Retail Analysis
Upselling across multiple channels These days, many retailers are balancing multiple banners or brands, and need to maximise visibility of these brands to the appropriate target markets. Cross brand experiences are becoming increasingly common, as the market leaders are making products from one brand accessible in the online store for another. But it’s not as easy as all products being suitable for this kind of cross promotion. Virtual inventory segmentation allows retailers to carefully manage which products are made available to each brand and then set custom buffers or safety stock for each.
Selling across multiple regions Another challenge for retailers can be managing international sales. Not all products may be viable for international sale, particularly from a shipping perspective, with heavy or fragile items or restricted items unsuitable. Some retailers may only want to ship international orders from locations set up to handle customs processing. All of this is made easier with virtual catalogues. They allow retailers to easily manage product availability by region and set rules to manage product or category exclusions. For instance, a luxury retailer may sell in many countries, but want to focus products in one specific region. Only virtual catalogues offer the needed flexibility to adapt to these kinds of business needs.
Creating VIP experiences Virtual catalogues can also help improve sales to a key customer group: VIPs and top customers. Retailers are able to create a special pool of inventory that is only available to the brand’s most important customers, in order to ensure this group is kept highly satisfied. This inventory can be used to offer VIPs exclusive delivery options or perks based on their preferences, and it’s possible to control back- end sourcing to expedite their orders. In leveraging and prioritising all pools of stock internally or with third parties, rapid fulfilment of orders will support customer loyalty goals.
Supporting market research Retailers are often looking to expand into new markets, but they present many unknowns in terms of what products will be successful. In this situation, virtual inventory catalogues can help by enabling easy segmentation of a retailer’s inventory to test certain products or categories in this new market. Once proven, retailers can make more intelligent, fact-based business decisions. By testing out products before investing hook line and sinker, retailers have the agility to adjust as per the demand.
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Visibility brings success For retailers with multiple sales channels, being able to manage product availability across these is essential. Virtual inventory catalogues provide this information across all customer channels, meaning stock can be more easily controlled and sales fulfilled. This builds efficiencies within the business and meets the needs of customers who expect increasingly rapid and convenient purchases. Ultimately, delivering the most products through the right channels into the hands of the right customers will mean omnichannel retail success.
2) Dropshipping
Dropshipping is an order fulfilment method that doesn’t require a business to keep the products in stock. Instead, the store purchases items as needed from a third party supplier in order to fulfil sales. The third party supplier will normally ship the items straight to the customer. It offers a number of benefits, and can be a great business
strategy for businesses looking to create additional revenue from selling complementary items from other suppliers. However, it’s vital that you choose the right dropship partner, and ensure that your Order Management System (OMS) and ecommerce platforms are adaptable. Here are a few things to consider before implementing the strategy:
Start small A key benefit of dropshipping is that it makes it easy to test products for a short trial period before commiting on a large scale. As well as demonstrating whether the product will sell, it will also give an estimation of the quantities needed for an initial stock. This reduces the inherent risk that comes with new product types.
“Virtual inventory catalogues and dropshipping are two fulfilment strategies that enable retailers to have better control over stock availability, while minimising business risk, enabling retailers to grow in this ever-changing landscape.”
August 2022 | 7
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