Mothers day can be a big deal to some retailers; it can be a mother load of work too.
I caught up with a friend who works on the shop floor in a womens wear brand after the mothers day weekend last year and her observations were really interesting.
She was working the day before mothers day on her own. As she described her day and experiences it seemed so simple the things that didn’t go so well.
- The person who had done the shift before hers had not done the days paperwork correctly, cleaned or restocked. So the day was behind from the beginning.
- There was a crowd at the door waiting for the store to open; which meant no time to catch up on any of the items that hadn’t been done.
- Products hadn’t been restocked; a whole box of scarves was in the back room and the rack was bare. Scarves are such an easy mothers’ day gift item!
- The back room was a mess which meant that when an additional person came on to cover lunch instead of two people selling; one had to clean as it was potentially unsafe.
Some basics have been missed here, placing undue stress on store teams over the mothers day trading period.
Some key items to remember for this year in preparation;
- Handing off to the next shift in good order DOES make a difference; at the very least safety issues should be dealt with even if it means staying behind to get items put away safely.
- Consider scheduling additional staff if mothers day is a big trading day in your business or even getting a few hours cover from a casual can give some extra capacity.
- Getting gifts out on the floor and visible is essential; no one can buy them from the back room!
- Consider packaging up gifts/ baskets in easy price points or whole dollar amounts; this makes it easier for customers to shop and if products are priced at specific points that mean no change is required especially if you have a stall.
- Clean up as you go to try and keep the space shop-able and tidy for customers as well as sales teams.
The store did double their usual takings for a Saturday last year; I wonder how it will fare for them this year.
Got a mothers day horror story? Comment or share it here.