The Marketplace Strategy Blog

With just a week to go until Black Friday signals the start of the holiday season, we’ve put together three key areas all retailers should consider to maximize their return during this peak period.  Featuring guest comment from Dimension Data, Valantic and our own key recommendations these are your last minute tips for this joyful season.

Recent research finds that  now expect more product choice, even in the same category. Retailers are under increased pressure to provide a differentiated and diverse experience, in a time when 56% of product searches begin on Amazon. This enhanced consumer demand for both product depth and breadth has forced UK businesses who operate an eCommerce environment to consider just how to expand their product assortment profitably if they want to survive this uncertain time.  

Increasingly retailers are experimenting with integrating suppliers or third-party brands onto their site in an effort to add a new product category, bolster existing range or improve supply chain efficiency. And the reality is, whether the experiment has been a success or not, integrating a third-party can be an intensive process requiring resources across IT, eCommerce, Merchandising, Product and Supply Chain teams.

The global grocery market is on the cusp of transformation. It’s predicted to double in value from  . And whilst it remains the largest retail category in the US, it’s also the least penetrated.

“They’ve actually got Holiday decorations in the supermarket, can you believe it, it’s only just October!?” Every year it’s the same. One minute we’re enjoying light evenings and family BBQs, the next we’re unearthing scarves and complaining about Christmas songs in the shops. But for those of us working in the retail industry, planning for the peak season actually begins months in advance.

We’ve gotten used to seeing the headlines about the “death of the high street,” “retail stores facing an apocalypse” and other equally scaremongering predictions. It’s been refreshing this week to hear that retail stores could be facing a renaissance, led by Amazon of all companies! Instead of dissipating, the role of store has evolved, and smart retailers should be examining how they can embrace this growing trend favoring experiences over products.