Holiday Shopping 2020 Postmortem: 5 Key Lessons Learned
The 2020 holiday season wreaked havoc on businesses across the retail industry, from manufacturers and consumer brands to logistics, transportation and warehouse providers. Brick-and-mortar retailers went from planning "doorbusters" to managing new lockdowns to scrambling to create fulfillment stores in a matter of weeks. Seasonal delivery deadlines were moved up to meet the realities of inventory and shipping amid a pandemic-fueled online holiday shopping spree. While logistics companies and carriers padded their seasonal workforces, added surcharges on shipments, and enforced capacity limits to try and manage demand, shipping delays, supply issues and capacity nightmares still unfolded.
The 2020 holiday shopping season — arguably one of the most challenging retail seasons ever — has come to a close. And while we would all like to put 2020 behind us, much of the disruption the retail world experienced has triggered lasting industry change. For leaders across the retail landscape, reflecting on key learnings today will be critical to building success in the future.
我们需要从2020年假期开始
尽管我们使用了“前所未有的”一词，但2020年并不完全唯一。从改变消费者的行为和电子商务的兴起，到传统促销驱动的事件的转变以及季节性弯曲能力的现实，而挑战的范围和规模是新的，2020年的裸露裂缝一直在不断增长随着时间的流逝，加速了整个零售业的必要警钟。那么，零售领导人如何盘点当前的环境并将中断变成前瞻性变化？
以下是我们可以从2020年获得的五个课程，以便将来建立一个更具弹性，防震零售业的零售业：
- Always have a plan B.Being prepared to adapt is clearly imperative to thriving in a changing environment. Who would have predicted, for instance, that leading logistics providers would place shipping limits on主要的全球零售商？解决细微差别方案的建立模型将有助于确保行业领导者提出正确的问题，以便在其网络，计划过程和系统中建立弹性和敏捷性。您是否有能力吸收需求或供应的秋千？您能否快速将库存从实体频道转移到电子商务？当您建模无数方案时，通过利用外部数据信号来做出更精确的预测来调和差距或潜在的疼痛点。然后准备在这些情况下采取行动，以便自信地管理中断。
- Prioritize omnichannel, and staff accordingly.Sudden and localized restrictions were especially problematic for retailers that prioritized in-store shoppers, and it’s no small feat to set up things like curbside pickup or buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS), especially if you aren’t staffed appropriately. Retailers that succeeded in 2020 had already built out systems to generate a consolidated view of inventory across warehouses and stores, and had prioritized workforce planning to ensure both warehouses and stores were staffed accordingly. This allowed for easy fulfillment of orders, regardless of where the order was placed or where the customer wanted it delivered. 2020 proved that retailers need to embrace an omnichannel approach, but beyond that, they need to have systems in place to capture real-time data across channels and ensure their workforce is set-up to support sudden shifts in demand and capacity.
- 适应定价和促销策略。过去，零售是由商人驾驶的日历，每年在几个大购买季节中都争夺相同的“钱包”。但是，2020年透露，消费者购买行为不一定与传统促销期有关。取而代之的是，零售商应利用实时数据，外部购买信号和场景计划功能来根据他们试图驾驶的行为来调整其定价和促销策略。您是否要吸引商店流量？移动多余的库存？激励早期购买或运输速度较慢？模型，测试，执行和分析有针对性的定价和促销策略的结果，以推动适合您企业的正确购买行为。
- 发挥创意来维持服务水平。跳出固有思维模式来管理高峰和使它easier for customers to interact with your brand, especially during the busy holiday season. For instance, many retailers started their Black Friday deals early in November to help maintain service levels. You can mitigate potential inventory and logistics nightmares around big seasonal promotions by offering pre-holiday discounts or creative incentives, like personalized, early-holiday pickup windows for gifts purchased before November.
- Don’t make any implicit assumptions.我们始终认为物流行业中将有足够的海洋和空运插槽来满足运输需求，但2020年将物流和货运景观颠倒。例如，旅客飞机上的许多货运转移，因此，当旅行下降并且航空公司行业被迫大大降低航班时，空运老虎机越来越有限。如果您从最近的假期中学到一件事，那就让我们的假设永远得到保证。计划尽可能多的细微差别方案，并准备适应这些假设以适合当前的景观。
接下来是什么
It would be a mistake to see 2020 as a blip, or a singular black swan event without far-reaching ramifications. More likely, it's the tipping point for continued change and disruption across the industry.
However, with change comes the opportunity for new ideas. And as 2020 revealed, the retail industry could benefit greatly from innovation. In fact, a recent麦肯锡和公司的调查found that 71 percent of retail executives agree that changes brought about by COVID-19 will be one of the biggest opportunities for growth in the industry. Instead of looking to cover up the cracks last year exposed, we should take this opportunity to reimagine, rethink and reinvigorate the industry. Leverage the insights collected during the recent holiday season to ask complex questions, test new ideas, and develop innovative strategies that will drive your business and the industry forward.
After a year like 2020, it may seem strange to say, but what better time than the present?
埃文·奎斯尼（Evan Quasney）是供应链解决方案的全球副总裁，Anaplan, provider of the leading cloud-native platform for orchestrating business performance.
