Ho! Ho! Ho-oh, no! It’s not that time of year again, is it?
Well, not quite – but it is already October, and that means that it won’t be long before the C-word will be spilling glitteringly from the lips of every granny, mother and child from Land’s End to John O’Groats and back again.
As a consumer, you no doubt feel as tyrannised by the annual early onset of Christmas as everyone else. But, as a retailer, you are acutely aware of the need to be tyrannical and strike early, not least because your competitors will soon be decking the halls with seasonal sales even if you aren’t.
Yes, Christmas. It happens every year. You normally get the first whiff of it some time in September, when suddenly the tins of Roses and Quality Street start sprouting in the confectionary aisles at supermarkets. Then the weather takes a decidedly autumnal turn and you find yourself craving early nights, glowing log fires and hearty stews for supper. Before you know it, those perfume adverts start appearing on the telly. Then that famous grouse starts bobbing around (drunkenly?) and by the time jolly old St Nick starts swigging the brown stuff on the sides of the Coca-Cola Christmas trucks you know the holidays are coming and there’s no escape.
However, long, long before this happens, the small business owner will need to be thinking about the Christmas displays in his / her shop, pub, café or restaurant.
For eateries, early booking signs need to be put on display. In pubs and clubs, banners and PVC signage should be advertising events and cheap holiday deals. And in shops, signage should start appearing pointing shoppers towards the ‘ideal gifts for him / her / mum / dad etc.
Indeed, the retailer’s role in orchestrating mass anticipation towards the month of Advent should not be underestimated. Plenty of people like to get their Christmas shopping done early and of course, it doesn’t hurt, come October, to start reminding them of this.
Now, these days, the high street retailer has a lot of online competition to fend off. But there are a few things that shoppers can never truly get by making all of their seasonal purchases online – the personal touch of friendly staff, the ability to feel and try before you buy, and of course the in-store experience, especially at Christmas time.
These things indeed can make all the difference to your sales. In an interesting blog post from KaiSquare.com published in the run up to the silly season last year, the author makes the following observations:
“In many retail businesses, you would want customers to stay in your store longer. The longer they linger the higher chance of spending more. One way you can retain customers is by creating a welcoming and pleasant store ambience.
“70% of purchase decisions are in-store decisions and these are largely influenced by store ambience. There are [many] aspects to store ambience, the smell, product displays, signage, furnishings, music, lighting, colour, the list goes on.”
Seasonal Retail Signage
As Christmas time approaches, high street retailers need to be making sure that their retail displays and store signage are bright, vibrant and reflective of the liveliness that the seasonal silliness brings. And in pubs, clubs and eateries, any signs or banners that are strung up should be engaging punters with festive designs and exciting, anticipatory offers.
Here at Print-2-Media, we produce all types of signage – from banners to posters to pavement signs to illuminated signs – any or all of which may be suitable for your outlet. We’ve got years of experience in creating the right signage for the right venue at the right time of year, and so we’re always available to help our customers ensure that they end up with the best signs that give the best results.
So, we invite you in the first instance to drop us a line and chat to one of our experienced team about your specific needs. But, in the meantime, in order to get those Christmassy juices flowing, we’ve outlined below some signage scenarios that we produce for our regular customers each Christmas, plus a few new ideas that you might want to think about in order to try and get bums on seats, feet through the door, or indeed create that all important ambience in your store that will get those customers hanging around for longer and spending more while they’re there.
But, let’s start things off by thinking about signage for those dedicated premises of Christmas merriment…
For Pubs and Clubs
Pubs are in constant competition with each other even at the quietest times of the year. But when it comes to Christmas, a few glasses of mulled wine down the local might be the only time that some people actually set foot through the door of any public house for the whole calendrical cycle. And so, it’s important that publicans are doing everything they can to create Christmas events that reward the regulars for another good year of service, as well as attract those strictly seasonal revellers through the doors. Here are some ideas…
Banners
We recommend printed PVC banners for pubs and clubs to get their Christmas messages out there. Christmas Quizzes and Festive Feasts can all be printed up on a PVC banner. The great thing about these is that they’re cheap – especially for their size – yet high impact, as well as being weatherproof, easy to roll up and transport, and can indeed be treated as disposable once the event has passed. Our PVC banners are high quality, suitable for outdoor use, and can be hemmed, fitted with pole pockets and eyeleted as required. And, if needed, we also supply a great range of banner accessories, including cable-ties, banner stands and banner systems to ensure that your banner is anchored firmly in place.
Pavement Signs
Our range of pavement signs become very popular for the pub and club industry around Christmas time. They are a great way to both draw pedestrian traffic through the door, as well as advertise to passers-by what Christmassy events are coming up when the season takes hold. We’ve got A boards, swing signs and flex signs to suit your purpose.
For Cafés And Restaurants
Pavement Signs
Once again, pavement signs are a proven choice for high street eateries looking to entice people through the door with some high quality images that showcase scrummy festive fodder. Ideal for advertising Christmas menus, deals and steals, our A boards, swing signs and flex signs include front and back display panels that will draw the attention of pedestrians walking past in either direction. Our range of pavement signs come in a choice of sizes to suit your location and budget.
Illuminated Menu Display Case
We offer a range of illuminated menu display cases, which are the perfect housing for some creative and decorative Christmassy flourishes for your menus. With a little bit of tinsel, some greens, some reds and some glitter, your Christmas menu can sing like a church choir to passers-by on the high street. Though of course, illuminated display cases are not confined to outdoor use, nor indeed for menus – the LED lighting can be used to add some festive twinkle to any amount of signage for your hotel, café or restaurant, indoors and out.
For Shops And High Street Retailers
Interior Retail Signage
When trying to create that perfect Christmas ambience in your store, it will pay to give everything a bit of a festive makeover. From January to November, your shop always displays the same – but come Christmas it’s time to slap on the fancy dress. The idea is to give even your regular customers the feeling that they are walking into a completely new shop. You’d be surprised at how this will entice them to stick around for longer as they soak everything in – and the longer you can hold them, the more they’ll spend. Here’s a few ideas…
Printed Card
Printed card and double sided printed card are very simple, cost-effective ways of replacing your usual signage for your Christmas displays. It can be used for aisle, counter or shelf headers, and can be cut very easily to fit temporarily over your usual signage until New Year strikes, when you can slip them out and store away until Christmas comes rounds again.
Free Standing Display Units (FSDUs)
FSDUs can be fashioned to create some very Christmassy decorations around your store, either to advertise your Christmas deals, or simply to form Christmas trees, reindeer or snowmen if you’re just looking to make the place feel more festive.
Point Of Sale (POS)
Your POS locations in-store are of course extremely important areas, and creating powerful displays here can make all the difference to your up-selling efforts. Christmas-themed POS signs and banners are perfect for alerting your customers to those smaller stocking-fillers that you can have displayed on the counter. POS displays like this connect with customers right at the moment when they are already committed to parting with a few pounds for your wares, so a couple more won’t hurt at all – hey, it’s Christmas after all!
Wall Stickers and Wallpaper
Festive wall stickers are a simple and cheap way of giving your shop a Christmassy lift – but if you really wanted to go for it, then we also print custom wallpaper that you can decorate as garishly as you dare.
Window Stickers
Frosty friezes are a classic addition to store windows during the Christmas season. Our UV printer is kitted out to print with white ink so is perfect for producing snowy scenes replete with white snowflakes and oodles of falling snow! We can produce cut-to-shape stickers from white vinyl that can be used on a window or we can print white ink onto a clear vinyl that is even easier to apply.
Other Ideas
Of course there is no end to what printed and cut materials can be used to bring Christmas cheer and ambience into your store, pub, club or eatery. And so here are a few extra suggestions that you may consider:
Acrylic flat cut letters – for adding real class to interior décor.
Carpet graphics – our easily applied and easily removed carpet graphics can pave the way to your winter wonderland with ease.
Foamex, vinyl and aluminium dibond are all materials that can be used to create any type of signage. What will be best for you will depend on the purpose, location and environment, so don’t hesitate to give us a call and we’ll help you make the right choice.
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