A survey by Anya Media at the Retail Business Technology Expo 2012 has revealed that many retailers are using discounting to offload large amounts of their stock… because of overbuying or purchasing the wrong products.
In the current economic climate – when consumers are spending less, businesses are going under and retailers are having to work hard to make a profit – this is a terrible and unnecessary waste that retailers can ill-afford.
Why is it happening? It could be for a number of reasons: affected retailers don’t know what their customers want (even if they think they do), or perhaps they are not using the latest or best merchandising techniques and software to find out what their customers want. The survey revealed that 28 per cent of respondents shunned technology and used Excel spread sheets as a merchandising system; why? probably because they simply haven’t made the connection that merchandising is not simply about the products for sale, but it is also about guiding the right customer to the right product. Yet without the appropriate merchandising software, it can be extremely difficult for retailers to ensure that they are discounting the correct products and understanding their customers. And retailers are literally paying the price for this.
By understanding the customer, the retailer is better placed to market and sell the right product to him or her. And then everyone’s a winner.