comprehensive checklist to ensure you're fully prepared:

• [ ] Update and test all POS hardware and software
• [ ] Review inventory levels and set up automatic reorder points
• [ ] Analyse past sales data to inform stock ordering
• [ ] Communicate with suppliers about expected holiday volumes
• [ ] Plan store layout and product placement for holiday items
• [ ] Review and adjust financial projections for the season
• [ ] Create staff rosters and hire seasonal staff if needed
• [ ] Conduct staff training on POS, customer service, and product knowledge
• [ ] Develop and schedule holiday marketing campaigns
• [ ] Prepare holiday-themed store decorations and signage
• [ ] Consider a gift wrapping services
• [ ] Ensure adequate stock of gift cards and packaging materials
• [ ] Plan for extended store hours during peak shopping periods

My personal view

The holidays are just around the corner. We have to shine. I've seen firsthand how a well-used POS system can turn a good season into a great one. It's not just about ringing up sales - it's your secret weapon for managing stock, keeping your team on track, and creating a shop that customers love. Trust me, your POS is more innovative than you think - use it to make your life easier and your business stronger this Christmas.

This is how to measure how you went over the Christmas period. Let get some facts.

In your point of sale software

Go to reports and click on sales.

Now select the last seven days. For the first run, ignore all the extra options you can examine here. Once you see what it does, you can expand for more detail. So use a previous date for 2020. Most people are telling me anyway that they think this is better for them than 2021.

Now a report with the simplified options here.

Now there are lots of details for you to examine. If you want to look at one department, click on the left.

Let me know how you went.

In 1987, you got on a super special for $2250 a DOS computer, with a 20 meg hard drive, a cheap printer and a black and white monitor. From memory, $20,000 was a decent salary, so it was worth about two months after-tax.  

We expect to be very busy today, so we have extra staff today. We know we have to provide the last minute services that our customers need to deal with before Christmas. This is imperative as this shopping season needs to be good for many of our clients.

The outlook for this Christmas season looks very good. People have money, jobs, etc., so it has the potential to break previous records. We hope it does.

Have a good one!

Christmas is a difficult time for all our clients. There are many risks of something going wrong for them. This is when you need us the most. So we do not close over the period, as a Christmas shutdown has the potential to do more damage than good.

As this festive period isn't limited to the week surrounding Christmas, so we stay open always. We work 24 hours, seven days a week. Our company never sleeps.

Besides, we are as busy now as usual. Currently, support calls are coming in at a regular rate. Only the urgency is now considerably more. Overall there is a lot more work for us. The administrative and engineering staff are working as usual.

I hope our clients are happy knowing they are getting their money's worth with their support contract as they can be confident that we are here if they need us.

Computers do go down during Christmas so test all your computers for the coming holidays. It is much easier to get your computers fixed now than over Christmas. Every computer will fail. It is a matter of time, and the time they like by Murphy's law is the worst possible time: Christmas!

Give all your computers a test run now.

Also, make sure your backups are working. Worst case, your computer is replaceable, but your information is not without a backup. With a good backup, we often need to replace the computer, and you can be back up and running in a day.

As a result of the pandemic, the public has gotten used to planning to get goods in time for festivities. Plus, with these supply problems we are going through now, the public feels that retailers will not have adequate stock for Christmas. So the public has started its holiday shopping. Christmas products are now being brought early than usual, e.g. "gingerbread house" and "letter to Santa" kits. 

The public is buying ahead.

As a result, major retailers are already starting their holiday programs.

I would suggest that you start too you have now about a month.

If the delivery service you use Australia Post.

Managing Christmas is a difficulty, even at its best. This season will be more challenging.

But what is often forgotten is that Christmas preparation is more than going through rosters, inventory, and orders.

Please schedule a time to test your POS System.

1) Do all your POS devices work? Where the problem often occurs if you plan to use some of your older point-of-sale computers to accommodate the rush period. Test them now?

2) Check that the system you plan to use works. Lots have occurred in the last year.

3) Do your staff know how to use the Christmas features you plan to use?

The closer you are to Christmas, the harder it is to prepare.