Spring, summer, fall, winter… may be the 4 seasons that traditionally defined the shopping cycle, but today retailers work on anything between 7 to 15 seasons, all designed to get shoppers into their stores. The major goal of the retailers during the ‘seasons’ is to get people to buy impulsively, something that they do less these days. These special seasons, riding on the back of major holidays/events like Halloween, Easter, Thanksgiving, Back to School, 4th of July, Black Friday and of course Christmas have always brought in shoppers, and even the most hard hit do spends beyond the usual, bringing the much needed relief for retailers and to some extent also responsible for carrying many retailers/brands through the tough slowdown…
[bleft] The National Retail Federation 2014 economic forecast projects that the retail industry sales (which exclude automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants) will increase 4.1 per cent up from the preliminary 3.7 per cent growth seen in 2013, while online sales in 2014 will grow between 9 and 12 per cent. [/bleft]
Starting the year is Easter, being the first buying season of the calendar year, and though sales are expected to be lower than the US $ 17.2 billion last year, forecasted to reach about US $ 15.9 billion, according to an NRF Easter Spending Survey conducted by Proper Insights and Analytics, yet experts are maintaining a positive outlook. “Improving economic conditions and rising consumer confidence should push consumers to return to spending habits this spring,” predicts Jack Kleinhenz, Chief Economist, NRF. Since Easter traditionally marks the ceremonial start to spring, 42.9 per cent are expected to purchase new spring attire, such as bright Easter dress clothes for their children, spending an average of US $ 22.71; total spending on apparel is expected to reach US $ 2.6 billion.
After one exciting retail season ends, another one begins as July kicks off, with 4th of July and Back to School (BTS) buying, which is also well known as the second biggest shopping time in the year with brands and retailers reinventing ways to ensure that students and parents spend. BTS brings in around US $ 70 billion in sales each year, and for many brands, this represents a vital share of their overall yearly revenue. The shopping spirit is even higher when Halloween approaches proving to be more of a treat for the retailers. Much of the season’s popularity can be attributed to the influence of popular series and films such as Twilight, Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries and the Harry Potter films. Also, the US retail industry pays attention to Halloween sales for clues about how much of an influence holiday festivities can have on consumer spending to plan for the big Christmas season.
No doubt the biggest sales season of the year, holiday buying has always provided the much needed boost to the fourth quarter results of every retailer in the past. For some retailers the holiday season can represent anywhere between 25-35 per cent of the total annual sales. Last holiday season the US retailers drove a 2.7 per cent increase in sales due to promotions and discounts despite six fewer days and the cold weather conditions that kept shoppers away from stores, according to the retail industry tracker ShopperTrak. This increase reflected a reviving economy as retail sales between Thanksgiving and Christmas rose for the fourth consecutive year, even though the people walking into the stores fell by 14.6 per cent during this period. Although the discounts offered not only boosted overall industry sales but also hurt profits at many other stores including Zumiez Inc., Walmart, Target, Sears, Cato Corp, Sainsbury’s, M&S, Tesco, American Eagle Outfitters Inc, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Family Dollar, etc. “The discounts needed to be deeper and they needed to be longer,” states Joel Bines, Managing Director, AlixPartners, a consulting firm.
To tap into these special occasions, retailers continue to seek innovative ways to communicate with consumers to build a compelling cross channel shopping experience, while introducing fresh collections aimed at each season. Most retailers deploy mobile and social marketing strategies that integrate with e-Commerce sites, which offer consumers capability to connect with brands across their channel of preference to make purchases for shopping seasons such as BTS, Halloween, Holiday Sales, etc. “Many marketers make the mistake of approaching these holiday seasons as a one-off campaign, it might be a once-a-year execution, but the customers you create during that time are still yours for the remainder of the year, not to mention years to come,” reasons Bines. Therefore, it is valuable to have a long-term plan in place to tap consumers at different points throughout the year. A campaign to refer in terms of generating a relationship with their consumers is American Eagle’s “Live Your Life” campaign, which tapped real people including bloggers, surfers and students to star in it.
Further looking positive ahead…
Last year, the Government’s payroll tax increased at the start of 2013 and its shutdown in the fall, both of which put a dent in consumer spending. While teen retailers like Abercrombie & Fitch and Aeropostale fell out of favour with consumers and investors in 2013, JCPenney, Lululemon and Toys R Us saw big management changes. Also, Canadian Hudson’s Bay bought Saks, and brought in an entire new management team; Walmart stores dealt with continued labour-related protests and Target had its point-of-sale systems compromised at the worst possible time. Although home values and equity markets are rising and gas prices are falling, still consumers wage is seeing a stagnant growth. But nevertheless retailers are still looking towards a positive 2014 in terms of sales.
When survival is getting hard for everyone due to the harsh economic climate and people are reluctant to spend, let alone splurge on themselves, these seasons are a major source of survival for the retailers. The National Retail Federation 2014 economic forecast projects that the retail industry sales (which exclude automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants) will increase 4.1 per cent up from the preliminary 3.7 per cent growth seen in 2013, while online sales in 2014 will grow between 9 and 12 per cent. “Measured improvements in economic growth combined with positive expectations for continued consumer spending will put the retail industry in a relatively good place in 2014. Though headwinds in the form of the looming debt ceiling debates, increased health care costs, and regulatory concerns still pose risks for both consumers and retailers, we are cautiously optimistic and hopeful that the economic tides will change in 2014,” concludes Matthew Shay, President and CEO, NRF.
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
