Why Temporary Storage Is Vital For Christmas Markets

With Christmas now little more than a month away, shoppers are starting to get busy buying presents, food and bunting, unless they are among the small minority who are so super-organised they have done this already.

Among the clearest signs of the approach of the festive season is the appearance of Christmas markets. Some of these have already begun; for instance, Birmingham’s markets started on November 1st and Manchester’s markets opened on November 8th. Others are yet to commence, such as Leeds (November 22nd) and Glasgow (November 24th).

These various markets will be filled with numerous stalls selling everything from food and drink to consume on the day to a range of gifts that will fill stockings or be wrapped up and left under the tree. The atmosphere will be merry and, given a good trading season, so will the stallholders who make a bumper profit.

However, to ensure this is achieved, traders need to make sure they avoid certain things going wrong. One of them is for their stock to run out, meaning they cannot meet demand for popular items. Another is for the stock not to be kept safely and securely, either leaving it vulnerable to theft or to being damaged.

Such calamities can be prevented by good logistics, part of which can be getting regular deliveries, but also having temporary storage shelters in place that can keep lots of stock safe and secure as well as being close at hand, so you don’t even have to wait for a new delivery when supplies of certain items are running low.

It is important to consider that this could provide an extra bit of space for storage exactly when you need it most and when alternatives are scarce.

With retailers everywhere having their busiest time of the year, finding spare storage space you can rent is not an easy task, which means whatever you can find may be quite limited and thus give you less protection against running out of stock when some items prove especially popular.

Furthermore, getting your own small, temporary facility for the markets can enable you to obtain something that is tailored to the kind of goods you are providing.

For example, it can be set up to deal with tall items (for example, if you are selling large sculptures), geared up to have extra safe storage areas for very fragile items to reduce breakages, or refrigeration if you are selling edible items that need to be kept fresh.

Data compiled by Statistica found that in the UK last year, 28 per cent of people bought Christmas gifts at Christmas markets, while a further 12 per cent acquired them at art and craft markets and eight per cent at flea markets.

This shows that people are not just coming for a drink, food and some merriment at Christmas markets, but for some serious shopping to fill those parcels. By ensuring you have the secure storage you need, you can make sure of meeting this need and ensuring a bumper payday for your business as a result.