Retail Storage for the Holiday Season: Ensuring Everything Goes Smoothly
Don’t get overwhelmed by demand over the holiday with our guide for managing retail storage.
Storage requirements for retail businesses can change quite dramatically over the festive season.
Seasonal fixtures such as decorations need to come out of storage while extra stock to cover higher demand needs to be added.
Our guide for managing these changes to your inventory will help your retail business successfully manage overstock and organise your storage space for an efficient and stress-free festive season.
Managing extra stock over the season
Whether your retail business always maintains a storage unit or only needs one over the season, the increase in inventory during periods of higher demand can make managing your stock more of a challenge.
Here are a few tips to help streamline stock management over the festive season.
Facility location
Choose a storage facility that is as close as possible to your shop.
When it comes time to restock the shelves, you don’t want to waste time driving long distances to your storage unit.
Also, consider how straightforward it is to get there and try to avoid heavily congested roads where possible.
Unit size
If your business needs a storage unit throughout the year, choose one that is big enough to accommodate the increase in inventory over busy seasons.
If you only need a storage unit over the season, choose one that is comfortably big enough for your extra stock to be organised efficiently.
Seasonal fixtures
Businesses that have shop fittings or decorations that are only used over the season will generally have a storage unit throughout the year.
When planning for and organising extra stock, remember that these items will come out of the storage unit thus freeing up some extra space.
Make a floorplan
Draw up a simple diagram of your storage unit’s layout with a legend so that staff can see where items are at a glance.
Leave room between boxes or shelves for staff to be able to move freely.
Store items that are in higher demand near the front of the unit.
Shelves or boxes
The type of inventory you have will dictate whether shelves are needed or if stacked boxes are sufficient.
If you do use shelving in your storage unit, consider whether extra shelving is needed during the season.
Limit access
If it’s practical, limiting the number of people with access to the storage unit will help minimise errors and disruption.
The few staff members with access can act as de facto stock controllers over the season and will keep the storage unit organised. They will know how to find needed items quickly and keep track of stock in and out.
Advantages of using self-storage for extra inventory
Self-storage offers many advantages for retail businesses throughout the year, but particularly during the festive season when the pressure to meet stock demand is higher.
A self-storage unit offers the following benefits, amongst others:
- Self-storage is a secure and affordable storage option
- Clean and dry storage units in a range of sizes
- 24-hour security and CCTV monitoring
- Easy access during office hours and after-hours by arrangement
- Flexible terms with no long leases
- The option to upgrade or downgrade your storage space
- Offsite storage mitigates losses in the event of theft or disaster
Self storage from Multibox
At Multibox, we offer clean and secure self-storage units in a range of sizes. All our facilities feature access control, security guards and 24/7 CCTV monitoring. Our facilities are located in three convenient locations across the island; Bambous, Forbach and Bagatelle Mall.
Multibox also offers storage containers, ablution containers and office containers to meet extra storage and staff requirements over the busy season. Contact us for more information or to get a quote.
