19/08/2026
6 Tips for Preparing Your Small Business for the Holidays!
The holidays are right around the corner, so it's a perfect time to plan ahead for success. Many experienced business owners start this planning process in June or July.
Prepare for a successful holiday season by reviewing these six tasks and delegating areas to your employees.
1. Order Supplies
Check last year’s orders to anticipate how much of basic supplies(opens in new tab) you’ll need, whether that’s shipping supplies and packaging, paper towels and toilet paper for your restrooms, or branded gift cards for holiday shoppers. If this is your first year in business, your network may be able to guide you through your first holiday ordering season. Remember to order early to avoid rush shipping charges later in the season. Being prepared can help you meet your customers’ needs with ease.
2. Make Holiday Schedules
Now's the time to determine your holiday operating hours. Will you be open longer than usual? Do you plan to close your business for a few days? Be sure to tell your staff about holiday hours, and explain your expectations of them during the holiday season. Ask your team to request any holiday time off by a certain date, so you can plan employee schedules accordingly.
This is also a good time to think about how you'll recognize your team's hard work once the rush is over. Whether it's a bonus, extra time off, or something else, this guide to holiday bonuses(opens in new tab) can help you decide what makes sense for your business.
3. Stock Extra Inventory
Anticipate holiday orders(opens in new tab) by manufacturing additional product or placing orders with your vendors. Your suppliers are under their own pressure, and they may have ordering deadlines to get product to you in time for the holidays. Mark these deadlines on a calendar you can see easily so these ordering deadlines don't pass you by.
If you sell online, pull up last year's sales data (or your point-of-sale reports, if this is your first holiday season) to spot which items are likely to sell out fastest. Many small businesses are also starting to use simple AI-powered forecasting tools built into their POS or e-commerce platforms to flag likely best-sellers and reorder points automatically. It’s worth exploring if manually tracking inventory has been eating up your time.
4. Check Your Website
Give your business website a once-over to make sure it's ready for a busy holiday season. Is the design tidy and easy to use? Can customers easily find your most popular products or services? Does your eCommerce checkout work smoothly? If you're the person who works on your website most often, hand this task to a staffer or a trusted friend. They'll be able to spot the issues you might miss.
While you're at it, check how your site performs on mobile. Mobile devices now account for well over half of online shopping traffic during peak shopping days, so a slow or clunky mobile checkout can cost you real sales.
5. Decorate
Even if you feel like the Grinch when it comes to holidays, add a little extra flair to help stand out from the crowd during this busy season. Your whole team can get involved: plan a late-night or early-morning decorating party. Order takeout for your team, play festive music (or regular music, for the Grinches among us), and transform your business in a matter of hours. Remember to check corners for cobwebs and dust your fixtures to help your merchandise shine.
6. Plan a New Marketing Campaign
Why will customers want to spend time at your small business this holiday season? What makes you unique? Determine the answer, and build a marketing campaign around it. Maybe you have the best selection in town. Maybe your pumpkin spice desserts are coveted all year long. Maybe your customer service can solve any shopping conundrum. Build your holiday marketing about what makes your business stand out from the crowd.
Increasingly, that also means showing up on social media: American Express's 2025 Shop Small Impact Study found that over 80% of Millennial and Gen Z shoppers discovered a new small, independently owned business through social media in the past year(opens in new tab). If your marketing plan doesn't include at least a bit of short-form video or social content, this is the season to start.
Don't forget to plan for Small Business Saturday, which falls on November 28 this year. Kick off the holiday season by adding your business to the Shop Small map now, and take advantage of free promotional materials available to small businesses. The National Retail Federation expects more than 67 million shoppers(opens in new tab) to turn out on Small Business Saturday, and small business owners estimate that nearly 20% of their annual revenue will come from that single day alone.
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