Increase Your Holiday Sales with Stocking Stuffers

Christmas is less than two weeks away (!). Now's the time to begin expanding your dollars-per-sale by encouraging your current customers to consider stocking-stuffers.

Most wineries and wine stores carry a variety of smaller wine-related items: foods, wine-serving accessories, glasses, etc. These items are perfect for the harried Christmas shopper to pick up as inexpensive gifts for their friends and families. It's up to you to make the suggestions to them because if they're in your store to buy a bottle of wine, they may not think of the other items. So make the suggestion and increase the dollars-per-sale.

Ideas that you might want to think about:

Food items:
Make food suggestions whenever someone buys a bottle of wine. Say something like: "I see you're buying a Merlot. Good choice! You know....this particular Merlot pairs really well with our smoked gouda cheese. Here...try a sample of the cheese. This cheese makes a great stocking stuffer, and it's discounted right now." This works really well. McDonald's significantly increased their sales with the famous line "Would you like fries with that?", and you can do that too.

Wine-Serving Accessories:
Combine items that make sense, but most people don't think of until it's too late. For example, corkscrews and bottle-stoppers, or corkscrews and vacuum pumps. If someone is going to open a bottle of wine, they're going to need to close it off, so putting these two together makes sense. And discount the price of the pair so that it's cheaper to buy both now than to buy one now and come back later for the other.

Gift Packs:
Bundle together specific items for gift packs. Wines and cheeses, accessories, etc. Offer your own, and also offer create-your-own gift packs. (Remember, we saw this at the Arizona Wine Festival: http://winepr.blogspot.com/2009/12/good-marketing-techniques-seen-at-az.html.) Offer a discount if they bundle together their own wine and cheese selection.

Final Thoughts...
1. Always openly promote the stocking-stuffers. Tell visitors about them. They might not notice. Remember, 'tis the season to be running around like a maniac. Your suggestion may be just what they're looking for.

2. Engage as many of their senses as possible while they're shopping. The longer they're tasting and smelling and viewing your offerings, the closer they are to purchasing. Get them engaged, and your sales will improve.

Hope that gives you some ideas! Best wishes for a happy and prosperous holiday season!

- Gordon