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CHRISTMAS Merchandising for Christmas


I’m going to open by doing something I should not do. Recommending a course of action that it is too late to execute but what the hell it has to be done.


One of the greatest changes in performance you can make to any given website or catalogue is to produce a range plan for that season. It is, of course too late to carry this out for this Christmas however for spring or next year it must be done. You sell to a unique subset of the population. Whilst you may


have competitors with which you have much in common you will bring your own twist to the product sector in which you operate. You will create your own brand values and essence. Tis will cause your customers, with whom you have an absolute relationship inasmuch as they interact directly with you and not through intermediaries, to develop an opinion regarding the merchandise they trust you to sell to them. And the way they express that trust is via money. Te more they think you should have the authority to sell them a product the more they will buy it. Te more they believe your brand supports a price point the more they will buy from you in that price point. It’s a bit like a reality TV show with money used to vote rather


than phone numbers and in the end it’s only products that get voted off rather than people. So when starting out on a new season take a look at the


performance of each product category and price point band. Cover the basics. Compare the size of each part of the range to the percentage of sales value and profit it generates. Any large disparity between the two should be addressed with under performing sectors pruned and over performing sectors enlarged. Te sales value should also lead your taxonomy on your website


with the higher value categories given more prominence and in your catalogue the best selling merchandise should get the “hot” pages. Like the range plan the rest of your company marketing and


merchandising is about building up peaks not filling in troughs. Concentrate on the things and seasons that you are good at. Build up the times of year when your customers want to buy until such time as you believe you have maximised the value of that sea on. Only then move on to contra-seasonal marketing.


The deluxe syndrome


A deluxe version of a product is one effective way of increasing sales. Teir use is not universal as there are certain product types that do not lend themselves to a deluxe version but where they do it is a must. Te scenario usually works out like this. You introduce a


product, usually something that has a function although the principle can be stretched to certain decorative products too. An example I like to use is the blow up bed.


Direct Commerce | www.directcommercemagazine.com Now the standard product will probably be perfectly


serviceable but a bit tedious to use as it comes with a foot pump which has the annoying habit of parting from the bed at critical moments. However the product still has strong sales. Te opportunity here is to introduce a deluxe product which overcomes the shortcomings of the standard product. It features an electrical pump which makes inflating the bed easier and faster. What you will find is that the deluxe product will take generally take more money than the standard product but probably not shift as many units. At this point an accountant sometimes gets involved and points


out that life would be simpler and more profitable if only the deluxe version is offer. One SKU fewer and fewer units to ship for the same money. Only, of course, it doesn’t work like that. Without the standard product there is no comparator, which means there is no product to aspire to. Your deluxe product becomes merely your standard product and sales will drop. I have seen deluxe products work with wildly different price


points as long as the benefits are tangible and meaningful. In the case of my blow up beds a £40 option was outsold by a £160 version. You can extend the deluxe syndrome to a rule of four or even


five to build sales of successful product types. Once you have your standard and deluxe versions consider offering slightly more expensive variants that offer different emphasis on certain aspects of the product. Te best way I can describe this is to suggest a “comfort” and a “sport” version. Finally the last product to add is one which is hugely more


expensive than the others with relatively little in the way of extra features and benefits. Te purpose of this product is not to sell but to make the others look like good value. Be careful though, these products can catch you out. My £160 blow up bed started out in life as this type of product.


Remember at Christmas you may not be speaking to your usual customer


Christmas is a time when consumers foray out into unfamiliar territory to make their purchases. Grandparents can feel hopelessly out of touch with their grandchildren’s needs, men end up using their arms and hands to describe their wife’s dress size and women grit their teeth and say “why is he so difficult to buy for?” Any help you can give to guide these fishes out of water will


win you friends and customers. Adapt your language to suit this desperate group of people to guide them through an unfamiliar purchase process.


By Andrew Wilson


FEATURE


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