As the wintertime temperatures continue to drop, some consumers may find that the only thing they want to do is hunker down on their couch or snuggle in front of a fire. Businesses have to entice customers to leave the comfort of their homes and brave the cold to do some shopping, which they can do with festive promotional event giveaways.
The holiday season presents companies with an incredible opportunity to drive up their sales right before the year’s end. For this reason, stores have to give it their all when it comes to offering consumers merchandise discounts, in addition to limited-time shopping perks. They need to provide some extra encouragement to chilly consumers, preventing them from doing all of their present purchasing online.
Get personal with holiday shoppers
If companies make their products available through the Internet, then they can easily boost sales by offering promotional gifts to those who spend over a certain limit. Although Web-based transactions generate a significant amount of revenue for vendors, they can also be impersonal. Businesses should try to break down virtual barriers, working to increase their in-person sales to forge stronger bonds with customers.
This means that organizations are going to have to find a way to persuade consumers to come into their stores. The thought of somehow pulling shoppers away from their computer screens may seem like a tall order to fill, but it doesn’t have to be if companies play their cards right.
The key is to create an in-store experience that people won’t be able to resist. By throwing together simple but enjoyable holiday shindigs – complete with free promo items – shops will be able to offer customers something that they cannot find online. Shoppers are not likely to miss out on festive fun, and these events will be enough to tempt even the coziest of consumers.
What better way to welcome the season and raise customers’ spirits than by hosting a hot cocoa party? This creative take on a holiday celebration will enable businesses to warm up everyone passing by their stores, putting them in a pleasant mood and inspiring them to start buying gifts.
Tap into the uplifting power of cocoa
CNN news pointed out that it is scientifically proven that chocolate makes people happy. On the chemical level, this delicious substance has been found to cause a surge of positive feelings to those who consume it.
“Cocoa boosts brain serotonin,” ethnobotanist Chris Kilham, an international researcher of natural medicines. “Almost every single antidepressant aims at either enhancing serotonin or keeping it in the brain longer. Chocolate or cocoa does that very well.”
Living Green Magazine corroborates this statement, explaining that dark chocolate contains phenylalanine, which prompts the production of serotonin, dopamine and phenylethylamine. All of these substances cause a wave of joy to wash over whomever sampled a treat containing cocoa.
Tempt shoppers with chocolate and free gifts
Given the body of evidence, businesses holding holiday events for shoppers should seriously consider using the power of chocolate to their advantage. Stores can invite consumers into their stores and hand out hot chocolate, taking the chill out of the air and fueling customers with endorphins.
Just to further maximize the amount of cheer that companies are spreading to their customers, organizations can allow shoppers to take the promotional mugs from which they’re drinking home with them. This way, merchants can reinforce their relationships with store visitors, who are already happy from being on a hormonal high. Ultimately, this two-pronged approach could attract more people, in addition to making them more inclined to purchase holiday gifts.