Dhanteras falls on 6 November this year and Diwali on 8 November. For many shops, the next five weeks decide a large share of the year’s sales. Utensils, gold and silver coins, gift packs, diyas, electronics, garments and sweets all move faster than at any other time of year.

The question every owner faces is the same: how much to buy. Buy too little and the shelf is empty on the busiest day of the year. Buy too much and the money sits in boxes until next Diwali. Our customers have seen both happen, and almost always for the same reason: the order was based on memory, not on data.

Start with what actually sold last year

Memory is a poor guide to the festival. You remember the item that ran out on Dhanteras evening, but not the three that hardly moved. You remember the rush, but not which week it started.

In Stock2Track, the Seasonal sales report shows what sold during last year’s festival weeks, item by item. Open it for the same weeks last year before you place a single order. It tells you which items carried the season, which ones barely sold, and when the demand began. That is a far better starting point than a feeling.

Set festival reorder levels, then go back to normal

A reorder level that works in June is wrong in October. The same item can sell several times faster in the two weeks before Diwali.

Stock2Track’s ROL/ROP simulator lets you revise the reorder level and reorder point of each product for the festival period. Raise them for the items the Seasonal sales report shows will move, so the purchase suggestion asks for enough stock in time. After the festival, bring them back down.

We encourage every customer to use the simulator regularly, not just at Diwali, and to revise the levels whenever an item’s sales change. Shops that keep their reorder levels current go into the festival season with far fewer surprises. More on how reorder levels turn into purchase orders is on the automatic purchase orders page.

Festival items and festival discounts

Gift hampers, diya sets and combo packs often arrive only for the season. Stock2Track handles them the same way as regular stock: they get a barcode, they are scanned at the counter, and the stock moves with every sale. Nothing special is needed for the festival.

What does need preparation is the discount. Define your festival discount rules before the season starts, with the items they cover and the dates they apply. Stock2Track then applies them automatically at billing, so the cashier does not have to remember the offer and every customer gets the same price. When the season ends, the rules stop on their own.

When the queue does not stop

The busiest hours of the year are the worst time for a slow counter. With Stock2Track you can add extra billing counters easily, even using a mobile phone, so a second or third person can bill when the queue builds up. Barcode scanning keeps each bill fast and accurate, however long the line.

If you sell from a stall or exhibition during the festival as well, see how other shops bill from a festival stall and bring the unsold stock back afterwards.

After Diwali: the leftover stock

Some stock will be left after the festival. Owners usually do one of two things: sell it in due course, or keep it for next year’s season.

Either way, this year’s bills become next year’s plan. Every festival sale is recorded in Stock2Track, so next October the Seasonal sales report will show exactly what sold and what was left over. That makes the next festival’s purchase far more predictable, and each year the order gets closer to what the shop actually sells.

A simple festival checklist

1. Open the Seasonal sales report for last year’s festival weeks.
2. Mark the items that carried the season and the ones that barely moved.
3. Raise the reorder levels for the fast items in the ROL/ROP simulator.
4. Barcode the festival-only items: hampers, diya sets and combo packs.
5. Set your festival discount rules with start and end dates.
6. Plan your extra counters for Dhanteras and Diwali eve.
7. After the festival, reset the reorder levels and review what was left.

If you would like help setting this up before the rush, book a free demo or call us on +91 79954 67576.