Think peanut butter, jelly, individually packaged snacks, and granola bars. Food: October is National Seafood Month, so watch for seafood sales. Other: If you like to get an early start on holiday shopping, Amazon Prime Day is this month and many stores, such as Target and Walmart, will be offering competing sales.

And, of course, Thanksgiving-related foods will all be on sale. Clothing: Seasoned seasonal shoppers claim that November is the best month for women to buy shoes , pajamas and slippers.

Other: November is a good month to replace linens and bedding. And have your holiday shopping list ready so you can take full advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Food: Stock up on baking supplies, not just to make holiday treats but to replenish your pantry, too. Pick up an extra turkey and a ham to keep in the freezer for next year.

Restaurant gift cards will be deeply discounted this month. Pick up a few for your favorite restaurants, not as gifts, but to treat yourself for less next year.

Other: Batteries will be on sale to power those holiday gifts if you also need to replenish your emergency supplies.

Andrea Norris-McKnight took over as the editor of The Dollar Stretcher and After 50 Finances after working under the site founder and previous editor for almost 15 years.

She has also written for Money. com , GOBankingRates. com , HavenLife. com and The Sacramento Bee. A Calendar for Smart Seasonal Shoppers. by Andrea Norris-McKnight. February Food: February is National Canned Food Month and National Hot Breakfast Month, so be prepared to stock up on canned vegetables, soups, beans, and meats, as well as oatmeal.

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March Food: March is National Frozen Food Month, so most grocers offer better-than-usual sales on frozen items. Related: How To Prevent Freezer Burn.

May Food: May is National Hamburger Month, so watch for ground beef sales, and Memorial Day will bring sales on other meats. June Food: June 5th is National Doughnut Day if you want to treat your family or co-workers inexpensively. Related: How To Score Big Clothing Savings with Coupon Stacking.

Merchandising is all the business activities involved in planning, creating, distributing and marketing merchandise assortments and classifications to the target consumer while reflecting the company image.

There are different types of merchandising based on which link or level i. The retail price may increase due to a change in wholesale costs. That same retail price, however, is more likely to decrease in price due to consumer perceptions and demand, inadequate sales, seasonal fashion merchandise assortments that become obsolete, soiled and damaged merchandise, customer returns, weather conditions, and many other factors.

A reduction in the selling price of any merchandise is known as a markdown. Markdowns reflect the depreciation in the value of the merchandise and are an integral part of merchandising. Some retailers think of markdowns as a curse. As previously discussed, markdowns are a type of reduction and must be subtracted from gross sales to determine net sales.

However, markdowns are a fact of life for the retailer; and, the retailer should use them as a useful merchandising tool. The planned amount of markdowns is not a goal, but a guide. Although some retailers view markdowns as a necessary and unavoidable evil, astute retailers attempt to use markdowns as a means to further profit or ensure cash flow.

Therefore, a policy and action plan controlling the markdowns must be put into place by all retailers. Further, retailers must constantly monitor markdowns in order to make sure that these markdowns do not significantly exceed the allotted planned amount for markdowns in the seasonal plan.

Markdowns for the retailer are calculated as a percentage of net sales and are expressed in terms of both dollars and percent. The buying process is both a science and art.

Even though technology aids the buyer in planning purchases, buyers have a difficult job of selecting the right merchandise at the right price and having it in stock in the right quantities and in the right place at the right time in order to meet customer expectations and demand.

Remember that retail buyers must purchase merchandise six to twelve months before it is delivered to the store for the peak selling season. Therefore, the customer may have moved to newer trendy merchandise other than merchandise ordered in the market six months before. Since markdowns are a part of day-to-day retail operations, the retailer must have designated procedures for the timing of reductions, recording markdowns, analysis of the markdown data, and plans regarding how the findings from the analysis will impact future store operations.

Retailers have traditionally implemented several markdown policies in order to control markdowns and use them in order to operate a more profitable business. Extending that granularity to an SKU-by-SKU, a store-by-store basis takes demand forecasting to a level of complexity that retailers have never been able to manage with spreadsheets and statistical models.

Instead, they focus on just a few key SKUs while lumping everything else into category-level forecasts. However, consolidating SKU forecasts in this way can lead to stock-outs and many lost sales. The standard approach to seasonal merchandise would ignore this demand spike, and miss out on lots of sales.

These types of granular demand forecasts can identify what truly drives demand for each product at each location, making once-hidden opportunities visible and addressable. Promotions are key to increasing seasonal traffic and sales, as well as winning customers from competitors.

However, when promotions are launched without considering other business units and plans, retailers set themselves up for poor performance.

And not just the inventory of the items on sale. With every promotion, some products in your assortment will sell more, while others will be cannibalized. So even if you plan to have the perfect amount of inventory for the products being promoted, the secondary effects of your promotion can undermine ROI in ways that may only appear in depressed turn rates and other KPI metrics.

Or, conversely, running a promotion may actually cannibalize sales from regular-priced SKUs, slowing turnover down to a halt and necessitating end-of-season markdowns. While there are statistical models that can be used to estimate cannibalization and affinity — they are nearly impossible to apply on a level of granularity that medium and large retailers face.

As mentioned in the previous sections, these effects will be different for every SKU, and every store. Alternatively, retailers can employ analytics-driven promotion software that plugs into their inventory and pricing data.

This would all retailers to automatically factor all of these variables into their seasonal promotions, and get data-driven recommendations for ideal promotion types, media channels, and timings.

By integrating the promotion planning and inventory managing functions, advanced analytics automatically adjusts forecasts, purchasing, allocation, and replenishment quantities. These updates will apply not only to the promoted product but to any products the promotion impacts.

Spikes and troughs in demand, along with store-by-store variances, distort inventories and leave some stores starving for products while others are tied up with unsellable inventory. And once a seasonal event ends, stores are left with gaps in their assortment.

These situations frustrate customers which has long-term consequences, beyond the immediate lost sales. Analytics reduces the frequency and severity of seasonal variability by making retailers more efficient at planning for the right products, in the right quantities, and at the right locations.

When less-predictable factors like weather cause last-minute issues, retail analytics make proactive stock balancing easier to execute. An AI-based forecast identifies slowing demand much quicker than spreadsheet-scanning analysts can. Factoring in the cost of transfers, an inventory balancing system can recommend inter-store transfers before problems occur , thus avoiding lost sales and overstock issues.

As summer comes to an end, for example, a good inventory transfer system will reallocate warm-weather clothes away from stores in cooler regions to stores where the summer heat lingers.

With a more proactive approach to rebalancing their assortments, retailers free up physical space for new products, sell more of their seasonal merchandise at full price, and minimize excessive markdowns. If retailers forecast inaccurately, end-of-life markdowns are their last resort for freeing up cash flow and salvaging their inventory investments.

Worse yet, retailers often have no way of knowing how much to mark down the product. As a result, their markdowns are often too steep and cut deeper into their profit margins than the sales uplift warrants. Firstly, retailers can minimize the need for markdowns in the first place by bringing the correct inventory in.

The first 4 tips address multiple ways that retailers can do this. This requires finding the absolute minimum discount required to increase demand just enough to get rid of remaining end-of-season stock. Finding the optimal balance is difficult enough for one product — but nearly impossible to do manually across hundreds of stores and thousands of SKUs.

By creating accurate, granular forecasts of true demand, these types of advanced analytics systems help retailers avoid the financial impact of last-minute markdowns.

Final inventory levels will be more manageable, requiring fewer markdowns. Further, the best of these systems will automatically suggest markdowns with optimal discounts to maximize GMROI.

But by their nature, they compress many of the forecasting and inventory risks into such a brief period that they can undermine margins and distort inventory levels across the business.

Applying a more intelligent and automated approach with Retail Analytics lets retailers maximize the opportunities of seasonal events while minimizing inherent seasonality risks. If you want to explore whether advanced retail AI is right for your business, schedule a free demo now.

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Seasonal markdown optimization in retail involves a deliberate process, integrating various aspects to achieve optimal results. Retailers must Best time to buy flavorful, SEASONAL PRODUCE for cheap. Free printable calendar chart by month to download instantly! Anything from coupons and discount codes that lower prices to seasonal clearances and store closing sales are considered markdowns. Click

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Seasonal produce markdowns - Learn how to use markdowns effectively to clear out seasonal inventory and boost sales. Discover tips and best practices for merchandising Seasonal markdown optimization in retail involves a deliberate process, integrating various aspects to achieve optimal results. Retailers must Best time to buy flavorful, SEASONAL PRODUCE for cheap. Free printable calendar chart by month to download instantly! Anything from coupons and discount codes that lower prices to seasonal clearances and store closing sales are considered markdowns. Click

Retailers have traditionally implemented several markdown policies in order to control markdowns and use them in order to operate a more profitable business. Some of these concepts are listed below:.

Another policy impacting the sales of reduced merchandise includes how the retailer houses the merchandise.

Markdown merchandise should be organized, merchandised, and promoted like any other merchandise. Also, markdown merchandise should be separated from regular-price merchandise. Clear signage designating the type of markdown is a silent selling tool that is often employed by the retailer.

As previously discussed, management develops policies and procedures for handling markdowns. Additionally, plans for the amount of markdown dollars are calculated when developing the merchandise plan.

Plans for markdowns are a guide, not a goal; therefore, retailers attempt to minimize the amount of markdowns taken during any given selling season. Policies used by many retailers to attempt to minimize markdowns are discussed in the following segment.

Therefore, research and constant vigilance regarding reasons for specific product markdowns are necessary. Additionally, if new merchandise is immediately inspected when it arrives into the store, poor quality garments may be returned to the manufacturer instead of being reduced.

Also, when the merchandise arrives in the receiving room, personnel should notify the buyer of any shipment inaccuracies such as incorrect sizes, colors or styles.

Good housekeeping procedures will assist in keeping the stock clean and in saleable condition. Further, well planned merchandise arrangements and displaying of slow selling goods will promote the goods for regular price selling, thereby reducing markdowns.

Also, keeping accurate records and analyzing sales, major vendor resources and markdown classifications may assist the buyer in pinpointing problems with specific product classifications.

Timely reorders may prevent stockouts, as well as the odd lots and broken sizes in product classifications that must be reduced. Developing key vendors allows the buyer to make special purchases and buy closeouts that may be mixed with regular price goods for a higher markup and extra store customer traffic.

Lastly, the retailer must be selective not only on the product group to be reduced but also on the timing of the markdown and the amount of the markdown, as previously discussed in Part The markdown must reflect the saleable value of the product. These companies use data-driven methods to help retailers sell their surplus stock, often through online channels or other outlets that won't harm the retailer's brand image.

By partnering with these start-ups, retailers can offload unwanted inventory more efficiently and reduce the need for aggressive markdowns. In some markets, government regulations may dictate how and when retailers can offer markdowns. It's essential for retailers to familiarize themselves with these rules to ensure compliance while still maximizing sales opportunities.

Understanding these regulations can also help retailers plan their markdown strategies more effectively. Overestimating demand can lead to excess inventory, which in turn leads to markdowns. Retailers should aim to minimize markdowns by accurately forecasting demand and adjusting their inventory levels accordingly.

This may involve using advanced analytics tools to better predict sales trends and working closely with suppliers to manage stock levels. Rather than resorting to markdowns, retailers can explore creative promotions to move excess inventory.

Some ideas include offering loyalty program incentives, hosting exclusive shopping events, or running limited-time offers that encourage customers to buy now. These promotions can help retailers sell through unwanted stock without eroding their margins as much as markdowns might.

Another option for retailers looking to minimize markdowns is to offload leftover merchandise through third-party platforms such as eBay, Amazon, or even specialized liquidation websites.

This allows them to sell excess inventory without impacting their brand image or in-store pricing strategies. Effective marketing can help reduce the need for discounting by emphasizing the value and uniqueness of a retailer's products.

This can be achieved through strategic advertising, engaging social media campaigns, and targeted promotions that highlight the benefits of shopping with the retailer. By focusing on value rather than price, retailers can maintain their margins and minimize the need for markdowns.

Another way marketing can help reduce discounting is by promoting product bundles or personalized shopping events.

Product bundling encourages customers to buy multiple items at once, which can help move inventory while maintaining margins. Personalized shopping events, such as VIP sales or members-only offers, can create a sense of exclusivity and urgency, driving sales without resorting to markdowns. Mastering the art of markdowns is beneficial for retail stores as they help clear out inventory, increase demand for low-demand products, and boost overall sales revenues.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. What is a Markdown? Importance of a Markdown Strategy A retail markdown strategy is a plan that describes when and how certain products should go on markdown.

How To Calculate Markdown Calculating markdowns for retail involves determining the difference between the original price and the discounted price, and then finding the markdown percentage.

Calculate the difference also known as markdown in dollars Subtract the discounted selling price from the original selling price. Related Content. All Business Sections. Write for Us. MBA Skool. Install Courses. Home Courses Concepts SWOT Marketing Strategy PESTLE Five Forces Business Lists Competitors.

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