Enhance Year End Clearance Sales!

You’ve had a busy year, but even the most successful retailers end up with unsold merchandise after the post-holiday frenzy. How do you get these items off your hands? A year-end clearance sale is the answer!

But how do you turn your year end clearance sale into an event that’s not to be missed? Read on to learn how to enhance your year end clearance sale.

Promote, Promote, Promote

It’s like the old question about the tree falling in the forest: If you hold a sale and nobody shows up to buy, did it really happen at all?

Well, yes, it happened, but you wouldn’t exactly qualify it as a resounding success. How do you ensure that shoppers know about your year end clearance sale? Start promoting it early and often!

There are a variety of ways to notify consumers that you’ve got a sale on the horizon, including:

• In-store signage— Alert the shoppers who already frequent your store that there’s a sale coming up by using POP materials such as standees, endcap signage, and signage at the register. Window clings can announce your sale to anyone who passes by. Choose bright, engaging colors that will catch the eye.
  
  
• Email blast— If you’ve cultivated an email list of all the customers who are interested in being notified when a big sale is imminent, send out an email to these interested folks at least two weeks in advance. Send a follow-up reminder email three days before the sale. (Be careful not to spam your email list– remember, you can give them too much of a good thing.)
  
  

Don’t have an email list? Now’s the time to start one! Offer customers shopping your year end clearance sale the opportunity to sign up for your email list so they’ll get notification the next time you hold a sale.

• Website and Social Media— Even if your clearance sale is only applicable to in-store merchandise, you should still promote the sale on your website. At the very least, place a prominent banner across the top of the page. If you’ve got a presence on social media, broadcast the upcoming sale there, too!

Be Mindful of Product Placement

If your instinct is to place your clearance in the very back of the store, think again. You don’t want to make it difficult for your customers to find the clearance items— after all, that’s the reason some of them are in the store in the first place.  That said, you don’t want your space to look cluttered or untidy; consider creating several different clearance stations within your store. This will ensure that items that aren’t on sale are within your customers’ eyeline, too.

Place your clearance items in easy-to-find spots around the store and be sure that you’ve got everything marked with appropriate signage. Be sure that you talk to experienced print partner to ensure that you’ve got the right signs for the job.

Amp Up the Urgency

Shoppers are a competitive lot. There’s nothing more exhilarating than knowing that you got the last sweater in your size and preferred color, unless you got that sweater at 50% off. Increase the sense of urgency within your customers by reminding them that these deals are only available for a limited time.

Banners proclaiming, “One Day Only!” or “Last Chance!” will increase the likelihood that a shopper will walk out of your store with a few purchases. When shoppers feel like they’ve bested their fellow consumers, they’re left with a feeling of well-being that will last for awhile.

Ready to make your year end clearance the most successful yet? Work with an experienced graphics and print partner who can help you make the most of your signage.