The busiest shopping time of the year is just around the corner, and even now, sales are beginning to rev up due to early shoppers. Getting ready for the Black Friday-to-Christmas rush now can save you much stress later, as well as allowing you to maximize your holiday sales to take advantage of this high-demand season.

Taking Steps to Prepare

The following is a list of steps every retailer may want to consider taking during the months of October and November, before Thanksgiving:

1. Look over last year's numbers. If your holiday sales increased last year, it's worthwhile to analyze how much they increased and think back to how you handled the uptick. Take into consideration any growth between last year and this year to determine the likelihood that business could increase even more than it did last year if you have grown more since then.
2. Hire additional staff. If your staff was frazzled during last year's busy season, you may need to hire temporary help to make things more manageable all of you this year. Finding a few people flexible enough to be on call if things suddenly get busy can ensure that you don't get overwhelmed, but can avoid unnecessary labor costs when things aren't busy. Make sure to train staff well so that they can represent your brand and handle the crowd when it comes.
3. Beef up security. The holidays can be a happy time for shoplifters as well, who may try to take advantage of the crowds and busy-ness to steal from you. Part of your staffing increase should be an increase in store security to prevent losses from theft during this busy time.
4. Stock extra inventory. Increasingly, people are last-minute shoppers, yet get easily frustrated if items they want are not in stock. You may lose out on sales if you don't keep enough inventory on hand to satisfy demand. Try to work with suppliers who will allow you to return unsold items to avoid losing money if items don't sell.
5. Decorate. Holiday-themed décor puts customers in a buying mood, so put up a tree in the corner and wrap some boxes to look like fancy gifts. Red, green and shiny can't go wrong at holiday time. Making focal point displays of holiday-themed items can also help tip sales in your favor. Giving the store a good cleaning before decorating can help you put your best foot forward for the holidays. Special lighting may also be in order.

Budgeting for the Holiday Rush

Getting ready for the holidays may end up costing your business more than you think. Decorations, extra staff and extra inventory all add up to bigger up-front costs than you are used to having the rest of the year. Until those bigger sales come rolling in, consider alternative funding sources like a business cash advance from Quikstone Capital Solutions to give you the working capital you need to prepare for the busy season.

Cash advances don't require a credit check, and repayment is automatically deducted in small amounts from each day's credit card sales. By the time the holidays are over, you will have reaped the benefits of added sales and be poised to head into the new year in even better position than before.