Back-to-school shopping season has fallen upon us. For the next six weeks or so, you get to reap the rewards.

As hectic as your store might already be, somehow you have to prep yourself for the holiday sales rush too.

What should you think about? A few things:

1. Forecast Your Sales

You should be able to predict your 2018 holiday season sales with reasonable accuracy. Technological analytics tool make this possible.

If you’re having a hard time with that, it’s time to consider investing in those systems so you have them in place for future years.

Make sure you have your hottest sellers ready to go. And also compensate for shipping delays due to supplier stock issues or severe weather.

2. Get Your Team Ready

What’s one of the leading differentiators for physical stores?

Customer service.

That’s one place where you can beat Amazon. Without any physical stores available at their disposal, you can capitalize by offering a scintillating in-store service experience.

Employees should know your product and get your customers to what they want immediately. Give your employees the power to hand out on-the-spot discounts for hesitant customers. Offer your customers milk and cookies or hot cocoa (no joke).

Arm your staff with candy to give away to children. Ask parents for permission first. But if staff see a cranky child, they can come to the rescue with a little treat for a child who calms down.

Attract the top talent with above-market pay. Motivate them with performance incentives. And train them like you’re planning for the Super Bowl of retail (because you are).

3. Differentiate, Differentiate, Differentiate

If there’s one thing that works in every business during any market conditions, it’s differentiation. You’ve heard us talk about it on this blog before. So, strategize ways you can differentiate your store, brand, and experience from others.

Extend Cyber Monday an additional day to accommodate last-minute shoppers. Set up limited time offers on various products. Offer samples and in-store demos.

Go as far as using color to encourage spending. Blue and green relax and calm your customers, leading them to spend more. Psychological studies prove people also react faster and more forcefully when they see red.

The minutest details make a difference. So what haven’t you changed before that you could give a try this year?

These are all simply our ideas and suggestions. You have to try out new things and adapt as you believe will work best at your store.