Packing and
Shipping Training

Videos * Manuals
Services * Software

The results are in! Thanks to all of the respondents who gave information to help with the survey of December 2003. There definitely is a difference in how merchants operate their stores in December, and it was interesting to compare these.

Print this article in Adobe Acrobat format.

Survey Analysis
Note that this is not a statistically significant analysis. To do one, we would have to spend tens of thousands of dollars to randomly select and survey a larger percentage of merchants in this industry.

This survey shows what the merchants who responded have experienced. For example, what if only the people who are "movers and shakers" responded, and the people who don't even read a newspaper did not? This alters the figures. However, this is the best that we have to go by for now. We think that if you are reading this article, then you are "a mover and a shaker," so the figures will assist you to plan for December 2004.

It was impressive to read how many merchants are reviewing their business in detail and trying new things. We include the common comments in this survey. Also, after reviewing all stores, we decided to put sales figures into five categories with comparisons:

• All Responses
• Merchants Who Close for Many Days during December and Around Christmas
• Merchants With Extended Hours
• Merchants Closed or Open on Sundays

We add comments that merchants make about what they think affected them, in addition to using these comments to help with the analysis. For instance, if someone said that they were closed due to snow on certain days, then we adjusted their sales for these days.

All Responses
We only deleted one response from all the merchants who responded, since this merchant was closed half of December. If one is in an area where no business exists during December, such as a summer vacation area, then his or her figures will skew the results for the rest of us.

There's no doubt about December 15th being Big Monday, the busiest day of the year when Christmas falls on a Thursday!

Don't go by this graph for daily percentages, though. You may want information in a more detailed chart that follows, depending on how you operate your business.

Overall, sales were up over the previous December for 82.1% of those who responded to the questions; sales were down 17.9% for the same. Reasons for the sales increases include vigorous advertising campaigns, new operational procedures to assist customers, and better economic conditions in their area.

Reasons for sales that are down include new competition in the area, poor economy or other city-related variables, and unfortunate circumstances such as an anchor closing at the shopping center. We were happy to see that no one listed that they gave substandard customer service as a reason for their sales decreasing.

We asked what percentage a merchant's sales were up or down, and then we realized that this would not give us any useful information. There were so many stores that were new, so of course their percentage increase in sales over their first December is much higher than someone who has been in business for a decade or more.

Closed Several Days during Christmas
Originally we wanted to do a separate analysis for those who closed Saturdays and Sundays compared to others, then do one for those who closed for several days around December 25th. We learned that the majority of these merchants were the same for both categories. Therefore, we put these figures into one category, since we saw that it was going to be a similar analysis even if we separated these.

It was quite interesting that almost 20% of the respondents close most weekends and for several days around Christmas. We have never considered this, since we have some fabulous Saturday sales. Also, almost all retail businesses in our city are open on the 26th, and we do 1% to 2% of our monthly sales on each of the days after Christmas. It is my assumption that these merchants are in a totally different market, so it teaches me how to ask better questions for the next survey.

Of these merchants who close several days around Christmas:
" Only 12.5% opened on one or more Sundays,
" 25% used extended hours, and
" 75% were closed on all Saturdays and Sundays, in addition to the days closed around Christmas.

Before you look at the following comparison graph, keep in mind that in no way does this mean that the stores which closed several days around Christmas had higher sales during the earlier part of the month than all of the other stores. What this chart shows is what each day's percentage was of the total monthly sales. The stores that were open more days during the month had more days in which to contribute to the total monthly sales.

DECEMBER SALES
Stores Closed Often
Up in Sales - 87.5%
Down in Sales - 12.5%
All Other Stores
Up in Sales - 81.8%
Down in Sales - 18.2%

As you can see, there isn't a significant difference in a survey of this size between which stores were up and which were down in sales over the previous December. However, there did appear to be a difference in how a competing UPS Store affected merchants. The following table shows the percentages for the people who responded to this question.

UPS STORE EFFECT ON SALES
Stores Closed Often
Up in Sales - 0.0%
Down in Sales - 100.0%
No Effect 0.0%
All Other Stores
Up in Sales - 40.0%
Down in Sales - 6.7%
No Effect - 53.3%

The UPS Stores
The reason why I think the above table is significant is because the majority of The UPS Store merchants who I know are very aggressive when it comes to their business. For example with this survey alone, many of The UPS Stores stated briefly which profit centers were up or down, some stay open extended hours and weekends all year, and they can tell you specifics about their business. Believe me, I know how sharp these merchants are and how many of them are being extremely proactive with adding new profit centers. My hat is off to these savvy store merchants.

Independent merchants, thank The UPS Stores for keeping you on your toes. In other words, don't be lackluster with your business practices when you have a UPS Store nearby.

Look at what has happened with The UPS Stores in a positive manner: competition is good. I loved reading comments from stores when talking about how they have "beefed-up" operations and customer service to outshine their competing UPS Store and have won.

These are the results from the survey on the UPS Store questions. Respondent who said "not applicable" or did not answer the question were not included in this portion of the survey, of course.

UPS STORE EFFECT ON SALES ALL STORES (excludes UPS Store reports, of course)
Up 33.4%
Down 22.2%
No Effect 44.4%

Again, competition is good because it keeps all of us alert. I was pleased to see how so many franchisees and independents were interested enough in helping all of us to obtain information by participating in this survey. Even though we compete, we all are helping each other to learn and to survive.

Extended Hours
One big controversy in this industry is whether or not to extend business hours during December. That always has been a "no-brainer" for us, since we know for a fact that this business practice impacts us most positively. We advertise the extended hours and days in advance to inform our customers. They know that they can shop after work and then give us their presents for us to gift wrap, pack, and ship that evening.

After doing this survey, however, it seems as if many people don't share the same experience or opinion as we do with extended hours. Some said that they tried it, it did not impact sales, and all it did was make them more tired. I respect those who try new things and measure the results for their business. Trial and measurement helps us all to make better choices.

Out of curiosity, I wanted to compare those who had extended hours versus those who did not. The only respondents who were excluded from the data were those who were closed several days during December, since their figures will skew the graph for the majority. We will supply data for these other markets in August.

In addition, it looks as if the stores without extended hours had a larger percentage of sales on the Monday and Tuesday before Christmas. Was this because they were pushing more airs because they were closing the store sooner or had earlier pick-up times that the night owls? Inquiring minds want to know more, so let's look at the rest of the data that we have for this comparison.

Stores with Non-Extended Hours
% of Respondents 54.5%
% of Merchants Who Replied to Question on Whether Sales Were Up or Down over Previous December 50%
Sales Change from Previous December Up 77.8%
Opens at least one Sunday 29.2%

Stores with Extended Hours
% of Respondents 45.5%
% of Merchants Who Replied to Question on Whether Sales Were Up or Down over Previous December 86.7%
Sales Change from Previous December Up 84.6%
Opens at least one Sunday 76.5%

What this tells us is that approximately half of the people who responded use extended hours and the other half does not. In addition, it tells us that one-third more people who have extended hours replied to the question of whether or not their sales were up or down over the previous December than those who do not use extended hours. Could it be that people who use extended hours are more likely to stay in touch with their sales more closely than those who do not?

Also, it was great to learn that the majority of the respondents were up from December 2002. We did not ask for location or sales figures, but it was interesting to see how many people said that the economy in Dallas was down last year while those in the Northeastern US and other parts of the country are experiencing a surge in the economy.

Notice the difference in merchants who have extended hours versus those who do not on whether or not they open on Sundays. Three quarters of the respondents who have extended hours and who responded to the survey are open on one or more Sundays. Less than one third of those who do not have extended hours are open on at least one Sunday during December.

This raises the question of whether or not these people are in totally different areas: large metropolitan city area versus a seasonal or small-town area. Also, it makes me question how different people think about business practices. It didn't seem to affect sales increases from the respondents who answered, but there was a significant difference on those who answered this question. Again, thank you for your responses, since it makes me realize how to improve this research for all of us in the future.

Sunday Openings
First, let me say that one needs to make their business decisions and stand by these. For example, once I consulted with a therapist who owned a lake resort that she rented to major corporations for retreats. She decided that she didn't want alcohol used at her properties, but a Fortune 100 account contact insisted that their employees should be able to drink there. She was confused over her convictions and the prospect of losing this major account. I didn't tell her what to do; I simply told her that she needed to make her decision one way or the other. She sent me a hearty thank-you note for this advice.

The reason that I tell this example is because many respondents say that they never open on Sundays and that they will see us in church. Yes, you may see me and many of us in church, because we don't open our stores until after 1 p.m. on Sundays during Christmas. I wholeheartedly support these merchants who decide to stand by their convictions of not working on Sundays whatsoever. However, many of us understand our blessings in other ways and open on Sundays after church hours. Do what works for you and your business.

That stated, now let's do an analysis of those who are closed Sundays versus those who are open on some Sundays during December. Again note that this shows how this may affect the flow of business for what a merchant experiences each day. In addition, note that we deleted the merchants who close on many days during December, since these merchants may be in a different market than is the norm.

In the same respect, we use these Sundays to stock the lobby and the stores with inventory, since some Saturdays can be phenomenal sales days. As this respondent said, it is a time to catch-up on business details. Some of these details for us include finishing custom and large freight work, cleaning the store, and doing a check list for the following busy week.

Also, if you are not open on Sundays but are near a competitor who is and advertises this aggressively, you may be losing some sales. Again, it's a choice that you make for yourself and your business.

Let's look at the other data that we have for more comparisons. As a note, 80% of the merchants who opened on Sunday opened for two Sundays or more during December.

Stores Closed on Sundays
% of Respondents 45.5%
Used Extended Hours 20.0%
Sales Change from Previous December for Those Who Responded to Question Up 62.5%
Effect on Sales of Nearby UPS Store Up 33.3%; Down 16.7%; No Effect 50.0%

Stores Open At Least One Sunday
% of Respondents 54.5%
Used Extended Hours 85.7%
Sales Change from Previous December for Those Who Responded to Question Up 92.3%
Effect on Sales of Nearby UPS Store Up 44.4%; Down 0.00%; No Effect 55.6%

This table shows the variance in merchants' business practices in our industry and perhaps our different markets and how this affects us.

Think About It
Hopefully, we have let you know a bit about how others operate and what they experience in the retail packaging and shipping industry. Also we hope that we have given you some food for thought on what to do for December 2004.

Most importantly, you can see that this industry survives all odds and continues to grow. Thank you to all of the respondents for this survey. You are movers, shakers, and leaders. Respondents include franchisees, independent merchants, and those who have added packaging and shipping to their core business. The latter is the least of those who responded, but it still shows how many people are interested in how December affects us and are willing to share information so that we all can learn and thrive.

See the AMPC August News & Ideas on how to fine-tune your planning for the upcoming December.

Happy Profit Making and Personal Success!
Fran Scarborough
Vision Alliance Network, Inc.