Seasonal spikes are all part of retail, and only those retailers who fully prepare for the peaks and troughs of retail management can maintain good cash flow and keep losses down. If you’re still not convinced that you need to be better armed against seasonal spikes, then read on for a full explanation.
Loss of Sales
Seasonal spikes in shopping can make for huge loss of sales if you haven’t prepared for the season ahead. You need to be ordering for Christmas in later summer to make sure you have secured enough goods for demand. For every sale you lose though being ‘Out of Stock’, your competitor gains and over seasonal periods these can mount up to significant losses.
Moving with the Times
Seasonal spikes aren’t set in stone, and a proactive not reactive company will know this. In the last two years we have seen a huge shift in seasonal spikes from Christmas being number one to Black Friday taking top spot. Coming a month earlier this means businesses need to be prepared for an earlier spike, but also for the one that follows more flatly over the following three weeks. Easter is now a bigger retail spike than it ever has been, and depending on what you sell, the start or end of summer can also cause sizeable peaks. Follow the latest market retail trends avidly so you always know whats round the corner.
Staffing Costs
Being prepared for seasonal spikes can save labour costs in the long run. In simple terms, you need fewer staff over quiet periods and more staff over busy periods, but as an ethical employer, you also need to provide guaranteed hours and regular work to those in your employment. Ideally, you want to get as much done by staff in quiet times, e.g. prepackaging items and organising the warehouse so that certain goods can be accessed faster. During quiet times also ask staff to check the quality of pallet racking and if necessary order more from http://www.rackzone.ie/. Also service your forklift trucks and trolleys, make sure your floor markings and signs are up to date or perhaps put staff on manual handling courses.
As you can see, preparing for seasonal spikes can increase profits and reduce cost and losses. It can also mean a more well-oiled machine all year.
