The holiday season is upon us. Back to back to back punches in the gut from Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Valentine's Day.... Personally, I find this shit exhausting, but holidays ARE an opportunity to make bank. Are you hearing that cha-ching and seeing dollar signs, knowing this is shoppingest time of the year? Great! Let's do this.
In general retailers love holidays because it is guaranteed content. Need an idea for a product? Do something seasonal. Need an idea for a social media post? Do something seasonal. Tis the season for a playbook we know well.
You should definitely provide your customers with seasonal, holiday content. They want it. It gives you something to promote, and ties your business to the mood of the masses. BUT, don't lose yourself in the holiday/greed spiral and DON'T get stuck with products that are only sellable for a few weeks out of the year. Be strategic about the holiday inventory you buy. (And always, be mindful about where you source your products. Fuck Amazon!)
So, here's what I recommend to make holiday inventory purchases low risk: For each holiday make a list of EVERYTHING that comes to mind related to that season. Then, once you're out of ideas, sort the list into things that are ALWAYS cool vs only seasonally cool. Third, when buying your seasonal inventory, focus on buying products that are always cool. These are things you can absolutely hype and spin as seasonal, but that you can STILL SELL YEAR ROUND.
(See video below)
No one wants to buy jack-o-lantern earrings in January but they might want a black cat enamel pin. Black cat = always cool & therefore low risk. Jack-o-lantern = super seasonal & therefore risky.
And here's a strategy to make your holiday inventory low effort: survey what you already have on hand & figure out how to put a seasonal spin on. For example, I always have candy in my studio. Candies make a great, cheap weight you can add to mystery bags or other products that need a little heft & a little sweetness. You don't have to be a genius to put a Halloween spin on candy you were gonna throw in mystery bags anyway. I also always have fangs, and 1" buttons, and pornographic playing cards..... Put it all together and I've got a Trick AND Treat mystery bag. Is it really much different from any other mystery bag I might have thrown together every non-Halloween week of the year? (Insert wicked laugh)
To sum it up- Give the people what they want- a holiday thrill. Have fun with your holiday offerings & be strategic.