As the end of the year draws to a close, grocery stores everywhere brace themselves for one of the busiest times of the year. The holiday season draws massive crowds to the supermarkets and it can be extremely hectic. With the food demand at an all-time high, customers are preparing for holiday meals with loved ones. There are ways that these stores can better prepare themselves to handle the influx of consumers every year at this time. The following are just a few ways that they can better prepare for the holiday season.
Training all employees is an absolute must! With numerous holiday sales coming to the store it’s critical that every single employee is aware and understands how the sale works correctly. When the holidays hit, there will be no time to go back and properly train employees. Having the training already completed before the holiday season ensures a smooth transition into the busy time of the year. Grocery stores should already have a game plan mapped out ahead of time so they are able to handle the large volume of sales.
Staffing during this time of year is critical to having the store run as smoothly as possible. If the store is fortunate enough to run off of a point of sale system then management is able to identify the busiest hours of the day. Hours in which provide the highest number of sales is when there should be more staff members on the clock. This can prove to be a bit of a challenge as stores have to handle different employee’s schedules. During the holidays many employees travel out of town and have other plans with family and friends. It’s important that these schedules are coordinated and taken care of ahead of time.
With items flying off the shelves during this busy time of year, managing inventory becomes even more critical. Keeping the most popular items fully stocked, and those items that are in high demand during the holidays can be a chore in itself. This is where having a point of sales system can be of tremendous help. Order holiday items well ahead of time to ensure that they will arrive on time for sales.