Do Holiday Sales Shortchange Consumers… And Your Business?

Profit All Year Long with Predictive Selling

Every year, a lot is written advising retailers to scale up their call center operations for seasonal sales. More shoppers online require additional customer service agents. A simple correlation.

Such thinking is valid, provided consumers adhere to traditional buying habits clustered around holidays.

But—and it’s a big but—sales aren’t just seasonal anymore. They’re instead driven increasingly by “digital-first” consumers who want to shop their way. On any day.

 
Too Much Holiday Shopping?

And that raises the question: Does a holidays sales model, limited to certain days, still make good business sense?

Questioning conventional wisdom, an article in the Harvard Business Review opines: “Why Retailers Should Retire Holiday Shopping Season.”

In it, brand expert Denise Lee Yohn observes how shoppers are up-ending the retail industry, buying where and when they please. And walking away when they’re displeased.
 
 

 
Hard on Consumers and Retailers Alike

Freed by technology, consumers expect more—and often. She points to:

• Merchandise now “… being so ubiquitous and readily accessible.”
• Well-informed buying that occurs outside “discrete windows of time.”
• Shoppers being “turned off by the hassles and crowds” of the holidays.

For retailers, there are negatives as well, including:

• Wide swings in demand that disrupt supply chains and burden inventory.
• Labor issues, shortages and lower corporate morale from overworked employees.
• Decreased customer dissatisfaction in mid-December, compared to the first 15 days.

So much for Happy Holidays.
 
 

 
De-emphasize, Complement Holiday Sales

Yohn knows forsaking holiday sales altogether could be too risky for retailers. Her recommendation: De-emphasize them instead by using shopper analytics to better predict and pace sales year-round.

She writes “…retailers can—and should—use other ways to create news and generate traffic, including promoting new products and brands, offering exclusive access or services, and celebrating other holidays.”

At Working Solutions, we believe that’s sound advice, which digital-first consumers would buy. Our flexible business model easily scales to sales, whenever they occur.

As a retailer, why bet the business on holiday sales? Instead, spread them out—using an on-demand workforce to drive revenue 365/24/7.