As you know during the holiday season, you will see beautiful decorations and lights everywhere around town. People will be out and about on the streets, outside stores with you gift packages and shopping bags. You will feel the smell of Christmas in the air and every shop will be decorated to celebrate the holiday spirit. You will also find many decorative items in stores like Christmas Villages sets, Trees, and Lights, etc.
Holiday Decorations Matter
How can you set yourself apart from everyone else? This is a particular issue for smaller and independent stores as they compete against the bigger chain stores. Studies have shown that you are more likely to walk into a store that is highly adorned. There is something about the warm feeling that comes over shoppers and customers whenever they see holiday decorations which causes them to want to step inside and look around. This means more shopping from customers and profits for businesses. Sure, there are lots of individuals that want to whine about just how early the decorations appear, but their spending habits show they prefer them. Other studies have proven that stores and businesses decorated for the holidays create a positive impression on customers. They feel more at home, are happier and more likely to buy gifts for their loved ones and themselves. Decorating includes all the normal things you might think of such as; trees, wreaths, and lights, but it’s also the subtler things. For instance, Christmas holiday music in the background has an almost subliminal influence on individuals. Also, holiday scents affect mood which encourage spending. In particular, citrus aromas stimulate buying and positive feelings. Throughout the holidays, retailers earn anywhere from 20% to 40% of their entire yearly income. A successful holiday season sets the groundwork for the remainder of the year whereas a bad season can leave a very dark tone.
In front of you are two stores. They contain the hard-to-find gift items that you have yet to check off your record. Both of these have the item at roughly the same cost. Now visualize this:
The one on the left hasn’t bothered to decorate for the holidays. Sullen employees in non-holiday garments are walking around and look bored. Right next to that shop, is another shop full of wreaths, trees and Christmas villages. There’s holiday music playing and when the door opens you can smell your favorite holiday-type aromas.
Which store are you more likely to walk right into?
The answer is definitely, the one with the Christmas themed atmosphere. You feel more attracted to it and will want to explore all of its Christmas related items. Lastly, there is also a big probability that you will receive a Holiday discount on your purchase, keeping you under budget or allowing you to buy more!