Each holiday season, the retail stakes get higher. For many retailers, the holiday season is both an opportunity to make a big difference in their bottom line and a high-stress period for systems and staff. Consumers are planning to spend big this holiday season. According to a recent Forbes article, 12% plan to spend more on holiday gifts than they spent last year. In order to stay competitive, retailers will need to distinguish themselves from their competitors.
However, the aftereffects of the global pandemic have aggravated supply chain weaknesses. There is even more emphasis on customer experiences, and the challenges that retailers face every holiday peak season have been exacerbated.
Consumers, who have adopted a more digital-first mindset over the course of the pandemic, remain nervous about supply chain reliability. According to a recent Prosper Insights & Analytics survey, a majority of consumers (51%) expect product shortages to continue for at least the next 6 to 12 months. Other economic conditions such as gas and mortgage prices and inflation are also going to be a factor for most shoppers.
With this in the backdrop, we can assume most consumers will shop strategically this holiday season, making it all the more important for retailers to be ready. Some of the challenges we expect to see this holiday season include -
-
Supply chain uncertainty:
Retailers can’t just repeat the same strategies that worked during the pandemic. One of the biggest mistakes a business can make this holiday season is not being prepared for unexpected elements.
A common supply chain risk area is heavy reliance on a single supplier. Having several vetted backup suppliers ready to go puts retailers in a better position to keep up with demand throughout peak season. Diversifying one's supplier base can also help create a more competitive supplier landscape.
At any time of the year, and even more so during the holidays, retailers need real-time visibility and access to their inventory, from distribution centers to back rooms to store shelves. An omnichannel order management system like that of Orckestra offers real-time visibility into one’s inventory. Through its distributed order management (DOM) systems, the platform empowers teams to get the inventory to market faster and with less risk. When the inventory levels are transparent, retailers can react more quickly to minimize lost sales caused by undersupply or lost revenue due to markdowns from oversupply.
-
Changing consumer preferences:
-
Lack of product diversity and catalog: Consumer preferences have been shifting rapidly and will continue to do so. This can cause serious complications when it comes to fixed product offerings. Retailer websites will need to take into account the diverse needs of customers this year. An outdated catalog management strategy can hold businesses back. There can’t be a sale if there is no product and so businesses will need to ensure that their websites can demonstrate an extensive and rich product catalog.
-
Traffic: Retailers need to ensure that they are ready for a serious influx in traffic. Orckestra's cloud service offering allows retailers to scale their systems cost-efficiently when traffic exceeds their worst-case scenarios. Through cloud-based, API-based commerce platforms like Orckestra, one can automatically respond to customer demands without overspending on “just-in-case” infrastructure, benefiting from auto-scaling capabilities.
-
Personalization: It is also important that retailers take into account just how much shoppers enjoy personalization. During a busy holiday season, higher levels of shopping might make it much more challenging for retailers to accommodate the unique needs of their shoppers. The right omnichannel commerce platform enables one to personalize their offers by centralizing all their customer data in a single view that crosses all channels.
-
Omnichannel optimization:
As demand shifts the balance from store to ecommerce fulfillment, the supply chain must adapt. Retailers can struggle to support various fulfillment scenarios and to make sure each system is implemented efficiently. Retailers need to balance pickup in-store, curbside pickup, store transfers, home delivery and the return of in-person shopping. More and more shoppers expect their products to be fulfilled how, when and where they choose. This customer expectation puts pressure on retailers to provide flawless service, making timely and multiple order fulfillment often a serious challenge for many.
When all store operations are unified under one omnichannel commerce platform, like Orckestra’s Omnichannel Order Management system, one can expand the role their physical stores can play. The digital ecommerce solutions provided by Orckestra optimize in-store inventory usage and unify inventory at a global level, reducing costs and increasing profits.
The first post-pandemic holiday season can bring new challenges that can disrupt stores that are already burdened with managing omnichannel options. Whatever the challenge is, Orckestra solutions are designed to serve the complex needs of enterprise-level retailers and global brands as they unify omnichannel operations and shopping experiences online and in-store.
Learn more about these solutions and how to get ready for the holiday season at https://www.orckestra.com/en.