"Lockdown disastrous for shops." "Retailers fear a huge noose due to lockdown." The headlines don't lie. The concerns seem justified. Because what do you do with the stock? They have to leave the store earlier and faster with creative actions to limit the financial damage as much as possible. How can retail entrepreneurs make the world their own again in these unpredictable times? In this blog, we discuss the use of data. In this way, unforeseen scenarios can also be calculated to your heart's content so that the impact can be accurately predicted.
HOW DATA SOMETHES LOCKDOWN PAIN
The arrival of COVID19 has further underlined that the status quo could be shaken at any moment. Commercial schedules can go in the trash this year. If we take the fashion industry as an example, we see that entrepreneurs are stuck with a major dilemma due to the lockdown. The winter stock has to leave the store to make way for the spring collection, which was ordered months ago. Many retailers are looking for solutions creatively. C&A, De Bijenkorf, and Zara informed RTL Nieuws that they are taking measures to extend return periods and start the sale earlier.
RESULTS FROM THE PAST PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO THE PRESENT
The measures that the chains mentioned above are taking are interesting. Retailers, large or small, want to make the most of this period to end the year on a positive note. Promotions must be drawn up as effectively as possible, and the tipping point in terms of return must therefore be transparent. Of course, you don't want actions at the bottom of the line to yield nothing or even cost money. Determining practical activities is only possible if retailers rely on data and information from past price promotions.
CHOICES BASED ON DATA
Factors that generally play a role in effectiveness are, for example, the promotion price, the season, the competition, and timing. Retailers who have been collecting and evaluating this information for some time and using the right applications can better set up a good promotion. Because what's smart? A multi-buy promotion, focused on volume, or is a single-price-off promotion more effective? Applications, such as CLEVR's promotion manager, provide answers to these issues thanks to the built-in intelligence and the collected data. For example, retailers do not start promotion campaigns based on feelings but based on hard numbers and artificial intelligence.
STREAMLINED A COMPLEX PROCESS
A promotion process is often complex and therefore inefficient. This means that promotion is sometimes more of an obstacle than a means to excel. By streamlining the entire process – not to mention evaluating – retailers can take giant steps. Think of thorough preparation, bringing together all data from the various departments, and real-time monitoring the actions. The result is a predictable and, therefore, successful action result. Of course, the current lockdown situation is new to everyone, but there is more to predicting the effectiveness of a campaign than looking at coffee grounds and using common sense. Data and artificial intelligence is the guideline to keep moving forward, during and after this lockdown.
Do you know what steps you need to take to make a promotional campaign successful? What are the pitfalls and what to watch out for?
