What you should do in the run-up to peak season to avoid any last-minute hiccups
The 2021 holiday season will be a time unlike any other, with brands and retailers having to navigate an intra-pandemic retail landscape distinctly different from that of 2020.
In light of this, businesses will need to keep on top of market shifts in order to ensure a successful peak selling season — both in terms of customer satisfaction and commercial gain. Here’s how you can harness up-to-date data to better prepare for the weeks ahead.
1 Monitor weekly developments
As the retail landscape is constantly in flux, it is not enough to rely on last year’s insights. In the current environment, you need frequent and reliable updates — on your competitors’ sales activity, as well as the market at large. Your own sales data will only give you a fraction of the overall picture, so have you explored how to track larger market shifts? If you don’t have access to market and consumer data, now is the time to consider how it can bolster your strategy.
2 Understand geographical nuances
It is important to note that consumer demand and spending varies across markets, so business leaders should ensure they take into
account regional and local nuances. For instance, Germany was the biggest Black Friday market last year at $1.6 billion, while Brazil exhibited the strongest week-on-week growth at +209%. Additionally, consumers in certain markets are more price-sensitive, making promotions a feasible strategy.
3 Adjust your strategy
With up-to-date business intelligence at your fingertips, you can recalibrate and refine your strategy accordingly.
For instance, should you revise your prices or launch promotions to counteract your competitors’ activities? Always ensure that you are using the latest available information to guide your judgement.
4 Set a plan for monitoring
Operational excellence will be key to enabling data-driven, tactical decision-making throughout this Peak Season. Senior management should come together to decide who will be the steward of your business’s sales performance monitoring efforts, taking care to outline how they will be empowered to act on their findings.
Deciding the most critical areas to monitor during peak season can be challenging — but it is nevertheless crucial in a year as uncertain as 2021.
To maximize your commercial success consider focusing on the six areas shown on the next page.
1 WEEKLY SEASONALITY: Shopping patterns have changed rapidly during the pandemic, with consumers purchasing sooner and Black Friday starting earlier. With weekly sales insights, you can monitor when consumers are shopping most frequently to stay ahead of demand. It is vital to compare your sales with that of your competitors, your channel or the overall market to evaluate your performance — and to react fast and with conviction.
2 COMPETITOR PROMOTIONS: Having the latest intelligence on what other brands in your category are promoting — as well as the product specs and features they are focusing on — is critical to your own sales strategy. This can help you understand when and where to launch the right promotions to counteract competitors’ offers. Monitor your competitors’ activities closely to ensure that you do not discount more than necessary and narrow your profit margins.
3 PRICE FLUCTUATIONS: Supply chain issues have wreaked havoc on retail operations in the past year, leading to rising costs. What’s more, prices shift constantly during promotion weeks, especially during the year-end Peak Season. How can you stay agile and adapt to changing pricing dynamics? To gain and defend market share, you need to ensure that your prices are aligned with the latest developments.
4 SHOPPING TRENDS: Consumer markets are undergoing a massive transformation, with trends like healthy living influencing what consumers spend on. Savvy brands need to keep abreast of these trends week on week. Use the latest sales insights to understand which shifts are driving purchasing decisions today, and capitalize fast on any opportunity spaces that open up.
5 CHANNEL DYNAMICS: GfK research shows that social shopping is especially popular in China, with 6 out of 10 consumers using “buy” buttons on social media. If a product performs well on a certain channel, brands need to be agile by adapting supply accordingly. As online and offline increasingly converge, it is crucial to use up-to-date data to understand how your channel mix and spend is performing — so you can get your products in front of consumers wherever they are shopping.
6 PRODUCT AVAILABILITY: As Ken Morris, a veteran industry analyst at Boston Retail Partners, observes, “[Black Friday] is the time of year when you create either good customer moments or bad customer moments, and it’s all about the inventory.” Clearly, a seamless fulfillment experience is paramount, so you need to closely monitor whether your products are available — and visible — across the most popular retailers in the market.
Get up-to-date intelligence on competitor promotions, price fluctuations, channel dynamics and more. Request your Seasonal Sales Monitor now.
