Prepare your store for the Easter holidays

Good Friday and Easter Monday are coming up on 15 & 18 April, 2022. With covid restrictions now lifted in the UK, and other restricted countries hopefully able to follow suit soon, the school holidays should be a busy period for family attractions and toy stores.

Of course, as the Centre for Retail Research put it, “it is hard to gauge what will happen to the world economy in the next few months.” In fact, they went as far as to say that the last couple of weeks have been a “stupid” time to produce a forecast, which is hard enough at the best of times. I can empathize with the author. There’s certainly no telling exactly how things will play out over the course of 2022.

As a brick-and-mortar business, it’s always good to prepare for likely scenarios where feasible, including being hit with bumper trade for a couple of weeks over Easter. Unorganised stores can lose valuable business due to long payment lines, poor customer experience or sold-out stock. Here are suggestions to get ready and maximize the opportunity.

See from the customer viewpoint

Walk around the inside and outside of your store, reviewing everything honestly from the perspective of a customer. How does it look?

How is the overall shopping experience? Is there room to move around easily, and for prams (strollers) to get down the aisles? Is the flow of the store easy to navigate, and are products easy to see and reach? Does the checkout area have plenty of room for people to queue without blocking aisles for other customers trying to shop?

If you identify any problems, now is a good time to correct them by shifting your floor plan into a better layout. If you have a small store, consider limiting what you have out on display at any given time, rotating products to provide fresh variety for returning customers. Invest in display standsthat create more visual appeal and capacity.

Beyond that, how will new customers and tourists find out about you? Update your website, Google business listing and social media accounts with your business information (make sure you’re listed as a toy store), opening hours and featured seasonal products. Promote plenty of colourful imagery, including on your Google business listing, to attract people to your store. For your website, use keywords that local customers might search with to make yourself more discoverable, and use popular and relevant hashtags on social media, including those used by visiting tourists.

Do maintenance and spruce up your store

Replace blown bulbs or anything that’s damaged, including sections of flooring, or walls that need repainting. Deep clean all surfaces, including under and on top of shelves. Restock shelves and tidy up the presentation.

Take advantage of seasonal enthusiasm by creating an Easter window display, or an Easter display at the store entrance. Easter-themed pocket money or soft toys are the perfect products to either create or complement an eye-catching Easter display. They appeal to both kids and adults hosting family or social gatherings.

Check your inventory

Reorder depleted toy stock where necessary, and identify any new product selections you’d like to include in your offering. Reorganize the storeroom while you’re at it, so everything is easy to find and reach quickly.

If you do find yourself caught short, Keycraft offer next-day delivery within the UK, with favourable minimum order terms for wholesale toy stock. We also dispatch from our strategically located warehouses in Australia and the USA.

If you need some inspiration for pocket money Easter toys, download our catalogue! There are plenty of irresistible options to maximise impulse appeal for a range of customer budgets, with wholesale toy stock available now.

Prepare for staff to be busy

Make up your staff rota in plenty of time. Identify which shifts should only need minimum coverage, and be adequately prepared for likely rush times. Account for holiday weekend traffic and potential delays by scheduling in a small overlap of shifts, giving plenty of time for a smooth handover.

Ensure all your staff, especially new or seasonal staff, are fully trained to keep the checkout process running smoothly at all times. That includes:

• What to do if a till (cash register) or card terminal breaks

• Replacing receipt tape

• How to remove security tags

• Processing returns or handling complaints

• Where things are kept in the storeroom, and familiarization with your stock holding

• Knowing to keep bags stocked upfront of store

• Regularly checking displays for neatness and replacing sold items

• How to turn off any triggered alarms

• Where the fuse box is

• Being able to contact the owner or manager in case anything crops up that needs to be dealt with immediately

Discover how Keycraft can help your toy retail business expand, with solutions from display stands and graphic design to retail advisory. Learn about the variety of retail businesses we work with to deliver better results.