By Jeffery Wacker, TD Bank
The end of summer brings Labor Day picnics, last minute beach days and, of course, the traditional back-to-school shopping trip. Times are changing, though: the days of jumping in the station wagon and heading to your favorite retailer for the latest and greatest school gear is no longer a necessity for today’s consumer. Retail has become ubiquitous; you can get anything, anytime and anywhere. In fact, eMarketer predicts that Back-to-School e-Commerce sales will grow 15.3% this year and account for 7.9% of total sales.
Shoppers are inundated with digital information from targeted email campaigns to social media advertisements and web page banners. This presents both a challenge and an opportunity for today’s retailer; they’ll need to get more sophisticated when it comes to targeting customers during busy shopping seasons.
Advertisement
Here are three major considerations for retailers that want to thrive during the final days of the back-to-school shopping season.
1. Create Demand, Get Trendy
To start, Back-to-School is known as a highly active shopping period for hot items. It’s important for retailers to stay attuned to cultural trends, and respond in real time. For example, offering any Pokémon-related clothing or school supply this summer would certainly hit a sweet spot with the tween market. The National Retail Federation (NRF) expects shoppers to spend an average of $674, which is spread between clothing and accessories, electronics, shoes and school supplies.
Many retailers have been announcing the availability of trending merchandise to their loyal followers on social media. Those retailers that connect with customers across all mediums create more of a demand and get the best results.
2. Blending E-Commerce & Brick-And-Mortar
It’s more important now than ever before for retailers to achieve the right blend of brick-and-mortar and e-Commerce. According to July’s Retail Spending data, e-Commerce sales were the sole outperformer — up 1.3% on the month. On the flip side, TD Economics, the research arm of TD Bank, expects consumers will come back to the malls, both brick-and-mortar and virtual, in the coming months.
With that in mind, opt for offering free shipping and in-store pickup. With only a little time left until the first day of school, busy shoppers will find relief in brands that don’t require them to wait for delivery. In addition, according to a recent survey by the NRF, 84% of parents won’t purchase online without free shipping. It also helps retailers drive customers into the store, which can lead to a potential last-minute purchase.
3. Understand The Value Of A Good
Seasonal pushes like back-to-school shopping often require additional inventory and manufacturing. If any of these items are slow moving or out-of-season, savvy retailers use the remaining inventory as collateral for financing. If the retailer has different channels, such as e-Commerce, it helps lenders place a higher value on the merchandise. The ability to realize higher values on off-season items has been much better due to the omnichannel environment. Retailers should find a strong, strategic financing partner that can guide them through the process and evaluate the value of items.
The digital world is shifting the way consumers shop during major shopping seasons. Rather than choosing between one and the other, they now have the opportunity to combine in-store and online shopping. Retailers that stay attuned to their customers’ needs and live by the anytime, anything, anywhere mantra will win.
Jeffery Wacker is the head of U.S. Asset-Based Lending Origination at TD Bank. His career includes 20 years of leveraged finance, asset-based lending and private equity experience in North America and Europe. Previously, Wacker was with TD Securities in New York, where his focus was Capital Markets and structuring of syndicated debt. Prior to that he was with SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, where he led the ABL Syndications team and covered Leverage Finance for the Transportation and Retail sectors. Wacker also held a variety of leadership roles at GE Capital in Chicago, Stamford, and London.
