Now that Memorial Day weekend has come and gone, retailers are
in full “summer mode,” although they likely have been preparing for the season for
at least a month if not more. But with the rise of Prime
Day as an annual shopper extravaganza that, for many retailers, transitions right into back-to-school season,
it’s clear that traditional definitions of when “selling seasons” start and end
are in flux. The required changes in preparation, planning and promotion could
cause a domino effect all the way down to the Q4 holiday season, particularly
now that Alibaba’s Singles
Day starts off November with a bang.
To align with these changes, starting in July the Retail TouchPoints editorial team will
be adapting our holiday coverage by providing readers with new and creative assets
every month that give a glimpse of how retailers can prepare for the season.
In this Q&A, the RTP
editors kick off the summer by sharing what retailers should be doing to
prepare for this season and beyond.
Adam Blair, Editor: There’s
an old (1940) movie comedy by the remarkable writer/director Preston Sturges,
titled Christmas in July. Before they even entered the
theater, the title would have clued in audiences of the day about the
topsy-turvy, anything-can-happen tone of the movie. Christmas in July?
That’s crazy! These days, however, we have a real-world Christmas in
July, at least as far as Amazon is concerned, called Prime
Day. And that’s just the most prominent example of the hyperextended stretching
of a holiday season that had traditionally been limited to the weeks between
Thanksgiving and Christmas. (Nor should we forget Singles Day, Nov. 11, the
modest little holiday that Alibaba pumped up into a worldwide selling blitz.)
My point is not to lament the passing of the old days, but that retailers need
to adjust their planning — in fact, their entire mindset — to the multi-month
nature of the “holiday season.” Certainly it involves more work and more
preparation, but it also opens up new opportunities.
Advertisement
Glenn Taylor, Senior
Editor: Back-to-school has arguably become the biggest
event impacted by the changes in summer shopping preferences, incentivizing
more people to shop for school supplies earlier in the year. Last year, Amazon
specifically launched “Back to School” and “Off To College” online stores ahead
of its own Prime Day, showing how much the retailer has dedicated itself to both
manufacturing and meeting demand — and so far, it’s worked. Competing retailers
shouldn’t try to move the immovable object, but they should still do more to go
where Amazon isn’t, just like any other time of the year. There’s always going
to be overflow from shopper traffic on Amazon, especially on high-traffic
occasions like Prime Day. This is where services like BOPIS or ship-from-store
come in. Amazon can’t do that, but now many Target stores sure can. Are there specific school supplies, dorm
supplies or apparel that Amazon might not have the best grip on? No one has
ever confused the e-Commerce giant with having the most uniquely curated
products, and its dominance of the now summer-into-back-to-school season
doesn’t change that.
Bryan Wassel, Associate Editor: There’s
no avoiding the fact that Prime Day dominates the summer, so the best thing
competing retailers can do is lean into the sentiment and try to take advantage
of that fact. Much of the hubbub around Prime Day is about expensive
electronics and similarly priced goods, so merchants in other areas might try
to soothe stinging wallets with sales on smaller items. Think something like,
“Got a great deal on that Echo, but killed your entertainment budget for the
month? Our hiking gear is on sale, so grab a new water bottle and hit the
(free!) parks during the peak of summer.” That’s a very specific, niche
example, but I think the idea can apply to retailing at large: accept that this
is a holiday and that Amazon is going to suck all the air out of the room, but
look for other areas where smaller retailers can thrive in this new environment
the e-Commerce giant has created.
