Pre-holiday sales: tips for store owners on increasing the average purchase value

The “hot season” of holiday and pre-holiday sales is an excellent opportunity to boost profits for many retailers. How can the pre-holiday sales process be organized effectively? How do store owners, salespeople, and marketing specialists in Riga handle this task? Albert Tyutin, a sales expert, author of the book “Proactive Selling,” and B2B and B2C business trainer, explains.

For 20 years, Albert has been developing retail sales technologies and adapting sales models to different businesses, product ranges, and sales formats.

- Tell us about the most interesting products and services in your experience! Whose average transaction value have you successfully increased?

- I fondly remember one of my first professional experiences—the Sergei Svetlakov store. He developed a chain of stores selling amusing products. For example, a gold-colored baseball bat bearing the inscription “For a Golden Person.” Working with Sergei’s store made me seriously consider the fact that different products are sold in different ways. The baseball bat is a classic example that can be used to learn how to sell to someone who initially entered the store “just to look around,” without a specific need.

Thanks to my work with Sergei’s store, the technology of “impulse” selling emerged, while other technologies were also revealed, which I would later describe in my books and programs and use in professional training.

- By how much have you increased the average transaction value? What is your record?

- Most of my projects are long-term. I always monitor how sales dynamics change. Usually, the average transaction value increases by 30–40%. But not always. Sometimes by 5 or 10%. It depends on the sales tools and the characteristics of the product itself.

- Which markets do you work in? What is the geographical scope of your experience?

- Mostly Russia, Latvia, and the CIS countries. Among the cities where I conduct training are Riga, Chișinău, Minsk, and more than 30 Russian cities. I specialize in what is known as the “post-Soviet space”—here, I find it easy to understand and predict consumer psychology.

I study the characteristics of consumer behavior in different regions and countries. Only on the basis of this information do I select tools that are guaranteed to work in a particular business. Success is ensured by understanding consumer psychology. Sales techniques and methods come only afterward.

- Is there seasonality in sales? How relevant is the concept of pre-holiday sales in modern retail?

- Undeniably, many retailers have pre-holiday periods when stores generate half of their turnover within a single period, and in some cases even their entire annual turnover. All of this happens thanks to the excitement surrounding the holidays. At such times, sales technologies must be used to the fullest.

Speaking about Riga’s stores, I noticed that many retailers here skillfully create a sales atmosphere. However, they still need to discover many specific techniques and methods. Sales here can be significantly strengthened. To me, retail is a “battlefield” where one must constantly remain at the forefront. Everything changes quickly. You have to experiment, observe, and analyze what works and what does not.

The potential for an ordinary Riga retailer to increase the average purchase value is enormous. The sales techniques I discuss in my training sessions in Riga are relevant and effective; they will continue to work in this region for a long time.

My first free tip: highlight a gift section!

Christmas gift sections are rarely highlighted in Riga; in practice, they are almost never emphasized. A festive atmosphere is created, stores are decorated, and promotions are held. Yet people completely forget that customers today are lazy. They do not want to think! Shoppers need advice.

A great idea for any retailer is to designate and equip a separate stand with Christmas gifts. Highlight the best family gifts and the best gifts for close friends. Such a stand makes people stop and look at what the store offers. This will make it possible to build a meaningful dialogue with the shopper.

It is important to study your audience—what exactly your customers choose to give to their friends.

The second tip: place an “add-on sale” product category at the checkout

This category includes simple products with the basic premise: “I’ll buy this to give it to someone as a gift.”

These products have a low transaction value. They are primarily impulse-purchase items. The ideal option is “sweet” little things that are genuinely pleasant to give as a token of attention.

But even for these “sweet” little items, high-quality sales scripts must be developed. Otherwise, people will think that someone is once again trying to “push” something on them. A different feeling is needed: showing care, or providing a convenient opportunity to do something pleasant for oneself, one’s loved ones, or friends.

The third tip: increase the transaction value with UP-SELL

UP-SELL means selling more expensive products. Every retailer can certainly identify the best-selling product group and determine why customers choose these particular products. Find more expensive alternatives and develop sales scripts for them.

As a result, offer customers a more expensive and higher-quality alternative in a professional manner. Emphasize the key differences and the price gap.

I would like to emphasize that three methods are traditionally used to increase the average transaction value: UP-SELL, DOWN-SELL, and CROSS-SELL. I have already briefly described one of these techniques, but its possibilities do not end there. There are even more “grandiose” adaptations and interpretations.

For example, a person comes to a store to buy a pillow, but the salesperson realizes that the choice of pillow is a critically important factor on which the proper development of the customer’s child’s spine depends. If the wrong pillow is chosen, problems may arise. Therefore, you should sell not a pillow, but the child’s entire healthy spine. Questions should be asked with precisely this idea in mind, leading to the sale of the product. A healthy spine costs more than a pillow.

- How do these sales techniques work during the pre-holiday period?

- They work without a doubt—like a red rag to a bull! During the pre-holiday period, excitement intensifies any technique. People buy more, and they enjoy it.

If a customer chooses clothing, a knowledgeable salesperson can help create an outfit—and it is not necessary to be a stylist! The salesperson can prepare outfits and looks in advance on a tablet—for example, the look of a popular television star—and skillfully use this information.

We must also remember that customers should be given more reasons to make purchases: a reason to treat themselves, a reason to give gifts to loved ones, a reason to surprise someone. You simply need ideas. Everything else is scripts: how to make an offer and which promotions to use.

I sincerely hope that my tips will help you sell more!