Section 1: Introduction

Traditionally, preparing for the holiday rush between mid-November and Christmas meant sprucing up the front window, stocking up on inventory, and bringing on seasonal staff to handle the incoming rush of customers.

Nowadays, preparing for the holiday rush in today’s retail industry looks radically different. In 2018, total online sales during the holidays jumped over 17% YOY to an estimated $122.0 billion; this year’s numbers are expected to exceed that.

Modern consumers expect a shopping experience that’s easy, fast, and convenient. To meet those expectations, businesses must go beyond hanging seasonal decorations and hiring temp workers to prepare for the holiday rush. They need to make sure that their eCommerce systems are up to the task of processing and fulfilling orders without a hitch during major spikes in business.

In 2018, total online sales during the holidays jumped over 17% YOY to an estimated $122 billion; this year’s numbers are expected to exceed that.

Section 2: 5 Questions to Help You Prepare for Peak Selling Season

From the shopper’s perspective, online commerce looks incredibly simple. After all, they can go from searching for a product to making a purchase with just a few clicks. For retailers, however, it’s a completely different story behind the scenes.

Retailers generally use multiple applications for key processes like order fulfillment, inventory management, product updates, and more. They may use separate applications to manage multiple sales channels, from physical stores to digital storefronts on marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. They likely have an ERP system to manage inventory, fulfillment, and finances, as well as a CRM to interact with customers. Despite playing a critical role in a retailer’s ability to do business, these data sources are often siloed into separate systems that lack the ability to share information with each other.

This siloed approach might work fine on a typical day, but what if orders triple overnight? As you prepare your business for the peak selling season, here are five questions you should ask about your systems:

Do you spend 10 hours or more per week manually moving data between systems?

During peak times, it is more difficult to manually move data in between systems due to its sheer volume. Don’t underestimate the time that even normally “quick” processes will take.

Are you manually processing information from your trading partners?

Many big-box retailers require that you send and receive EDI documents. Likewise, if you work with a 3PL, you must transmit orders immediately after a shopper checks out. As order volumes increase, manually relaying information will only snowball delays, putting you at a distinct disadvantage.

Do all sales channels display product availability?

Relying on manual or batch processes to sync sales & inventory between channels can result in data inconsistencies. This may delay order processing, which is especially undesireable during the time of year when customers are most eager to buy.

Are pricing & product information reliably up-to-date everywhere?

Customers expect accurate pricing & product information, and have no patience for mismatches and errors. Changes to your product catalog must be shared immediately across all of your sales channels, which is not possible with manual processes.

Can you meet customer expectations after the order is placed?

Customers expect to receive shipping information immediately upon checkout, and for your support team to have real-time visibility into their order. Relying on manual processes or sub-par integrations when orders spike can make it impossible to meet fulfillment targets.

Asking yourself these questions can help you determine if your eCommerce system can handle the pressure of the holiday rush. To be competitive in today’s retail environment, your strategic plan must ensure that every application in your eCommerce supply chain can automatically share accurate data seamlessly.

Contact Us for more information on getting your operations ready for the holiday with Celigo for your Business.