Technology has become a driving force in many different industries, and retail is no exception. The introduction of technology into the retail space has changed the way business owners track their inventory, report on their business, interact with their customers, and how customers can interact with them. Taking advantage of the tools that are available is no longer a choice, but has become a necessity in order to keep pace with the changing and competitive market.
With greater accuracy in inventory tracking, retailers are able to ensure that they have the right amount of every product they carry in the store. Having a more robust way of reporting inside of your business gives greater insight into what is happening in your market. It will allow you to ensure that you are carrying the right products to fit the needs of your customers. Customer engagement has also become extremely important and a major influence for a successful retailer. Customers use technology every day to help make their lives easier. Finding an effective way to communicate with your customers can help drive business to your store and using technology to make their buying experience as simple as possible will keep them coming back.
In the age where everything is just one click away, it is important to adapt to improved ways of doing business, and to keep pace with the rapidly changing customer expectations. To learn more about adopting technology in your retail store, download our How to Grow Your Business with Technology guide. After hosting our ‘Using Data to Make Moves in a Bad Economy’ webinar, we had a lot of great questions! While we responded to each one individually, we thought it might be helpful to answer some of the most popular questions on the blog. Below you’ll find four popular questions attendees had after watching.
Q: How do I find data for customers who have purchased a specific model of shoe to let them know about an update?
A: In RICS, the report you will use to find this data is the Export Customer Purchase Details report. This report can be found under Reporting : Data Export : Export Customer Purchase Details. To run this report to find a customer who had purchased a specific model, enter the SKU information on the Customer Filter by Purchase tab and enter the time period you want to view.
Q: How do I find customers who have not shopped with us in the past 6 months?
A. To run this report to find customer who have not shopped with you in 6 months (or any time frame), navigate to the Additional Customer Criteria tab. Under the Limit to Customers with Last Purchase During, choose Selected Dates and enter the time frame where you want to find their last purchase.
Q: How do I run the reports you outlined in the webinar?
A: The two reports that were used for the data in this webinar were the Sales Analysis Report, which can be found under Reporting : Sales : Sales Analysis and the Export Customer Purchase Details Report which can be found under Reporting : Data Export : Export Customer Purchase Details. How you set the criteria for these reports will depend what type of data you want to view and how you want to view it.
Q: What is your strategy around a product exit strategy? How would you plan your buy to ensure you did not end up in the same situation as the sample store did with the Adrenaline?
A: My strategy is to:
Run historical data for PY for the same season I am buying for.
Run a 12 month report to see how sales are trending in the current year.
Run a product level report to identify top products for each vendor. These products give you the best chance of hitting your goal.
Determine growth goal (+/-) for each month of the buying season based on the PY and CY trends (work with rep on goals as well).
60 days from product update: I would write this order as a single size run of my important sizes. When this order is about to ship, I would review my current OH for the product. If I have the right amount or more stock than I am going to need for the next 60 days (which I determine based on sales trend and goal data) I would reduce or cancel that order.
30 days prior to update: Stop all shipment of updating product.
If there was an opportunity for risk inventory (potential excess pairs after the product updates) 30 days prior to update, I would work with the rep on a stock swap or stock buyback plan and work with them to create a markdown strategy to move remaining inventory within MAP policy. Note: There are many different ways to approach this problem, this is just one opinion/strategy.
We received lots of great questions, but these were some of the most popular. If you missed the webinar, you can watch it here. If you find yourself with more questions, please feel free to reach out to me at jrichburg@ricssoftware.com.
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