Preparing for the holiday season as a retailer has always had its ups and downs. The questions about staffing and inventory have always been answered by past year’s data. We all know that this year is going to be more than a little different than year’s past, especially when old data is no longer reliable. How should retailers prepare for an unpredictable holiday season? It all boils down to what data is most reliable right now. 

Location intelligence is a great way to gain access to foot traffic data to not only give retailers the answers they need but also help them target the best audiences for their deals. Keep reading if you are a retailer in need of a holiday miracle this season.

Foot traffic has always been calculated by the previous year’s datasets, however, in a year like 2020, holiday shopping numbers are going to look vastly different. Year after year, retailers could easily rely on the holidays to be their busiest time but with the new social distancing guidelines and mask mandates, many shoppers might not want to brave the journey to a brick-and-mortar store. 

With less in-store foot traffic, the possibility of overstocking and overstaffing is high. Budgets are tight, and now more than ever, it’s crucial for retailers to get their numbers right, especially during the holiday season. By using location intelligence, retailers can not only pinpoint shoppers who are willing to visit brick-and-mortar shops but also gauge the most popular consumer trends. 

With these data insights, retailers can answer one of the most important and expensive questions: How many people should I staff on any given day during the 2020 holiday season?

Retailers need to base staffing numbers on data that is reliable. By analyzing foot traffic data, retailers can gain access to day-parting trends to forecast how many employees to have on hand for the holiday rush. 

For example, let’s say that you are a high-end electronics retailer in Nevada. You know that your best seller as of late has been wireless Bluetooth headphones. They’ve been selling a lot so you overstock in anticipation of a holiday rush. You also make sure to overstaff your shop; if the holiday rush is anything like last year’s, you want to be prepared. When the time comes, there are fewer shoppers than you had anticipated, even with COVID-19. 

Shoppers who do come in aren’t coming for the headphones, they’re buying tablets and laptops. You run out of stock quickly and before long, you have more employees than you need on the clock and you’re sold out of the one thing that you didn’t overstock on. 

If you had analyzed the data, you would have discovered that shoppers who are visiting your store are parents who are looking for remote learning technologies for their children. This would have given you the foresight to stock up on tablets and laptops and advertise to this audience before the competition can. Also, because of the foot traffic data, you could staff your shop accurately without the extra hours.

Though it may seem impossible to gauge what shoppers are going to want this holiday season, you can rely on new datasets to keep up with consumer trends and adjust your staffing plan. Location intelligence can help you stop worrying about how many employees to staff, or how much of a certain item to keep in stock. It’s time to get the answers you need this holiday season. Contact us to see what location intelligence can do for you.