The Friday after Thanksgiving is called "Black Friday". This is the day when retail businesses hope to go from being in the "red" to being in the "black", turning a profit for their business for the first time in the year. Some businesses report making 70% of their profit for the year in the few weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Black Friday is an important day for retailers. This day marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. Advertisers have made Black Friday a very popular shopping day. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade features the arrival of Santa and the Christmas season. Business owners know that people will be spending a lot of money the day after Thanksgiving, so they strive to get as much of that business as possible.
If you run a boutique, you will also want to prepare for this momentous event. Many stores open really early, as early as 4:00 AM to let shoppers in. They advertise special deals for weeks before the event. If you want to get in on the action, then you need to make sure that your customers and potential customers know that they will be getting great deals when they shop in your boutique on Black Friday.
Competition will be steep. Most people will determine what they are going to buy and from what stores before they go out shopping. You may need to advertise exact prices, even if you normally don't. Many companies will list on their web site a Black Friday list, revealing what will be on sale and for how much. However, they will usually only do this at the last minute because they are worried that their competitors will simply beat their prices and get all the business from savvy shoppers. But, boutiques have unique apparel and gifts that aren't usually going to be sold at the competitions' boutiques. So, you can reveal some of your prices without worrying about other companies undercutting you.
Getting the word out is so important for boutiques because you will be competing with the big department stores for shoppers' time. Sending out coupons or e-mails with printable coupons is a good way to get on shoppers' agendas. Be prepared for a crowd by having plenty of workers on hand. If you decide to open early to get some of the die-hard Black Friday shoppers, offer your employees special incentives, breakfast, coffee, and other perks to ensure that they are prepared for a long hard day.
Stress the fact that garment racks and clothing racks need to be kept stocked and straight all day. Make sure you have enough inventory on hand so that you don't miss out on sales. Full displays sell more items. An organized garment rack display looks attractive and appealing. Your signage, presentation, organization, and communication are so important.
After Black Friday, you can have a Cyber Monday sale to sell what you didn't on Friday. The Monday after Thanksgiving is a huge online shopping day. People have determined what they need to buy that they didn't get on Black Friday, or they've simply decided to avoid the crowds. Make sure that you tell your Black Friday shoppers about the Cyber Monday sale when they are leaving.
If you don't make as much as you had hoped, there are still a few weeks before Christmas. Retailers still make a big percentage of their money for the year on the few days before Christmas.
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