Oh, the holidays. For retailers, this time of the year can be very merry when it comes to sales, but by far the busiest and often most stressful time of the year — total retail spend in the U.S. alone is now more than $1.3 trillion for the holiday season.
From Black Friday to post-holiday returns, seasonal surges put pressure on people, platforms and processes. But that pressure doesn’t have to lead to chaos. With the right planning and tools in place, retailers can scale support efficiently, protect brand loyalty and create experiences that convert one-time shoppers into long-term customers.
The clock is already ticking, and it’s crunch time for retailers to prep for peak season. Whether you’re running a digital-first e-commerce platform or managing a fleet of stores, now is the time to prepare your CX strategy for the year’s flood of high expectations from customers.
Here’s how to make sure your retail CX operation is holiday-ready, without burning out your teams or breaking your systems.
1. Start earlier than you think you need to
Peak season support doesn’t begin the week of a big holiday event. It begins now — many customers start their holiday shopping as early as August, after all. How can you get ahead of them?
Holiday planning should kick off in Q3 (or earlier) to allow time for accurate forecasting, hiring, onboarding and training. The more lead time you give yourself, the more strategic you can be with staffing and channel planning, and the better positioned you are to test systems and fix any weak spots before customer volumes spike.
Look at historical data, current shopping trends, and marketing calendars to predict peak days and times. Identify potential pinch points, such as product launches, promotional periods, or shipping deadlines, and plan accordingly.
2. Design flexible staffing strategies
Hiring seasonal agents is part of the playbook, but success goes beyond volume. It’s about agility.
A scalable workforce strategy should include a mix of full-time, part-time and flex agents who can ramp up or down based on demand. Tap into gig or remote talent pools to extend your coverage in key time zones, or to provide multilingual support as needed.
But flexibility only works when it’s built on a solid foundation. That means investing in fast, effective onboarding programs that get seasonal agents up to speed quickly, without sacrificing service quality. Use scenario-based training and modular learning to equip agents with the tools and confidence to handle a wide range of customer needs.
3. Optimize your digital channels
Today’s customers expect instant answers and seamless self-service, especially during the holidays. According to recent retail insights, a growing majority of shoppers now prefer to resolve simple issues like tracking a package, requesting a return or checking stock availability via digital channels.
To reduce pressure on live agents and improve efficiency, now is the time to review and refine your self-service tools. That includes:
- Updating FAQs and knowledge bases with seasonal policies (like return deadlines or shipping cutoffs)
- Ensuring your chatbots are trained on current inventory, promotions and escalations
- Testing your contact forms, automated workflows and response times across platforms
Well-designed digital tools deflect volume and enhance the experience by giving shoppers the control and clarity they want during the most stressful shopping days of the year.
4. Don’t underestimate the power of empathy
The holidays bring excitement, but also anxiety. Long delivery windows, stock shortages and last-minute changes can all test a customer’s patience. How your agents respond in those moments can make or break brand trust.
Training your seasonal and full-time agents on empathy, tone and resolution techniques is essential. Teach and empower them to deliver customer support that feels like care. Encourage active listening and empower agents to problem-solve with flexibility. You want your customers to feel heard and supported. After all, 56% of consumers claim more loyalty to brands that “get” them.
Invest in real-time coaching tools or QA dashboards that flag frustration signals early, allowing supervisors to intervene or provide backup as needed.
5. Plan for post-holiday peaks, too
The end of December doesn’t mean the end of high volumes. Returns, exchanges and customer follow-ups often surge in January, and so does the opportunity to cement customer loyalty.
Build your ramp-down strategy as carefully as your ramp-up. Retain a portion of trained seasonal agents for post-holiday support, and use this quieter time to gather insights, review performance and optimize workflows.
Also, think about proactive outreach. A well-timed “How did we do?” message or satisfaction survey can turn a successful transaction into a deeper brand relationship.
6. Use data to continuously improve
The holiday season moves fast, and so should your feedback loops. Establish real-time reporting systems to track customer sentiment, ticket volumes, resolution times and escalation trends. This kind of visibility allows you to adjust quickly and stay ahead of potential friction points.
Regular check-ins with your support teams can reveal what’s working and what needs fine-tuning, whether it’s a chatbot script that’s falling flat or a process bottleneck slowing response times. And the impact of getting it right can be substantial.
A good example of using data to power up retail CX is when a leading global retailer partnered with Foundever® to analyze contact drivers and optimize their customer service approach. Through in-depth analytics and automation strategies, they achieved over $10 million in annual savings, significantly reduced handling times and improved the overall CX. It’s a powerful reminder that when data is used intentionally, it doesn’t just solve problems, it drives performance.
Apply these learnings not only during peak season but year-round. The brands that win during the holidays are the ones that treat every customer moment, from the first click to the final return, as an opportunity to learn, adapt and improve.
The holidays are more than a shopping season — they’re a CX stress test
Instead of worrying about the stress of the season, consider how big of an opportunity this is for your brand. With a thoughtful strategy and the right support structure, this peak period can also be your biggest chance to shine. To learn more about how to build a retail support strategy that scales with the season and strengthens customer loyalty, check out the Foundever® best practice guide: “Winning in retail and e-commerce.”