Getting Ready for the Holidays

GETTING READY FOR THE HOLIDAYS IN A COVID WORLD

No one needs to be reminded that 2020 has been a difficult year, but the holiday season is a time to rejoice, gather with friends and family (while social distancing, of course) and celebrate. And home leisure retailers have lots of reasons to look forward to a merry Christmas indeed.

While many businesses have suffered since the coronavirus began to spread and send the nation into quarantine this past spring, many home recreation stores are seeing prosperous times. That’s because people are spending more time at home than ever before, which has made owning a pool table, shuffleboard, foosball or other game particularly appealing.

And unfortunately, the days where we go back to living life as we did in early 2020 appear to be a long way off. Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told lawmakers in September that a vaccine likely won’t be available to most Americans before summer, or even early fall, of 2021.

So there’s potential for your store to be a COVID silver lining, but that also means that there are lots of things you need to consider as you prepare your business for what promises to be a busy holiday season.

“Any in-store shopping will be met with increased safety measures in place to protect shoppers and retail employees,” says Jon Cheney, CEO and co-founder of Seek. “This includes more curbside

By Anthony Stoeckert

pickup options, optimized store layouts to guide shopper foot traffic, and the addition of QR codes placed on shelves, which customers can scan using the camera on their smartphone to access more product information while minimizing human contact.”

Something else to be prepared for is an early holiday season. Some shoppers are expected to get a head start on their Christmas lists so that they can get them out of the way and stay safely at home during the usual post-Thanksgiving rush.

So make sure your store is ready for this very different, but still busy, holiday season with these tips.

SAFETY FIRST

Obviously, you want to protect your customers, your employees and yourself from the coronavirus, so taking the necessary steps to minimize its spread is an absolute must for any store, but particularly for those that are expecting a significant number of walk-in customers.

“Just like any retail store, home leisure stores need to follow the guidelines such as wearing masks and definitely using hand sanitizer at entrances to the store as customers will be touching items such as billiard cues and even tables,” says Ethan Taub, CEO of Goalry. “It’s necessary for shopkeepers to disinfect the surface following a visit.”

Chris Boyles, vice president of Safety for Steritech, notes the importance of employees being aware of proper cleaning, sanitizing practices and disinfecting protocols, social distancing, the proper use of face coverings and gloves, and coughing and sneezing etiquette.

“Emphasize handwashing, handwashing, handwashing,” Boyles says. “Help create and reinforce a safety culture by setting expectations and recognizing employees that have exemplary practices.”

KEEP IT CLEAN

The CDC is offering suggestions as to how businesses and other entities can properly clean their facilities during these unprecedented times. These include wearing disposable gloves when cleaning and disinfecting and cleaning surfaces with soap and water, which reduces germs, dirt and impurities. Then use a disinfectant, which kills germs.

Focus your cleaning on frequently touched surfaces and objects that customers touch. Shopping baskets for example, should be cleaned after each use. It’s also imperative that you clean high-touch surfaces, including light switches, handles, desks, phones, keyboards, bathrooms, faucets and sinks, whenever a customer or employee comes in contact with them.

Other steps to take include washing hands regularly and placing hand sanitizing stations throughout your store.

Mason Miranda of Credit Card Insider suggests taking steps that can increase

social distancing between you and your clients. “A great way to contribute to this is going contactless and using contactless payment options,” she says. “This allows customers to not touch payment terminals and may help reduce the amount of cleaning supplies used.”

Sandra Matthews, a marketing specialist at The Product Analyst, says owners and managers need to always be aware of when their store needs cleaning.

“Bacteria and viruses are fast-spreading and can contaminate a certain location in just minutes,” she says. “There’s also a high risk that the virus will be transmitted when proper cleaning is not consistent.”

In addition to cleaning, social distancing is of paramount importance. Matthews says it’s a good step to limit the number of walk-in customers who enter your store by setting up reservations for people to come inside. This is also a good idea because as restrictions loosen in many parts of the nation, there are also limits as to how many people can be inside an establishment.

“Customers should start being responsible for making appointments to avoid hassle on their end and refusal on the store’s part,” Matthews says. “We all have to take part in making this new normal work and it’s not only a seller or a business’ responsibility to adjust because this thing needs to be addressed by everyone to work.”

Inside your store, set up markers that are six-feet apart so that visitors know where they can stand while still practicing smart social distancing. On days when your store gets crowded, close off busy sections – showrooms or aisles where popular products are. Have a staffer control how many people are in these sections. If a customer knows exactly what they want, a certain brand of chalk, for example, you or an employee can get it for them, which will result in a faster transaction.

Then there are masks. Experts agree they are the best step we can take to

reduce the spread of COVID. Everyone who enters your store should wear one, and they have to be worn properly and cover the nose, mouth, and chin.

Most experts agree that store owners have a right to require visitors to wear masks, just as you can require them to wear shoes and shirts, as long as you aren’t practicing discrimination against people who can’t wear them because of a disability. If customers aren’t wearing masks properly, politely ask them to do so. There are also people who forget to put a mask on when they leave their car. Consider having packages of disposable masks ready for those patrons.

FOCUS ON YOUR WEBSITE

Online sales are a great way to get lots of customers the products they want while reducing in-person contact, which significantly cuts down on the risk of transmitting the virus. Stanislao Marrazzo, a retail specialist, says retailers should focus on their websites to attract more online sales.

“One way to do this is by focusing primarily on designing luxurious-looking well-functioning e-store websites,” Marrazzo says. “Alongside this, making sure that all websites have an accelerated mobile page that has images optimizable across various devices can be extremely helpful for creating website stores.”

He also notes that optimizing your website’s checkout page is essential, as a busy holiday season can mean lots of traffic.

“If there are complications during that period, it could lead to shopping cart abandonment on your website, causing so much loss instead of profit from holiday shopping,” Marrazzo explains. You can also increase your online holiday sales by suggesting products that complement the ones shoppers are putting into their virtual carts and by offering them deals.

“Customers love to feel special, and in order to do so, offer them great deals that they could bank on for a couple of days on end,” he says. “Adding to that, the idea of running a free delivery service could increase purchase volume.”

AT YOUR (CURBSIDE) SERVICE

The COVID pandemic has also seen a surge in curbside pickups. This isn’t a good idea for pool tables or games that are big and need to be assembled, but it’s a terrific option for sticks, balls, chalk, and other accessories.

You want your curbside pickup operation to be efficient to keep sales moving and so that customers in cold parts of the country don’t wait outside in freezing temperatures during the holiday season. Boyles suggests installing large, clear signage that can be seen and read from cars.

“Communicate a protocol when the order is placed, if possible,” he says, adding those include informing customers where to park, to turn on flashers when approaching the store, or to call from the parking lot with a description of their car and order.

“Depending on lot layout and property rules, it may be helpful to create a safe zone for the runner using orange cones,” Boyles says, also suggesting that runners wear reflective safety vests and gloves and wash their hands often. “Avoid direct contact with consumers – handing them a bag is safer than placing the bag in the car, which requires touching car doors and leaning into the (potentially contaminated) air space of the vehicle.”

Lastly he suggests having a supply of large umbrellas for runners to use in bad weather, preferably in bright colors to increase their safety.

BE VERSATILE

While online ordering is very popular, a pool table or other game can be a significant investment, which means a lot of patrons are going to want to see the merchandise and explore their options before buying. Not only that, but because people across the country aren’t doing the things they normally do – going out to dinner, seeing a movie, taking in a ballgame, going to parties – some will likely see holiday shopping as something they can do to get out of the house and bring some sense of normalcy to their lives.

“A lot of customers may want to come to the store physically in order to get a close look at the items and hold them,” says Adam Korbl, a long-time businessman. “Because many may want to do this and it may be hard to clean each and every item in the store, consider giving them disposable gloves before entering.”

TAKING CARE OF STAFF

One of the biggest challenges retailers will face this holiday season is deciding when you and your employees are healthy enough to work. We’ve all dealt with sniffles, colds and coughs in order to fulfill our work commitments, especially during the busy Christmas season. However, this year is different.

“There’s no assurance that everyone is safe in this pandemic season given the high risk of getting infected the moment you step out and socialize with

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people, which is inevitable if you are working,” Matthews says. “Employers have to be lenient too when employees feel a little sick and consider asking them to call it a day for safety measures. You should not put your employee, or anyone else’s, life at risk because you failed to be a little lenient.”

The most important reason for people to stay home when not feeling well is that you want to do everything you can not to contribute to the spread of the coronavirus. But there also is a business aspect to this decision. If you or an employee is seen coughing or sneezing, customers may leave the store because there is no way for them to know if your sneeze is just a sneeze, or a symptom of something worse.

Boyles notes that the most effective way to prevent COVID-19 at your business, is to not allow it to walk in your door.

“For employees, place a renewed focus on not reporting to work if they are symptomatic, exposed or have a confirmed illness,” Boyles says. “Make sure the team understands the reasons behind the policies and reiterate that working while sick risks the health of their colleagues, customers and themselves. Many employees may be worried about losing their job if they report an illness to a manager, so work with an HR professional to develop or modify sickday policies.”

YOU CAN STILL GET IN THE SPIRIT OF THE SEASON

One of the great things about the holiday shopping season is decorating your store. It’s fun and festive to set up a Christmas tree and other decorations and offering your guests treats like hot cider and cookies can warm up customers on a hot day and curb their appetite during a busy day of shopping.

While 2020 is different, that doesn’t mean you have to become Scrooge and ban holiday decorations. If you decide to put up a tree, be sure to put it in a low-traffic area, perhaps in a corner where it will be still be seen but is less likely to be touched. Put up signs reminding customers not to touch your tree or other decorations.

When decorating, do it at the end of a business day, after you’ve closed for the day. Wear gloves while unpacking everything and setting up your festive items.

Food is even trickier. Putting out a bowl of cider and a plate of cookies is not the way to go in 2020, but you may want to offer single-serve bottles of beverages. Buying bottles of cider for everyone who walks into your store may not be economically feasible, but small bottles or cans of water, juice, or soda are options. Individually wrapped snacks, especially candy canes, are a reasonably safe step that is sure to be appreciated by your hungry customers. Don’t leave these items out for the taking. Instead, ask customers if they would like one and hand them to them. Keep sanitizing wipes available so that people can clean bottles. And be sure to get a parent’s permission before giving a little one a candy cane. COVID-19 doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate the season. You just need to make sure your celebrations are smart and safe.

REFLECTIONS OF THE VirtuALL BCA EXPO

This year, the pandemic necessitated that the Billiard Congress of America change its annual BCA Expo to a virtual event, and so the first-ever BCA VirtuALL Expo was held July 29-31.

turns to being held in-person next year in Las Vegas as planned, everyone had great things to say about what the BCA was able to accomplish during this trying time.

Here’s a look at what some of the participants thought about the BCA VirtuALL Expo. PETE EDMONDSON Sales Manager, Shot Darts | Bay of Plenty, New Zealand

The event was a rousing success and even though most hope the Expo re-

I didn’t know what to expect but it was a great initiative. We listed as a vendor and got engaged in the App chat and ran a “dart download” webinar about the big spike in darts through staycation and how to get into darts as a new category.

RACHEL SCHMIDT Purchasing Manager, A.E. Schmidt Billiards | St. Louis, Missouri We thought that the BCA did a phenomenal job making this happen giv-

I thought it was a good alternative to everything going on this year! We were not sure what to expect, but it ended up being a good way for us to connect with new customers and check in with existing ones. We were an exhibitor. This year, we updated our page bio and created a YouTube video that showcased who we are, our new proditems. The virtual trade show was a good opportunity to explore new platforms and can be helpful in the future for people who are not able to make an in-person show. BRIAN ROSSELLI Vice President of Operations, Olhausen Billiard Manufacturing | Portland, Tennessee

ucts and previous top-selling en the unfortunate circumstances of not being able to execute our annual trade show in Las Vegas. Given the unique situation and the fact that this is the first time the BCA has had to execute a virtual experience, we thought that the platform and their efforts to see this through for the industry and our membership was exceptional and greatly appreciated.

Our participation consisted of a video we produced highlighting and introducing two new pool tables and three new shuffleboards.We used this opportunity as a nice appetizer for our dealers with this new product presentation so that we could follow up with them after they saw the product to offer them the show specials and pricing.We were very pleased with the interest and the orders we received. It was definitely a successful venture for us.

The speakers and presentations are always a nice opportunity and platform for our industry to continue to learn new things and to grow with the times and changes in advertising, marketing, merchandizing, etc. The BCA has always done a really good job at targeting speakers and topics that are important in making our industry retailers and membership more informed and educated in areas that can enhance their businesses.

PHILIPPE SINGER Vice President, Predator Group | Jacksonville, Florida

It was an interesting new concept during the current pandemic that created an opportunity for the industry to have conversations, present what they reviewed the names of new vendors, and reviewed the list of other attendees. I are doing and eventually take orders. Given the current situation, it has created value for us at Predator Group with leads and orders, and from what I gather from industry partners I spoke to, it also created value for many other industry players. And this was provided by the BCA free of charge, which is much appreciated. We shared the VirtuAll Expo with our dealer contacts to invite them to register, participate and have a conversation. We also published a video from our CEO Karim Belhaj presenting some of our professional event, initiatives and new product launches. In addition to presenting new products, we also offered show specials for dealers to take advantage of. The app allowed us to exchange messages with some new leads and with existing customers that contacted us through the Whova app, and some of our team members followed and contributed to the community conversations as well. DEBBIE CORVEY Founder & President, Boynton Billiards Inc. | Boynton Beach, Florida

I was really impressed with the effort that most of the exhibitors made to participate in it on such short notice. I was not involved much in this except I did encourage some of the vendors to give it their best shot. The speakers, as always, were enjoyable. I learn something every time I go to them. This virtual BCA was handled by Rob Johnson and Shane Tyree who did an incredible job – it was their baby.

ANTHONY BEELER Professional Billiard Instructor | Bradfordsville, Kentucky

I really liked it. It was not as good as in person, but it had its merits. I enjoyed the way the platform was set up. I liked how you could set up your own topics of things to discuss on respond back to questions you had. I thought the speakers were good. They had them recorded so you could keep watching them afterwards. I guarantee a lot of people who weren’t going to fly to Las Vegas and participate came because it was online. I believe it would be a great thing to offer it online in the future in conjunction with the in-person event. DEBBIE ARNOLD Manager, Arnold’s Billiard Supply | Nederland, Texas

A virtual event cannot replace an in-person event, but the BCA VirtuALL Expo was as good as one could hope for. I visited the sellers we already deal with, the forum and people could

listened to three seminars and came away with good information about staying connected during the current COVID-19 situation. Good presentations.

LINDA WEINSTEIN President, Marion & Co., Inc. | Davie, Florida

Nothing is as good as in person, but under the circumstances, I was happy that I participated so that all my customers knew that Marion & Co. is still around. I created coupons, I submitted promotional information and made the most of the opportunity. CIARRA MCINTIRE BROTHER President, Universal Billiards, Inc. | Plano, Texas

I applaud the efforts of the BCA and vendors for pivoting quickly with the virtual Expo. The app used was intuitive, easy to learn, and the gamification element was a fun addition!

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CHAD SCHARLOW Vice President, Diamond Billiard Products | Jeffersonville, Indiana

I liked that the BCA took the initiative to implement this. They were forward thinking in attempting this project. Diamond was in full support from the start. A videographer was hired to produce an advertisement/commercial/infomercial and we attempted to show American production, exciting tournament clips and a beautiful Paragon table in the Waldorf Astoria condo in Las Vegas.

MARK FINKELSTEIN Master Instructor | Forest Hills, New York

I had a big learning curve trying to figure out where to go, what to click on, etc., but once I got that, it was relatively easy. My time zone is 3 hours ahead, so I didn’t really have a chance to hear the speakers live. If we need to do this again, my comment would be to make the access as easy as possible for the over-65 crowd like me who aren’t as familiar with computers as the younger generations. But I logged in and went to different booths, asked questions and also watched some of the video clips. Wholesale Manager, Magic Darts Inc. |

MATTHEW DEITH Director of Sales, Bay Tek Entertainment | Pulaski, Wisconsin

It was great that the BCA was able to pivot and create a virtual event so quickly.We were very grateful the event was free.We were an exhibitor, we simply updated our contact info and added a video of a product of ours.We also watched two videos of our distributor, Imperial, which were both very good. We also ran a free freight promo. I want to thank the BCA again for putting an event together and allowing some promotion and education during a KRISTINA LAWRENCE

difficult time. Fair Oaks, California

I logged in each day and browsed the images and shared images. I also participated in a Zoom meeting with one of our manufacturers while discussing the U.S. market for darts. I watched several of the videos, and interacted with vendors and customers whenever possible. The talks had great information and the speakers did a pretty good job of keeping interest and answering questions.