One year on and the situation has changed considerably. Most notably, the flow of trade between different countries has eased up, meaning that supply issues have largely been resolved. But the picture is far from rosy – the cost-of-living crisis means that retailers are facing ever-increasing financial overheads, while at the same time their customers are restricting spend to help combat spiralling costs.
Yet despite this highly challenging financial context, it’s predicted that 2022 will be the biggest Black Friday in history. So the question is, how can retailers leverage this global event to increase revenue, while tackling the financial pressures they face? Here are some top tips on how retailers can best prepare their business to maximise sales opportunities:
Use sales data to make smarter predictions
A deep dive into digital sales data is always a hugely valuable exercise, and one that online retailers should only skip at their peril when planning for Black Friday. Crunching past data can help businesses better understand their previous product sales and likely future trends, helping retailers map out the most impactful sales strategy for a busy retail season.
And what about companies that have only recently started trading? As they may not have the luxury of enriched sales data to call upon, they can instead turn to a wealth of online data sources to help them better estimate stock demands.
Poor forecasting may mean retailers either have insufficient stock, leaving them unable to capitalise on the full potential of Black Friday, or they may find themselves stuck with surplus stock in market. Tapping into sales data can support retailers’ demand predictions and allow them to plan stock accordingly.
Prioritise your sales channels (and manage them effectively)
Increasing numbers of savvy retailers are using a multi-channel sales approach in order to achieve greater reach and increase profitability. It’s valuable for these brands to look at how their product lines have already performed across different marketplaces. This will help them decide where to focus their sales push during Black Friday and throughout the peak end-of-year season.
To help with this decision-making, it can also be valuable for retailers to investigate the proliferation of similar products for online marketplaces. Product saturation will likely mean an eCommerce provider’s offering will be lost in the crowd, whereas a marketplace with a genuine product gap will increase the visibility of an online retailer’s products.
Also bear in mind that managing multiple channels can be time consuming and admin-heavy. To ease these headaches, eCommerce providers should look to implement technology that integrates channel management and fulfilment on a single platform, meaning that products from all sales channels and marketplaces will be accurately picked, packed and posted, with stock updated automatically across the board as items are sold.