It is the first week of December. A gift shop is the busiest it has been all year. The phone rings constantly: "Are you open late on Thursday?", "Will this arrive before Christmas?", "Can I return a gift in January?" Staff are serving a queue of customers and cannot answer. Shoppers who cannot get an answer go elsewhere.
Seasonal rushes are when shops make much of their year. They are also when staff have the least time for questions.
Step 1: know the seasonal questions
Each season has its own questions:
- Christmas: extended hours, delivery cut-offs, gift wrapping, returns for gifts
- Sales: what is discounted, whether sale items can be returned
- Back to school: stock of uniforms, sizes, bulk orders
- Valentine's and Mother's Day: gift ideas, delivery dates
Restaurants face similar seasonal patterns, described in seasonal menus and the questions they create.
Step 2: update the website before the rush
Before each season, update opening hours, delivery cut-off dates, returns rules for gifts and any seasonal services. Put the key dates on the homepage.
Step 3: extend returns for gifts
Many shops extend returns over Christmas so gifts can be exchanged in January. Say so clearly. Returns questions are covered in returns and exchange questions before people buy.
Step 4: be honest about stock
Stock moves fast in peak season. Answer from what the website shows and capture requests for staff to check. Stock questions for local shops are covered in local shops losing sales to unanswered stock questions, and the wider challenge in is it in stock, the question retail websites fumble.
Step 5: answer routine questions automatically
SpideyChat for retail stores answers seasonal questions from your own pages at any hour, so staff can focus on customers in store.
Shopper: Will this arrive before Christmas? Assistant: The delivery page lists the last order dates for Christmas delivery. For standard delivery, orders need to be placed by the 18th. Click and collect is available until Christmas Eve.
Step 6: capture requests that need staff
Special orders, reservations and questions about specific stock should be captured with contact details for staff to follow up when there is a quieter moment.
Step 6b: plan staff around the peak
The busiest days are predictable: the weekends before Christmas, the first day of the sales and the week before school starts. Plan staff rotas so someone can check captured requests at least twice a day during those weeks. A reservation or special order that waits two days in December is often a lost sale, because the shopper has already found the item elsewhere.
Step 6c: make click and collect clear
Many seasonal shoppers want to buy online and collect in store to avoid delivery worries. Explaining how click and collect works, when orders are ready and where to collect them removes another source of questions, and brings shoppers into the shop where they often buy more.
After the rush
The weeks after a peak bring their own questions: returns, exchanges and gift card balances. Preparing answers for those in advance keeps the team from being swamped again in January.
Step 7: review after the season
Look at which questions came up most and which pages were unclear. Update them for next year while the details are fresh.
Getting ready this season
Write a seasonal checklist: opening hours, delivery cut-offs, returns rules and gift services. Update the website before the rush, and let shoppers get answers when staff are busy. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about answers on the features page.