Selling Consignment This Holiday Season

This year has not been easy for anyone but especially not for small business owners. Preparing your consignment shop for the 2020 holiday season will not be the same as the years before. We all wanted the pandemic to be gone by now but we are not there yet. Laurel Wamsley with NPR says that the United States has set records for daily new confirmed cases in the past week. We don’t want you to feel unmotivated by the news, there is still a lot you can do to prepare for selling consignment this holiday season.

Sell Online for the Holidays

Not everyone will want to shop in person this holiday season, expand your horizons and sell online! It’s important to be considerate of those who can’t risk going places due to health concerns, age, or people who want to be extra cautious. Consignment is known for being more affordable while still receiving quality items, many people lost their jobs this year and they may not want to spend a lot. This puts shops like yours in a great position. Create your online shop and promote it on your social media platforms. Get the word out there for people who want to give thoughtful gifts while saving money.

A great place to start is SimpleConsign’s Shopify plugin which allows you to easily transfer your in-store inventory to your online store.

Facebook Live Auctions

If you’d like to interact with your audience a bit more during the holidays, Facebook Live auctions are the perfect way to do that. This can be a fun event those stuck at home will look forward to. It can be an overwhelming idea for those who haven’t done it but with the right system, it can be made easy. There’s lots of information and tips online about how to run a Facebook Live auction. Use your social media outlets to have polls and ask your customers what they would like to see. You can make your Facebook live an event, those who are attending will get a notification about it.

SimpleConsign has combined the Shopify plugin with LoyalShops to make selling consignment on Facebook Live easier. This is a great tool for smooth sailing during your live.

Think About Your Community This Holiday Season

If there’s anything we can learn from Small Business Saturday, it’s the importance of community. The holidays are all about community as well. Remind your community that consignment is an affordable way to show your loved ones you’re thinking about them. Christmas gifts aren’t necessarily about how much you spend but about the thought behind it. Encourage your community to stop by and give consignment a chance. Here are some ideas when preparing your consignment store for the 2020 holiday season.

Keep your shop clean

Make your shop look pretty by being clean. This holiday season it is more crucial than before to have an attractive looking shop. Be sure your staff is continually cleaning to keep everything disinfected and neat. It’s also important to set a good example of what a clean consignment store should look like since some aren’t neat. This changes the whole experience by making it feel similar to regular shops and taking away the stigma.

Make your shop festive

Most people love the holiday spirit, get into it by adding any simple decorations. This is especially important from the outside and can be easily done with Christmas lights and wreaths. Why do you think people love stores like Bath and Body Works so much? Because it smells so good! Use seasonal scents to keep your customers in a cheery mood while they browse. Be sure not to go overboard or you might have a few customers with a headache.

Consignment shops are good for the economy

Consignment shops are a place where people can find special gifts while saving money. Not only are they saving money for themselves but they are helping the economy during this crisis. Supporting local shops is important for the community and consignment shops are beneficial for the environment. Share information about this when sending out emails, posting on socials, and more.

For more holiday season inspiration click here.

Paulette Squicimari