OPINION: Learning from the past helps respond to the present

It’s hard to say that spending habits in the current economic climate have been the same compared with those in previous years. The task at hand is a little bit more difficult for retailers. However, we can always go by past experience. In doing so, we can find out what’s worked – whether it’s pricing or ranging – and then tweak it.

For Christmas 2024, we took advantage of the Londis pre-sale, getting enough stock to create a shopping experience for customers while being mindful of the cost-of-living crisis. However, Christmas only really picked up for us on Christmas Eve, when people came in for distress purchases of bread sauce or wholegrain bread.

Next Christmas, we’ll look to stock more wrapping paper because there was a lot more demand for it in 2024 than we expected. Christmas was also an eye-opener because we had new team members. A lot of experience was missing. We had to be more alert, and take new team members on more detailed training. Having the right people is a massive deal throughout the year, but it is especially important for the big events.

We always open on Christmas Day – not from a monetary perspective, but to serve customers who need last-minute purchases for last-minute guests. If people know we’re open, they know they can pop out to pick up some bread, milk or wine.

Getting ahead on seasonal trends pays off

It’s important to have seasonal products on the shelves early. Before Christmas, we were already stocking some Easter items, such as Creme Eggs. People were so used to seeing Christmas stuff by December that Easter products were something different for them. They might have said ‘Easter already?’, but still picked up a pack.

We’ve already sold through our first Easter pre-sale. We’ll get the next tranche up shortly. Similarly, we kept some of our mince pies out after Christmas. We know from previous years that some people like to have one in January with a cup of tea.

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