How to Customize Your QSR Menu on Your POS for Seasonal Promotions

Whether it’s a pumpkin spice shake for fall, a heart-shaped pizza for Valentine's Day, or a limited-edition summer smoothie, seasonal items have the power to pique customer curiosity and drive repeat visits.

However, effectively managing seasonal promotions involves more than just adding new items to your menu. To increase sales and stay ahead of competitors, you need a system that tracks sales trends during promotions and helps you adjust offers in real time based on their performance.

The well-customized OneHubPOS systems don’t just take orders. They help you analyze customer behavior, fine-tune your promotions, and manage inventory. Let’s break down how you can use your POS to run successful seasonal promotions that actually give you results.

Why Seasonal Promotions Are a Big Deal for QSRs

If you’ve ever noticed a spike in sales around the holidays in your quick service restaurant, you’re not imagining things. 

Did You Know?

Dining out experiences a significant spike in demand during the holiday season. Restaurant spending grew by 6.3% compared to the previous year, with an increased preference for mobile ordering, curbside pickup, and delivery options.

But Why Should You Care?

Starbucks excels every holiday season with its iconic holiday cups and handcrafted beverages like the Caramel Brulée Latte and Chestnut Praline Latte. They’re limited, they’re iconic, and they get people through the doors (or on the app) every year. 

So, here’s what seasonal promotions can do:

• Limited-time offers create urgency, encouraging customers to act quickly and order more before time runs out.
• Seasonal menus get people talking, sharing on social media, and returning to try new items.
• Everyone loves a good festive twist. Promotions give you an edge over competitors not offering anything special.

Top 8 POS Reports Every QSR Owner Needs for Seasonal Promotions

Data is your best friend during seasonal promotions. To really crush your seasonal campaigns, you need to get deeper into your restaurant POS reports. It shows you what’s working, what’s not, and how to improve in real-time. Here's a breakdown of the most valuable restaurant analytics reports in your handheld POS system and how they can help you supercharge your seasonal marketing.

1. Restaurant Sales Report

Compare your seasonal sales against the same period last year to see growth patterns for your QSR. This report gives you the big picture using relevant parameters like gross sales, net sales, discounts, shipping, tax, order tips, product discounts, cash discounts, and refunds:

• How much revenue your seasonal items are bringing in
• Whether your seasonal discounts are actually increasing sales or just cutting into profits
• Sales performance during specific time periods, like weekends and holidays

2. Day Wise Report

Ever noticed how some days just feel busier? This report breaks it down for you.

• See which days bring the most traffic during a seasonal campaign.
• Identify slower days and consider running mid-week offers.

So, if Fridays show the highest seasonal dessert sales, you could launch a “Festive Friday” deal with double points on all dessert orders.

3. Day End Report

A daily summary provides insights into your seasonal menu’s performance, allowing you to identify trends and refine offers for the following day. This report gives you:

• Total sales
• Payment types, like contactless or cash
• Cash in hand

4. Order History Report

This report tracks every transaction during your seasonal promotion using parameters like items, quantity, menu price, selling price, item-wise tax, item-wise discount, upsell items, service charge, packing charge, and delivery charge.

• See which seasonal items were ordered most often.
• Identify which items you can upsell along with holiday essentials.

5. Order Type Report

Some customers prefer dining in, while others lean towards takeout or delivery. This report breaks down:

• How many orders were dine-in, takeaway, or delivery
• Seasonal item popularity across different order types
• Discounts and refunds
• House credit

You can create exclusive promotions for each type, such as “Get a free drink with your holiday burger – delivery only!”

6. Product Report

This is your go-to report for checking how well individual seasonal items are performing. It includes parameters like product name, barcode, quantity sold, percentage of quantity sales, gross sales, and percentage of gross sales. With this report, you can find out:

• Which seasonal dishes are best-sellers?
• Are some items underperforming and need a discount boost?

You can use this data to retire underperforming items or modify the recipe to match customer preferences better.

7. Inventory Stock Report

This report helps you avoid the classic holiday mistake: running out of your star item. It takes into account product names, barcodes, SKUs, opening stock, current day’s purchased stock, total stock, total sold quantity, current stock, and price. This way, you can:

• Monitor stock levels for seasonal ingredients.
• Set automatic restock alerts for critical items.

8. Employee Reports

Promotions often mean longer hours and extra staff. These reports help you manage labor costs and productivity.

• Track extra hours worked during the seasonal rush.
• Identify top-performing employees with net sales data.
• Keep track of how many hours worked and tips earned.

Ease Up Seasonal Promotions with OneHubPOS Seasonal promotions have the power to boost sales, create buzz, and bring new customers through your doors. But to really make them work, you need OneHubPOS to launch promos and give you the insights to keep improving them. Using its POS analytics reports allows you to tweak and optimize promotions for better results.Ready to transform your seasonal campaigns with OneHubPOS? Book a free demo today and discover how data-driven insights can elevate your promotional strategy!