From the Co-Founders of The Retail Owners Institute.Tips | Tactics | Insights on the Business of Retailing.
The same thing applies to your inventory.
Any "turkeys" in your inventory need to be gone by the end of the Thanksgiving weekend. No matter how low the price needs to be, there are 3 vital days to get non-sellers out of your inventory.
Remember, the week after Thanksgiving Weekend is the time to have NO "turkeys" in stock.
Now is the time to make one last sweep through your stores to markdown ALL of the "turkeys" that might be lurking in your inventory
Of course, you can check your POS reports for slow movers.
But be sure to ask your staff! They know where the turkeys are. Which merchandise are they bored with?
Mark it down, move it around, remerchandise it.
Then let the shoppers have at it!
The customers are primed and ready to pursue great bargains on Black Friday and throughout the weekend, whether in-store or on online.
Give them what they want.
And get out of whatever you don't want going forward.
Gobble, gobble!
In our experience, the Thanksgiving weekend - Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday - also marks the beginning of a very pensive time for many retail owners.
While it is a very busy time in the stores, the owners are more like politicians on election night. All you can do is wait for the results to come in!
Every minute, some shoppers in your market are checking the weather forecast on their smart phone.
But here's the deal: Immediately, that inquiry is being captured by The Weather Company, which now turns this mass of Big Data into usable information (that it sells, of course.) And here's what that means for those smart phone users:
How to deal with the turmoil and stress of today's retail environment?
Recent strategic changes by two global firms – McDonald's and 7-Eleven – offer good reminders for us all.
Each of these long-established businesses dealt with their growth challenges first by listening to their customers (using good data analysis and research).
Then, what they chose to do next offers some "food for thought" for all retailers.
How important is it to have - and brag about - a “free and easy” return policy?
That is an issue that vexes many retailers.
Processing and handling returns can be costly and time-consuming.
But, there also are "costs" associated with more restrictive return policies.
A two-year study comparing return policies of two similar retailers offers some new insights.
"Are retailers eating themselves alive?"
That was the provocative headline we recently saw.
Then this followed: “Retailers' rising e-commerce sales are taking a big bite out of their brick-and-mortar revenues – a wide-ranging problem.”
Other pundits we've seen call it “an untenable dynamic for these retailers.”
“Huh?”, we scoffed, as we read this about major retailers.
The definition of retailing is “selling to the ultimate consumer.” Why does it really matter whether they buy from you in-store or online?
Pat Johnson and Dick Outcalt, The Co-Founders of The Retail Owners Institute®, have been called "The Zen masters of retail finance!" Since 1999, they have been assembling their proprietary content into a unique self-help website. The Retail Owners Institute is an unmatched resource that assists retailers worldwide with basic financial training, assistance and easy-to-use tools. Their engaging and empowering how-to resources about the financial levers in retailing are informative, fun(!), and retailer-friendly. Their promise: "Everyone will 'get it'!" Pat and Dick are recognized experts in strategic retailing. Working only as a team – Outcalt & Johnson: Retail Strategists, LLC – they have been consulting, publishing, and speaking professionally throughout North America since 1990. They focus exclusively on retail, or wherever retail is involved. They work with CEOs, CFOs, boards and owners of retail operations, as well as manufacturers or wholesalers expanding into retail. And they also are Retail Turnaround Experts.
Since 1999, empowering retailers and store owners to "Turn on your financial headlights!"