In brief: When it comes to seasonal trends in retail sales, Service Associates believes that history can teach us plenty. This manufacturer’s rep and in-store service company reps artwork from major manufacturers to a mega-retailer in the Midwest. In order to maximize sales for its customers, they ran a Velocity report containing eight weeks of sales and inventory data from the Christmas ‘98 selling season. They noted that several items had been impossible to keep on store shelves while others remained overstocked even after the peak selling season had passed. The company used this valuable data to create a special Christmas back-up order, so they could increase or decrease inventory levels based, not on guesses or wishes, but on hard facts. As a result, they enjoyed their highest sales levels ever in those categories.
A second Velocity report was generated showing the previous year’s sales by product category and by store. To the company’s surprise, they found that the best-performing stores overall were not necessarily the best-selling stores during the peak holiday season. They quickly adjusted their orders to take advantage of this new information. Using the percentage of Christmas sales that each store had generated, they provided replenishment point recommendations by SKU and store to the retail planner. The better-performing stores received more product; the slower stores received less. Their manufacturer clients’ ended up selling more and the retailer ended the holiday season with maximized sales and a minimum of clearance merchandise...at every store!
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