With the busy peak season around the corner, retail logistics experts from Advanced Supply Chain (ASC) and ReBound Returns examine strategies for negotiating this year’s top seasonal challenges.
1) Sales surges
Over the past few years, retailers and consumer brands have effectively extended Black Friday beyond a single day of discounts into weekend-long events, and in some cases, month-long promotional campaigns. This approach has enabled businesses to capture sales earlier in November while alleviating the concentrated strain of a one-day or weekend rush. But are consumer purchasing patterns beginning to shift?
Market data from November 2024 indicates that consumers are holding back spending, deliberately waiting for the Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) period to capitalise on optimal deals. Cyber Monday in particular has gained significant traction, with VoucherCodes.co.uk reporting sales exceeding £3.3bn in the previous year.
With fluctuating consumer sentiment and ongoing economic instability, will customers adopt a similar wait-and-see approach this peak season, seeking maximum discounts – and what are the implications for retailers?
Stuart Greenfield, European Sales Director at ASC states that “lingering consumer concerns about job security, rising taxes, energy costs and inflation can make shoppers extremely price sensitive. People will be seeking best value prices and are likely to hang tight with spending until the main BFCM sales event at the end of November.
“The challenge of this for retailers is the rapid and efficient replenishment of stock inventory. Black Friday spikes can deplete stock levels overnight, which must be remedied within 48 hours to ensure there’s sufficient stock to satisfy a secondary spike on Cyber Monday.
“Managing this swift inventory turnover may prove particularly challenging this year, as retailers have broadened their supplier networks to mitigate the effects of increasing supply chain costs, including evolving tariff structures.
“A side effect is that retailers now receive shipments from numerous global suppliers, each with their own packaging and labelling standards. Consistency is lacking, and adherence to retailers’ supplier manuals is inconsistent at best. Incoming goods often aren’t ‘retail ready’ and require additional processing to be compatible with retailers’ systems and brands, consuming valuable time during the critical BFCM period.
“Digitalised and automated solutions offer a way to address these challenges. Mobile kiosks deployed within warehouse environments, for instance, can standardise and streamline packaging and labelling processes, ensuring retailer compliance while eliminating order rejections and the time spent fixing errors.
“These kiosks can integrate with transport management systems to optimise fleet scheduling, ensuring inbound deliveries arrive at warehouses precisely when needed. This facilitates efficient Just In Time inventory management and helps prevent vehicles from idling in queues for loading bays during the time-sensitive BFCM window.”
2) The Returns Rush
Surges in sales activity typically trigger corresponding increases in product returns, Cristina Parlogea ‑ Cirstea, Customer Success Manager at ReBound Returns explains: “Deep discounts, seasonal holiday purchases and gifting can encourage impulse purchasing and a general trend of bigger baskets during peak.”
“Consumers typically buy in greater quantities than normal, seeking the flexibility to capitalise on flash sales and explore multiple outfit options for festive occasions, while also evaluating potential gift choices for loved ones. Inevitably, not every item purchased will be kept, leaving retailers to manage higher return volumes within short timelines.
“Goods coming back into warehouses and fulfilment centres need sorting quickly for two critical reasons. The first is to get products back into the sales cycle to meet customer demand before peak shopping days disappear. The second reason is to deliver a positive customer experience through quick refunds. ASC and ReBound data show two-thirds of shoppers will spend again after making a return, as long as they are refunded within two to three days of sending an item back.
“Returns management systems must be based on clearly defined grading processes, so that quick and effective decisions can be made about the quality of returned items. Product inspections can be streamlined to ensure goods are quickly diverted to the most appropriate next stage, whether that’s cleaning, repair, or repackaging – meaning quality control is confidently completed and a swift customer refund can be authorised.
“Effective grading of returns can also provide retailers with valuable data and insight, which can be used to further optimise returns processes to manage costs, save time and enhance customer satisfaction – all factors that can deliver a competitive edge during peak.”
3) Flexing peak policies
An increase in volumes is not the only returns-related peak pressure facing retailers. Many are simultaneously adjusting their returns policies to enhance customer convenience during this period. Additional time is being allowed for purchase decisions, with return windows expanding from the typical 28-day standard to 60 days or beyond.
Cristina Parlogea ‑ Cirstea, Customer Success Manager at ReBound Returns, highlights: “The peak season presents retailers with a chance to capture new customers and build brand loyalty that sustains repeat business long after the decorations have come down. Consequently, maintaining customer satisfaction is essential, and the returns experience has emerged as a critical differentiator in achieving this.
“Returns policies will be flexed to fit with peak shopping habits. Shoppers will snap up BFCM deals to save money on gifts but know there’s a possibility that purchases may have to be changed in the New Year. Giving consumers the ability to do this allows them to confidently shop during popular sales events.
“The changes in returns policies during peak can bring certain operational challenges, such as higher return volumes during January and even into the beginning of February. This can cause warehouse congestion and delayed stock reintegration, risking issues of product availability and leftover seasonal stock.
“Addressing these challenges requires preparation. Retailers should be speaking with returns and logistics partners and sharing information about major sales events and specific price promotions to prepare detailed forecasts. Capacity and inventory can then be better planned, with returns levels and timings anticipated to effectively handle the movement of items being sent back.
“Ultimately, the key to managing extended return windows effectively lies in proactive planning, transparent communication, and close cross-functional collaboration. These are all factors that can enable retailers to balance consumer-friendly returns policies with operational requirements.”
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