Keeping pace with consumer trends and changing behaviours is key to the success of retail operations, particularly when managing the impact of current global events on supply chains to ensure they’re able to consistently meet demand.
According to the latest CBI quarterly Distributive Trades Survey, consumer confidence is growing as retail sales volumes were 16% higher than seasonal norms in February. How retailers respond to this growing confidence will be key to maximising sales opportunities and effectively managing seasonal peaks.
One of the ways in which retailers can more accurately monitor and therefore predict how consumer behaviour will change is having access to accurate data about what’s impacting the sale and return of their products.
To help retailers understand consumer behaviour, international logistics company Advanced Supply Chain Group’s (ASCG), latest research has pinpointed the consumer trends that will have the greatest impact on supply chains in 2022 and the actions retailers are taking to embrace consumer shopping habits and improve supply chain agility.
Three of six key trends identified in ASCG’s latest eBook research include:
1) Spread the cost
The concept of shopping through home catalogues and placing postal orders will be alien to most of today’s generation of online shoppers. However, they are increasingly familiar with the concept of spreading the cost of payments, which made home-shopping catalogues such a hit in previous decades.
This concept has been digitised, with ‘shop now, pay later’ options like Klarna becoming something of a default purchasing behaviour for a growing share of internet shoppers. This can have huge ramifications for supply chains, as it can make goods with higher retail selling prices more accessible and can change order quantities and purchasing frequencies quite considerably.
The ability to spread and delay the cost of purchases provides shoppers with more flexibility. It creates the opportunity for them to put more items in their online baskets, as they know they have a period of time to consider different options before they make a final decision on what they actually want to buy. Stock inventory management and supply chain strategies need to adapt accordingly to ensure the right products are being stocked at the right times, and at the right prices. Similarly, supply chain software and practices need to be able to provide retailers with accurate, constantly updating information about purchasing habits. This data can enable companies to build more informed stocky inventory models that better predict what goods will move out and back into supply chains.
2) Try before you buy
An ASCG survey of 2,000 shoppers in October 2021 found that being able to try items before purchasing was the greatest benefit of high street shopping. Almost two thirds (63%) ranked it their top benefit, above being able to get instant refunds and immediately exchange unwanted items. It’s impossible for store changing rooms to exist online but this isn’t dampening the love of ‘trying before buying’ amongst e-commerce consumers.
Online shoppers feel more and more comfortable buying multiple items, whether that’s different size, colour and style variations of the same clothes or putting ‘alt-products’ in their baskets, which are essentially a back-up choice in case they don’t like what else they’ve ordered. ‘Trying before buying’ will play a big part in contributing towards the growing volume of returns in 2022. Technology must be able to seamlessly integrate returns into supply chains as their own stand-alone channel, with returned products treated much in the same way as goods sold.
For customers who want to try on items physically, you should consider offering a strong returns policy, so they have the time to check the items work for them before they commit to them. To improve your returns strategy, consider bringing some or all of your logistics process in-house, and bringing on a fleet of vehicles to assist with delivering and returning items.
Managing an in-house fleet, however small, can seem like a daunting task. Thankfully, companies like Total Motion have the expertise to support you through the process of building and managing your fleet, so you can sit back and enjoy the convenience that brings without the added hassle.
3) Low and no-cost
Fashion brands and retailers have long contended with consumer demand for deliveries that are free-of-charge or low cost. This demand extends to returns, with growing expectation that returning items doesn’t cost them anything and is also convenient.
Retailers and brands which make returns free, quick and easy are more likely to reduce barriers to purchase for consumers and avoid abandoned baskets at ecommerce checkouts. However, the benefits don’t stop there. Making returns more consumer-friendly can also help reduce the time it takes for shoppers to actually send back unwanted goods. Minimising the returns lag can mean items are processed more quickly for resale, making optimum selling prices more of a reality.
It’s increasingly important for fashion brands and retailers to consider the value of the low and no-cost trend, as they address margin dilution in supply chains. Rather than attempting to protect margins by charging for returns or reducing delivery and return options, it’s possible to find other efficiencies throughout supply chains. Having a control tower view of the movement of goods and rich data about the performance of returns can make savings more accessible.
For example, with the right information, retailers can optimise transportation space and the movement of products to reduce carbon emissions and identify efficiencies that lower energy consumption and minimise errors and product wastage.
ASCG’s eBook covers more consumer trends, as well as sharing insight on the key actions retailers can take to optimise stock inventory management and improve supply chain strategies. Download your free copy of the eBook here.
