It is already autumn, and this time of year can be one that can seem to fly by before you know it when you run a retail business. Almost all retail businesses see an increase in sales either before Christmas, if they sell things that people tend to buy as gifts or which people use in their homes over the festive season, or after Christmas, when traditionally there are the best offers and bargains to be had, and so this is really the time of year to make any changes to how you do things that can help you get more from this period.

Here are three things you can think about doing now to encourage people to shop with you and facilitate sales in the run up to the Christmas season.

Implement Card Processing

If you run a shop, market stall or other small retail outlet, then dealing in cash only may feel like the easiest option, however it may actually be preventing sales. Customers have been shown to actually spend more when they pay by card than when they can only pay by cash, and also, when people are out doing their Christmas shopping, they are usually a bit pressed for time and prefer the more convenient options.

With the latest technology, it is very simple for even the smallest businesses to take credit card and debit card payments, and the fees are probably far less than you think if you haven’t looked into card processing for a few years. Look at the options at http://mypaymentsavvy.com/ for an idea of how you could make this work, and implement card payments as soon as you can in time for Christmas and the January sales.

Upgrade Your Ecommerce

A lot of people these days prefer to forgo the busy high streets and shopping centres altogether and get everything they need for Christmas online. This means you should be capitalising on this by having the best ecommerce possible for what you sell. If you currently don’t do any ecommerce, you can begin small by selling things through your own shop on eBay or on Amazon. If you have some form of ecommerce already, start looking at how to make it better. Could you offer faster or free delivery to tempt people to buy? Could you start selling in other EU countries? There could be lots of small things you could do with your ecommerce to boost winter sales.

Open More

Another thing to consider is the opening hours of your shop, if this is something you can control. Late night shopping is traditional in the run up to Christmas, and you may also want to consider opening on Sundays if you don’t already – this can allow people who work normal office hours more opportunities to shop with you.

These are three things to look at this autumn that could help make this Christmas a profitable one for your retail business.