As we head into a new year the question comes up a lot in my meetings with retailers, what is your opinion on sale?
Well....I have a LOT of opinions.
YES, YES and YES you absolutely need to do a sale. It needs to be big, meaty and slashed prices. Yes, slashed. Like starting at 50%. You want to move it and move it fast. Yes, I know you are thinking that you can sell it for more and yes, probably but it will take you 10 times longer to turn your inventory if you start at 20% or 30%. You want to move it and move it fast before your new fresh spring inventory starts to arrive.
Yes, it needs to be BIG and MEATY. Why? Abundance attracts people. Why do you think Anthropologie sets it up in the front? Racks and racks of apparel, tables of home merchandise, bins overflowing with smalls, furniture, lighting, home decor, allll of it gets dragged up to the front so its front and center from the door. Make space somewhere close to the front and create a sale area. No, it won't be pretty but it's only here for 2 weeks or so. Keep it all together in one area.
Anything you have had on your floor for longer than 4 months with a low sell through (20-30%) should be included.
I have gone into stores and when asking them how old something was I am blown away that often the answer is "oh, I don't know? A few years?"
No, I am not kidding. One was a high end spa that was convinced that it would sell at some point.
No. No it won't.
To quote Dan Jablons of ‘The Retail Smart Guys’ "old inventory is not like cheese, it does not get better with age" (listen to Dan's podcast episode here.) You want to sell it, get what you can back from your initial investment and put it towards new inventory.
That and keeping old inventory makes your new inventory look unimportant because your customers remember that cargo jacket with sequins from the last 2 seasons. Re-merchandising it with your new dresses is not going to make it sell, it's just going to make your new dresses look crappy. Customers will actually walk right by it because they recognize the old item and just assume everything on that rack is old.
Rip the Band-Aid off and throw it on a sale rack.
Signage is key. However, steer away from that shitty little red sign sold at supply places online. Get creative, utilize your window and space above the section you have set up. Rolling racks should have a sign on each one and it should say the discounted amount for that rack 50% etc...Just make sure it clearly says sale.
Send out an email, post it on your SM, go on stories and show the cute stuff on sale. EVERYDAY, consistency is key here! Having an employee show their favorite item on sale and talking about it gets them involved and keeps your feed fun all the while getting out the word. Treat it like a party, balloons, gift with purchase, loud fun music, spin the wheel for additional discounts or a chance to win a $20 gift card to the store (because you know they will spend more when they use it.)
I like sales to be front and forward for about 2 weeks. Hopefully it has shrunk and you can move it to the back somewhere. You also want to drop the prices again for the final push. This means 75% off. At Fred Segal we had a sale 2x a year. It started at 50% and 3 weeks later it dropped to 75% and at 6 weeks it was gone and a brand new sparkling space was created to usher in the new season.
Go ahead, rip off the Band-Aid.
xo,
M
