According to Michael Allured, publisher of the US candy trade magazine – The Manufacturing Confectioner, convenience stores do really well in selling most of their festive inventory by lowering their prices. Anything left can go to Food Banks. If you do find yourself with a portion of leftover seasonal treats, then don’t worry! The Retail Data Partnership (TRDP) have uncovered insights that will help you sell your seasonal stock after the festive period.

It’s almost the end of the Christmas season and shelves still have some festive treats on display. Chocolate selection boxes, holiday themed red-and-green confectionery packaging, chocolate Santas in colourful foil wrappers and self-eat treats such as Santa’s Merryteaser, and Popping Candy.

"…If not sold by the end of the season, then people won’t buy it! It’s the same chocolate as on the shelf, but if it has a festive wrapper than you have to mark it down to sell it’, says Andrea Myers executive vice president for Kocolene Marketing of Seymour, Indiana.

Stock is money, and to avoid losing out on sales completely, moving your leftover festive confectionery might seem like your only option to pocket some profit.

"The day after the holiday, all seasonal products are marked down by 50%, but it has to reflect the season. If the candy is holiday specific, then you don’t have to mark it down.

Look for items that give the holiday image but don’t necessarily go out of date when the holiday is over’, (National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) US, 2015).

The bigger supermarkets are also slashing prices of their festive confectionery items.

"Tesco’s Terry Chocolate Orange was £3.50 which is now 49p, Asda’s Quality Street tin was £5 which is now £2, and Morrison’s Cadbury’s Selection box was £2 which is now 98p (Money Saving Expert, 2015).

The Christmas season might be over, but reduced prices will sell much of the festive stock. Place reduced confectionery near the tills to maximise the change of an impulse purchase.

"Last year, according to Kantar World Panel Data, three million extra shoppers bought into seasonal impulse, resulting in 20% value growth for the category. Within the convenience channel, seasonal impulse is performing ahead of the total market sales up to 31% accounting for 6% of total convenience holiday sales. (Forecourt Trader, 2014).

With the children still off school for the holidays, impulse purchases on festive treats will increase as parents cope with the emotional stress of pester power.

"Christmas is all about the kids, which means the total kids seasonal impulse category continues to grow. It’s actually up 116% from £4.4m in 2012 and to £9.5m in 2013. Now, it accounts for 53% of total impulse sales’, (Forecourt Trader, 2014)

But not all items with festive packaging need to be reduced! Only products that are exclusively available to purchase during the holiday period will need to be lowered in price, for example, Santas Merryteaser, advent calenders and chocolate coins. Items like Coke however, may have a festive design on the packaging but the product remains exactly the same. Therefore, it will sell outside of the holiday period.

As an independent retailer, there is nothing stopping you from thinking innovatively to increase profit on these festive treats. Why not cross sell your festive confectionery with leftover seasonal cards and wrapping paper?

This will drive sales and increase your overall profit – especially if your customers are savvy consumers who like to make the most out of the post-season sales in preperation for next Christmas.