Re: How do you prepare for the busy Christmas period?
I tend to love the holidays. This is the goldmine for online retailers if you are smart about it. I dont know how shipping times to the UK and customs is, but you have to plan at least 2-3 weeks ahead here in the U.S. And that number is with air freight services. The marker I like to use is very late October you should be game planning and ordering.
As for how much inventory to order, it is highly variable. I tend to use the days in inventory method. Does your item sit 15, 30, 45, 60 days? The holidays will at least bring an upswing of 20 percent. At the most safest point, just order 120 percent if you can afford that much investment into inventory. I tend to bring my leverage points to a very high level before holiday periods. That way, I can capitalize on the season.
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