The Delta variant of COVID-19 has up-ended high expectations of a solid economic return…

But this time, as opposed to last year, we’re seeing its negative effects in the seemingly pandemic-proof DIY space. Despite a five-quarter financial high, the numbers are now in and Lowe’s and The Home Depot are seeing data suggesting that the smooth boost they’ve been enjoying may be leveling out or even teetering back downward (time will tell). Both retail giants (and by suggestion, their peers in the space) expect future gains to be closer to pre-pandemic ranges with Supply Chain issues anticipated to continue holding back growth.

Lowe’s CEO, however, touts a newly observed norm in the home’s importance that he doesn’t see changing anytime soon. Always with a positive perspective, he implies that the pandemic (which has forced so many brick-and-mortar shoppers to sit at home and make their purchases online) has simultaneously forged a newly-invigorated love for home ownership and care. Something he feels will project forward and translate into levelled, even improved growth over time.

Both Lowe’s and The Home Depot express confidence in their data projections going forward… but where are your brand’s product projections? We can help set up your team with the tools to know. Daily inventory across retailers, regions, DOORS and by SKUs? Yeah, we’ve got you covered. Let’s talk… set up a quick walkthrough of our platform and review of your operations here.

As mask guidelines change, consumer experiences will be affected, but can retail leadership help? Let’s dive in…

CDC mask guidelines have now largely reverted to the more stringent standards we saw a year ago during the (previous) worst peaks of the pandemic. And as retailers across the United States play catch-up with these newly-updated guidelines, the question industry insiders will have to consider is: can or will consumers en masse keep up? While safety is undoubtedly the singular concern, message cohesiveness also plays a role in getting that message out and out of the way of daily operations, especially when dealing not only with the vast marketplace that B&M retailers make up geographically, but when dealing with the psychology of such a large and diverse base of shoppers.

“Do or do not, there is no try…” one masterful puppet once said. This may ultimately become the formula for retailers as they communicate their own standards based on the guidelines given by the CDC and other local governments. Perhaps a better interpretation of this is “Act or do not act, but do so quickly…” in that there’s strength and cohesiveness in numbers. That is to say, if the consumer (pardon the pun) faces the retail shopping experience with new mask mandates that are evenly distributed across the board – across all or at least most retailers, then they may feel less frustrated than those mask mandates that are implemented in one retailer but not the other – inevitably putting pressure on the consumer to “learn” what each individual retailer has set as their own standard.

On the other hand, week-long or month-long delays in individual retailer mask mandates throughout the US may put added pressure on consumers who cross over retailer brands to get access to the merchandise they seek. Shop at one store, masks on. Shop at another, masks optional. Shop at a third… unknown. Some consumers may want to just get in and out without the “butter-side-up / butter-side-down” research required on the matter for each store. Of course, another consideration is that if one retailer responds to the change in guidelines weeks sooner than another, there may be competitive advantages and disadvantages to one over the other in either direction. Although tracking such uneven advantages could be near impossible, it will be interesting to see if this can or does become an emerging metric that influences inventory distribution and sales.

The takeaway is this… whether or not leadership comes from the top down (from government through retailers), quick and decisive leadership on the matter from the retailers themselves could take undue pressure off of the consumers and free them up for doing what we all want them to do… shop and enjoy their experience as much as possible in these trying times. If you’re not monitoring daily inventory across retailers, regions, DOORS and by SKUs… we need to talk… set up a quick walkthrough of our platform and review of your operations here.

Louis Vuitton-owner LVMH says the future of retail is in-store

Whether you take it as a foreboding insight or a position requiring a grain of salt, their research shows that Brick & Mortar is still king… for the foreseeable future, anyway. According to the chief financial officer at LVMH, Jean Jacques Guiony, the consumer still craves the in-store experience.

Backed by data on their end Mr. Guiony opines “We see the future being two things: being mostly retail stores, because the client experience in a retail store cannot be matched easily online. As of today, I mean, no one has found the sort of miracle formula that would enable clients to enjoy as much online… the second point is also to enrich this experience with online content…”

While few dispute the back-and-forth battle between DOTCOM and B&M for retail customer attention and dollars, the battle lines seem to be drawn further one direction or the other based on data that retailers gather and hold on to. What’s your data showing? If you’re not monitoring daily inventory across retailers, regions, DOORS and by SKUs… we need to talk… set up a quick walkthrough of our platform and review of your operations here.

Omnichannel B&M retailers are scrambling

Don’t high-five just yet… as we appear to be rounding the corner on the global pandemic that has not only immediately affected retail B&M sales, disrupted major Supply Chains, and reshaped the retail landscape, there’s another shift (or two) on the horizon. First and foremost, we all have to familiarize ourselves with the new consumer shopper.

It’s not enough for B&M retailers to be safe, they have to feel safe. We are looking at multiple and vast consumer re-education campaigns that don’t yet seem to have been launched en mass. Nevertheless, the shoppers are coming – ready and anxious to get back to the norm. But are we ready for the influx? B&M retailers are now scrambling…

• to satisfy now-largely-adopted online consumer purchasing habits as this becomes a stronger contender of brand sales,
• to adjust to new omnichannel legs including marketplaces, social media sites and last-mile delivery partners, and
• to welcome the expected returning Summer influx of newly vaccinated customers stepping back into “the norm”.

The pandemic has given a significant boost to DOTCOM, but as we enter an omnichannel rebalancing stage in the upcoming months, balancing your inventory distribution based on solid numbers is going to be a make-or-break brand capability. Let’s talk: set up a quick walkthrough of our platform and review of your operations here.

They got back to the basics…

When the pandemic hit last year, few were fully prepared. How could you be? In our lean and mean industry where shelf space is precious and timing is key, there’s little room for catastrophic, once-in-a-century events to come pushing through the supply chain. But that’s exactly what happened. So aside from prognostication, successful retailers and brands relied heavily on nimble adaptation and data to light the path forward. Keys to Ulta’s success in doing just this:

• Find your advocates and leverage their voice. Ulta found existing super-users that were already pushing the brand and amplified their messaging.
• Engage with the community, listen, and take note on what they want you to be to them. The team reached out to the community and adapted to become what the market wanted/needed during the pandemic.
• Remain nimble and adapt quickly. Continued analysis of the market and omnichannel optimization were top of mind for CEO Mary Dillon.
• Use all available tools. Without daily data in hand, it’ll be difficult to plot a proper course and adjust like Ulta has learned to do.

As we work our way back to normal (or some semblance of it), how are your data tools looking? To learn more about how our reporting can help you make better use of your retail sales data and what makes us different than the retailer reporting tools you may be using, be sure to set up a quick walkthrough of our platform and review of your operations here.

New Ulta Demo Videos

The Accelerated Analytics team releases 9, new Ulta report demo videos, showcasing many of the features that the reports offer our customers. As Ulta remains the largest beauty retailer, with over 1,200 stores, we continue to see growing interest in the reports. The new series of videos available here, are aimed at highlighting how Accelerated Analytics reporting tools give our customers stable insights in an increasingly difficult supply chain and retail environment. To learn more about how our reporting can help you make better use of your retail sales data and what makes us different than the retailer reporting tools you may be using, be sure to set up a quick walkthrough of our platform and review of your operations here.

Free Safety Stock Infographic

2021 is gearing up to present brand dominance opportunities (for those that can break out and ahead of the pack). Doing so will increasingly rely on ever-granular reporting to assure optimal retail numbers – especially in the resource-drained supply chain of 2021. For those teams that haven’t brushed up lately on the impact that Safety Stock can have, we’ve created a quick and easy infographic here. To learn more about how our reporting can help you make better use of your retail sales data and what makes us different than the retailer reporting tools you now have, be sure to set up a quick walkthrough of our platform and review of your operations here.

12 Key Supply Chain Metrics Materials Now Available Via LIG

As retail passes through the unpredictable and turbulent waters of 2020, heading into the “less unpredictable,” yet equally turbulent markets in 2021, it’ll be imperative to gain and maintain control of retail stock and the numbers that drive it. To better assist the retail brands that Accelerated Analytics currently serves as well as the retail community as a whole, Accelerated Analytics has made available several retail resources specifically centered around Supply Chain metrics. These include infographics, videos and other industry training and re-education materials to assist our peers going deeper into 2021. Materials can be found via links/posts in the Accelerated Analytics “Retail Analytics, Reporting, Supply Chain, Sales & Marketing” LinkedIn Group here.

COVID-19 KILLED YEAR OVER YEAR COMPS

Part 1: Every retail report presents data in a nearly identical way: TY LY % CHG +/- VOL. This traditional method of measuring business performance is useless in the face of COVID-19, and the hangover is going to continue through all of 2021. See the nearby chart which shows the Accelerated Index in two categories with TY and LY sales. If you are a VP sales in the DIY space you might be loving your commission checks this year but I’d stick at least half in your savings account because next year when quotas are set using the traditional X% increase from LY your going to have the hangover of a lifetime.

The crazy part for the DIY / home center space is that your sales would most likely be even higher if you could produce and ship all the product your retail partners want. Raise your hand if your filling full PO’s these days? The department store channel has the opposite problem. Sales TY are down 18% to 30% YTD vs LY and the recovery trajectory remains soft. So fast forward to next year when you are trying to set your sales goals using the tried and true X% increase from LY. That’s going to be rough.

So now what? Do we modify every retail report to discount TY/LY/%CHG? Do we come up with an alternative method to measure performance? I will publish Part 2 with recommendations in the coming days so keep an eye on our blog. In the meantime, add your comments below please.

Chad Symens | Founder and CEO

With nearly 20 years of leadership, technology and retail and supply chain analytics experience, Chad understands the challenges that both brands and retailers face in today’s ever-changing, omni-channel retail marketplace. In 2003, Chad started Accelerated Analytics, focusing on capturing and analyzing the wealth of information and unique story contained within POS data. Through his leadership, the company has become a leading provider of retail point of sale reporting and analysis services. Learn more about Chad Symens and the Accelerated Analytics team here.