The gingerbread is already on the shelves and it's getting cold in Germany. This means that retailers are in the midst of preparations for Black Week, Cyber Monday and, last but not least, Christmas sales.

The Christmas period in particular is the most important time of the year for many retailers. Many customers are still pessimistic about the economic situation and want to save money. However, in a survey, half of those questioned stated that they wanted to spend the same budget as last year. The younger generation is particularly keen to buy (ebay 2023) - and it is precisely this generation that has high expectations of the shopping experience, as already highlighted in our blog post "Generation Z strikes".

But what do retailers need to bear in mind to get through the peak season?

The Christmas period in particular is the most important time of the year for many retailers.

Preparation is everything

For customers, the Christmas season often comes as a surprise every year. This should not be the case for retailers, as good preparation for the peak season pays off. Retailers should be aware of several aspects: How many orders should I expect? How much stock do I need for this? It is important to create an overview of the stock in order to be able to make these preparations in the first place and to inform customers about product availability online in the next step. Service providers such as carriers should also be informed and ready so that nothing goes wrong on the last mile. Additionaly, it is important to get employees on board in good time, get them up to speed with processes and train them. It is not uncommon for new people to be hired especially for the peak season. Retailers should plan this ahead of time.

The right systems

Retailers must be able to rely on the systems they use, especially during the peak season. The online store must not collapse even with many visitors. And the fulfillment systems must also be well coordinated and function properly. It is important that the exchange between store systems and logistics works smoothly, for example to avoid too many orders that cannot be fulfilled. The systems must be designed for this. Cloud services in particular offer solutions that ensure reliable and fast server scalability at peak times.

Retailers must ensure that their fulfillment processes are automated and run smoothly so that employees are relieved and customer expectations are met.

Enable orders to be placed at short notice

Retailers must ensure that their fulfillment processes are automated and run smoothly so that employees are relieved and customer expectations are met. If there is a problem with one adjustment screw, then the entire process will be stuck. As a result, order fulfillment takes a long time. This can lead to problems, especially at Christmas time. Many customers shop very spontaneously and don't even know what they're giving away two weeks before Christmas. Thanks to big players like Amazon, they are used to receiving deliveries very quickly, flexibly and reliably. If retailers cannot facilitate orders at short notice and are not reliable, they disqualify themselves, especially during the Christmas season, and customers prefer to order their gifts elsewhere. Click & Collect is a way to enable faster and more flexible order fulfillment and increase the importance of stores, but it requires good training for employees at an early stage.

Successful through the peak season with omnichannel

To get through the peak season successfully, it can help retailers to link their online and offline business with an omnichannel strategy. In this way, resources that are already scarce during the peak season can be optimally utilized, the processes optimized and the customer experience improved.

• Create an overview of stocks: Especially with a network of stores and warehouses, it is important to create transparency about stock levels in order to avoid out-of-stocks and to be able to reliably meet demand at all times.
• Distribute orders in the best possible way: Our DOMS accesses the fulfillment network and enables orders to be processed in the best possible way based on individual criteria. Why send online orders from the central warehouse when a store has excess stock of the product and also has free capacity?
• Speed up deliveries and utilizes store capacity: Ship-from-store speeds up the fulfillment of orders and optimally utilizes stores that are less frequented.
• Offer Click & Collect: With Click & Collect, retailers increase the relevance of their stores, promote spontaneous purchases and enable faster and more flexible fulfillment.
• Ensure reliability over the last mile: Choose a reliable selection of shipping service providers that offer good cut-off times and lead times and deliver orders to customers quickly and flexibly.