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Except for the lingering sugar high, Halloween is well behind us. Retailers know what that means: on to the Holiday Season!
Of course, for most retailers that brings a major focus on sales. But, savvy retailers are especially focused on the targeted ending inventory on December 31.
Those retailers are carefully watching sales reports, and are poised for action.
Each week, they identify "What's not selling yet?" And they do something about it! Move it around on the floor? Display it differently? Pair it with merchandise that IS selling? Lots of choices!
What About Markdowns?
What are we waiting for? The customers are here now. Do we really want to wait for January clearance sales?
Or, maybe there are entire lines you plan to discontinue in 2025.
Why not clear out that merchandise while the customers are coming in at Holiday?
For those who are focused on managing and controlling their inventory (since it is their largest asset), here is a tactic you might want to use.
First, identify the merchandise items you want to be out of by year's end. (See above.) Mark it down now by, say, 20%. Make that merchandise noticeable.
Then, let your staff know that you are putting a spiff, perhaps $5 or $10 (depending on price points in your stores) on each of those items sold.
Give them ideas on how these items can be add-on sales.
Then, every time one of those items is sold, the spiff money goes into a pool.
A chart in the break room will keep track of each day's total. At Christmas, that pooled money will be shared among all employees, based on their hours worked.
This can be a great technique to add some fun for your staff – and some teamwork – to help move out that merchandise you really don't want around come the New Year.
And depending on how many items you have targeted, the total cost of the spiff money is likely less than a steeper markdown would have been.
Plus, this way, that money goes to your employees! Sweet!
Time to start identifying those merchandise items that will be on the spiff list. Let their Farewell Tours begin!
As we reflect on this year and the multiple and still-ongoing effects of the pandemic, we are inspired once again by the resilience and perseverance of independent retailers. Then we saw a comment about dealing with adversity that seems particularly relevant to retailers. Remember Cher, the entertainer? (And conservationist and philanthropist.) She was asked by Christine Amanpour about how she dealt with adversity and setbacks (like bankruptcy) throughout her career.
It's a new year. And now, another new month. How about a new sense of beginning, a fresh start? Alas, the coronavirus pandemic continues to prove Dr. Anthony Fauci right:"The virus is in charge." As you have noticed, all around us there's delay. From Major League Baseball contemplating a month delay, schools and universities very slowly resuming in-person classes, or a decidedly different lineup and focus of Super Bowl advertisers, we have no choice but to continue to be patient. Isn't that the pits? As Daphne Howard reported*, "Footfall patterns show that getting back to normal requires more than flipping the "open" sign.
Alas, there is really no way to avoid discussing COVID-19, the coronavirus that began in China last month, and now continues to spread throughout the world. No matter whether or when it is officially declared a "pandemic," the uncertainty and angst that it is generating have troubling implications for retailers.
As the global efforts to "flatten the curve" of the coronavirus pandemic continue, there is another curve that is being flattened. That would be the seasonality of retail sales. And this may prove to be what really defines the New Normal for retailers. The customary peaks of retail spending have been flattened.
That message is emblazoned – in sunshine colors - in the windows of Nordstrom's flagship store in downtown Seattle. And yes, on a drizzly January day in Seattle, it was a welcome sight this morning. A nice pep talk for us all. And a fitting message to follow our reflections on the year we just experienced. Since March 2 of 2020, our From The Co-Founders commentary has been focused on the pandemics. Revisiting those was quite the "year in review" experience.*
There's a lot of optimism in the air these days. Covid-19 lockdown restrictions are being eased. More people are becoming vaccinated. Upbeat economic news is reported. Unemployment figures are improving. Restaurants are preparing for diners to return. And of course, given that we are now starting to compare sales results to the meltdowns of 2020, dramatic percentage growth is being reported and forecast for the balance of the year. These positive and optimistic news reports all are very welcome. Retailers are eager to see customers return. But what should retailers expect? To brace yourself for the myriad changes.
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