Can you feel the excitement in the air? The calendar flipped\nto November first and we can already taste the peppermint. Consumers,\nretailers, and suppliers are already poised to dive headfirst into another\nunique holiday season. But even with shipping delays, the persistence of Covid-19,\nand economic shifts, the outlook is eager and bright this year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consumer confidence is key to high sales in any season but\nespecially during the crucial gifting holidays. This year, consumers face a\nunique cocktail of external pressures that will impact their spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fortunately, the news is good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While there will certainly be changes to how people\ncelebrate, out of safety concerns, most people are feeling more confident about\ngathering with friends and family this year for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and\nbeyond. Here are a few highlights that indicate that consumers will be\nspending, celebrating, and getting out of their homes this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Thanksgiving, more than half\nof consumers<\/a> will spend at least $75 on food and other related celebrations\nand a third will be spending more than $100, in line with past years although\none-fifth of consumers are likely to spend more than they have in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In-store shopping rates are also expected to rise from last\nyear, with 47%\nof people<\/a> planning to grab at least some gifts from physical shelves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps most telling is that consumers are expected to\nspend more than 20% this year<\/a> than they did last year, totaling an average\nof $1,447. And it\u2019s not just on gifts for others, an average of $442 of those\ndollars will be spent on pampering themselves, indicative of higher levels of\nconsumer optimism and a reaction to a tough two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The National Retail Federation is predicting holiday\nsales to reach $859 billion<\/a>, an increase of 10.5%. Yet there are\nsignificant challenges that retailers are already preparing for including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the good news is there are forces that should lead to higher sales, too, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Large retailers like Target, Best Buy, and Walmart are\npushing early sales as a way to meet customer demand and encourage strong\nsales, even with the inventory and labor challenges. Some of the common themes\nare campaigns like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Retailers and brands alike should also expect these challenges to last beyond the holidays. For instance, shipping vessels are only arriving on-time 40% of the time while the price has increased by 360%<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Retailers will continue to hone the accuracy of their demand\nplanning and be more flexible than ever before. But retail suppliers should\nalso pay attention to their own capacity and be creative about how to end the\nyear with strong sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The name of the game this year is flexible proactiveness.\nBrands that are reactive to consumer demand, shipping challenges, and labor\nshortages will be behind and their sales will suffer before they have time to\nblink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other hand, suppliers that are able to anticipate a\nchanging retail environment will be able to quickly adapt their available\ninventory and get it into the hands of waiting consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t be afraid to offer replacement ideas. Many consumers\nwill not be able to fulfill their shopping list exactly as they\u2019d hoped. But\njust because the sweater they had their eye on is out of stock doesn\u2019t mean\nsuppliers need to miss out on a sale. Be creative and offer alternative ideas\nto your customer base through a mix of omnichannel marketing and in-store\npromotions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Customers and retailers understand the unique retail\nenvironment this year. Don\u2019t be afraid to acknowledge when inventory is running\nbehind. Communicate when to expect shipping delays and if needed, offer\nincentives for consumers to spend their dollars with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The best offense is a good defense. In the case of retail suppliers, that means having a trusted in-store team who can make sure that product makes it from the backroom to the shelves and once it\u2019s there, looks the way it\u2019s supposed to based on your planogram. Services<\/a> like retail audits<\/a> and planogram<\/a> maintenance can help brands stay on track with their sales targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The word \u201cunprecedented\u201d got worn out last year but it is\nfair to say that this holiday season is yet another, unprecedented challenge.\nFortunately, despite the obstacles, optimism remains high. As long as you are\nprepared and stay on top of inventory changes, the season should remain jolly\nand successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Contact us today if you need an extra set of eyes and hands making sure your product is set, stocked, and priced correctly!<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow are Large Retailers Preparing for the Holidays?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What Can Retail Suppliers Do to Make the Holiday Season Run Smoothly?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Be Flexible and Proactive<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Be Communicative<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Be Prepared<\/h3>\n\n\n\n