Harvesting Wisdom: Get Thanksgiving Ready
Prepare Your Produce Department for the Year’s Biggest Week
Thanksgiving week can be the busiest of the year, so it’s important to plan and prepare. Shoppers are looking for more than just good prices – they want top-quality produce and a great selection. Whether preparing for big feasts, weekend gatherings or game day parties, customers need to feel confident they’re serving something special. There’s also a growing number of non-meat eaters, which means produce plays the starring role.
The best part? Thanksgiving can be one of the easiest holidays to plan for and manage. There’s a lot of consistency year after year in what sells and when. So, trust past data to make planning and execution smooth sailing and turn Thanksgiving into a big win.
Planning is Key to Thanksgiving Success
Rely on sales reports from last year – this data can help hit goals with surprising accuracy. Adjust for any increase or decrease in volume from the prior year and use past sales and movement reports as a guide for purchase patterns and shopper behavior. Look at notes or holiday recaps from the prior year to recall additional details on what worked, what could have been improved and any short or long positions.
Start planning on the first of November.
Don’t just focus on the top 25 or 50 items, look at everything. Some crucial items may not hit the top 25, but they matter to shoppers looking for something unique – think fennel, exciting apple and pear varieties, persimmon, pomegranate arils, quince and other specialty items.
Take note of significant lift on everyday staples. It can be surprising how many onions, carrots, shallots and heads of garlic move during this time.
Staying ahead with orders and bringing in product in advance and when it’s available is critical. Prepare back rooms and coolers in any way possible to maximize storage.
Ideally, the final delivery before Thanksgiving, on Wednesday, should only cover a few missed items. Don’t wait until the last minute to bring in product. Order early, even during the week prior, to ensure the availability of products needed. Items like green beans, Crimini mushrooms and cranberries can get tight if you wait too long, so plan for those the week before.
When choosing promotional items there are two distinct strategies.
If your goal is to be sure shoppers have the best price on holiday needs, then promote the staples.
If you’re looking to add sales, consider promoting two or three traditional holiday favorites, and choose two or three items that are not on shoppers’ holiday lists but could bring added sales. Citrus, Honeycrisp apples, avocados and grapes are excellent options.
Also, consider promoting different items in traditional categories to add a higher ring. For example, promote Chanterelles instead of Crimini mushrooms and Comice instead of Bosc pears.
By looking at last year’s data and notes from the prior year, you can make sure customers have everything they need right when they need it.
Schedule Ahead to Avoid Falling Behind
Proper scheduling will make life easier and keep things running smoothly. A Thanksgiving reset should happen the week before the holiday – aim for Wednesday and Thursday to take advantage of pre-holiday shoppers the weekend before stocking up on staples that will keep. Your department should be 100% ready by Monday. On Tuesday and Wednesday, replenish wet and dry displays.
For promotional spaces, prioritize holiday veggies like Brussels sprouts, celery, cranberries, fresh herbs, green beans, mushrooms, persimmon, pie pumpkins, quince and sweet potatoes – but hold off on building that veggie display until the Sunday before Thanksgiving.
Consider scheduling extra people the week before to receive big orders and do the big reset. That way, extra closing shifts or early morning crews can focus on keeping displays full the week of Thanksgiving. A well stocked set at opening is crucial. When the store gets busy, your team can focus on restocking rather than rotating displays while dodging customers.
Create Thanksgiving Displays That Sell
When it comes to Thanksgiving, merchandising is simple: build large displays of what sells.
Keep hard goods like potatoes, sweet potatoes and onions in their everyday spots, but build waterfall displays that spill forward if space allows to create more holding power.
Ideally, displays should hold about 1 to 1.5 days' worth of sales. As you move through your sales on Wednesday, you can take down your spills and fill the tables to let them sell down by day’s end and keep waste following the holiday at a minimum.
Add a festive touch with bins of colorful gourds, Northwest squash and ornamental corn to give your department a holiday feel.
Maximize sales by tapping into impulse buys. Stock up on items that might not be on every Thanksgiving list but are perfect for catching the shopper’s eye, like Navel oranges and Satsuma mandarins, Hass avocados and especially berries. While the essentials should be there, this strategy adds more to the basket.
Be sure to celebrate and call out regional farms. The Thanksgiving holiday window is a time when OGC can source so much from Northwest growers – organic Brussels sprouts, cranberries, mushrooms, onions, potatoes, squash and more. Don’t be shy about using point-of-sale signs to highlight the grower community.
After the Rush: Beyond Thanksgiving Day
Plan for the days immediately following Thanksgiving. Even after the holiday, people gather for game days and get creative with leftovers.
Take time to recap the holiday, reflecting on what worked during Thanksgiving and what could have been improved. Were there changes to scheduling, short positions, long positions or display features that will be nice to recall in the future? Take notes to review next year and inform planning.
It’s easy to get burned out after the Thanksgiving rush. Make sure produce staff get a chance to recharge by scheduling days off as the calendar allows. It’s important to reserve some creative and physical energy for the six weeks ahead to capitalize on winter holiday sales.
December is right around the corner. While Thanksgiving has an earthy fall harvest vibe, December will pop with the brightness of citrus, bringing cheer to cold, dark days, so prepare to allow citrus to shine on endcaps. And with early December often being a slower period, it’s the perfect time to catch your breath and move into planning for the December holidays.
