With the seasonal shopping frenzy fully underway, now is the time to maximize on sales. Sure, online shopping is growing and holiday contests and sweepstakes are a critical part of a Christmas conversion strategy, but for bricks and mortar retailers, there is still the challenge of getting people through the door in real life.

These five in-store retail promotions, which you can use on their own or in combination with an online promotion, will surely have customers lining up.

Win a Shopping Spree

Filling out a ballot for a chance to win a shopping spree is a no-brainer for most consumers, especially at a time when shopping lists are long and pricey. This small investment for retailers can yield a big return on sales; when customers come into the store to fill in and drop off their ballot, there’s a good chance they’ll buy something.

London Drugs is running this type of in-store promotion right now. Customers can win one of five $1,500 shopping sprees simply by filling out a ballot and dropping it off in-store.

Spend $100, Get a $20 Gift Card

Spend money, get money? Now that’s a good deal! This type of promotion is a sure-fire way to win customer loyalty. Offering money back, whether in the form of a gift card or points toward a discount on your next purchase encourages customers to come back and spend more in your store.

West 49 is offering $20 gift cards for every $100 spent—whether in-store or online—redeemable between December 26 and February 5, which means a lot of returning customers!

Get Your Card Stamped, Get Rewards

Let’s face it, having a goal to reach is motivating. Giving customers a card that gets stamped with each purchase is an easy way to keep them coming back, just as long as it’s an attainable goal; a card that needs to be stamped 20 times before seeing a reward is likely to get lost or forgotten long before then, unless it’s a coffee card. Keep your limit low—between 5 and 10—to make the goal attainable.

Town Shoes, for example, offers a stamp with every $70 purchase. After every four stamps, customers get $25 to spend on accessories and handbags in the store. After seven stamps, it’s $50.

Get a Time-limited Coupon, Save Big

It’s a simple formula: offer website visitors a time-limited coupon and watch them flock to your store! It worked for Groupon, right? Well sure, but how do you stand out among the competition? Offer big savings with a sense of urgency!

This is exactly what craft store Michaels does by offering coupons customers can print out from their website with incredible savings, such as 50% off any one regularly priced item. The catch is that it’s time-limited, sometimes even within specific hours.

Sign up for the Newsletter, Be Entered to Win!

Keep your customers informed! A newsletter is not only a great way to grow your database, but also a good way to regularly alert your target market to your promotions. But most people don’t want any more emails in their inbox, so how do you get customers to sign up for the newsletter in the first place? Simple—entice them with a prize!

When David’s Tea customers sign up for its newsletter, they are automatically entered into a $250 monthly draw. As further incentive, those customers are also privy to “secret deals,” both in-store and online, available to newsletter subscribers only.

Want to create a promotion that stands out? We can help you build a unique and memorable contest or sweepstakes with our social promotions platform. Contact us for more info.

Tanya Trusler is an editor, writer and social media director in the Greater Vancouver area. Follow her on Twitter: @tanyatrusler