How retail businesses can prepare for Black Friday – from Storage World

Winter fast approaching means that the biggest events in retail are upon us: Black Friday and Christmas. 

Generally the busiest season for both eCommerce and brick-and-mortar stores alike, being able to prepare properly is key to the smooth running of big sales, like Black Friday, and limited-time discounts. 

In this post, Storage World explains how self-storage can help retail businesses prepare for Black Friday and offers top tips on preparing for the busiest season of the year. 

Be prepared

The key to a successful Black Friday is preparation. Part of this preparation is having your stock in possession as soon as possible, and with the current climate, suppliers are struggling more than ever to get stock delivered to retail businesses on time. Having somewhere to store larger quantities of stock means you’re in a position to purchase early and avoid being let down in the run up to the winter season. 

Having sufficient storage space also means you can buy higher volumes of stock, rather than being restricted to what you can fit on the shelves if you’re operating a brick-and-mortar retail business. This can often save you some money and means you don’t have to place orders as frequently. 

Get a handle on surplus stock

The number of new Storage World customers mopping up surplus stock as part of Christmas preparations has increased this year, partly due to the inconsistencies of supply chains, but also because of the money saving opportunities buying ‘bankrupt stock’ provides. 

If you own a physical shop or a small eCommerce business, you may not be able to purchase surplus stock due to lack of space. This is why many retail businesses rent a storage unit – it allows them to keep large volumes of stock on hand which can easily be accessed whenever they’re ready for it. This is great for Cyber Weekend and the Christmas season, as you can purchase some great deals any time of the year and keep it safe for when the time comes to start selling it. 

Keep things organised

One of our top tips for retail businesses using self-storage is to make sure you keep things as organised as possible. Make sure you use the right packaging for your products (Storage World can provide this) and label them accordingly. This means when you need to pull stock from your unit, you can do so quickly and easily. 

Black Friday and the Christmas period as a whole can be very hectic, so the last thing a business needs is disorganised or lost stock, prepare and be organised. 

Use the right sized storage unit

It may be tempting to size down to save money – but this will limit the amount of stock you’re able to store at any one time. It’s best to speak to a member of staff about your specific self storage needs before deciding on which type and size of unit is best. With personal units on offer all the way up to warehouse spaces, there’s a facility to suit all business needs. 

Storage World offers full flexibility and upgrades to all customers so your storage unit can grow with your business. Trying to cram too many boxes into a smaller unit means increased risk of damage occurring, especially when it comes to fragile items, although our triple walled boxes can be stacked on top of each other.  

Don’t sell terminal stock at a loss

Terminal stock can be a big issue for many retail businesses, especially those operating within the fashion industry. Keeping out of season products on the shelves is bad for business and takes away space that should be used for fresh and more appropriate stock, whilst selling it off for a low price simply to get rid of it is bad for your profit margins. Having a storage unit to hand means you can simply store out of season products away until the following year, then bring them out again, saving you money on stock the following year!

Bulk buy your bestsellers

Have a few products that just fly off the shelves as soon as they’re restocked? Having a storage unit to hand means you can buy larger quantities to fill demand and ultimately make more money. Many businesses use their best selling products to attract customers to their shop or website on Black Friday, by offering a limited time discount. In order to do this you need to have a fairly high volume of stock to avoid an instant sell out and disappointment among customers.

Round the clock security 

When buying large amounts of stock, you may worry about theft and damage. Storage World offers businesses across the Greater Manchester region 24 hour security at its three storage facilities, with surveillance cameras and staff on site. Using a professional storage facility offers business owners peace of mind that their goods are in safe hands in the run up to the Christmas season.