Whether it’s Christmas, New Year's, Mother's Day, Father's Day or Grand Final weekend, the common thread that all of these events have is a seasonal spike in alcohol sales.
When planning and executing seasonal events, Pablo Rivera Rio, StayinFront's Commercial Director for LATAM, has observed several common mistakes made by companies during his 30 years of experience in field sales execution.
These mistakes often lead to out-of-stocks on popular seasonal items, and businesses are left with disappointed customers and missed opportunities to generate greater sales of their products.
According to Rio, to create a stable foundation for success, companies must have the right products in stores, in the right quantities, and at the right times. Visibility is another important factor. Specialty displays should be easily accessible to shoppers during seasonal events, but for many FMCG and liquor companies and brands, this isn’t always easy.
StayinFront’s Managing Director for Australia, Archel Aguilar, echoes Rio’s thoughts.
He said: “There’s nothing more frustrating for a consumer than seeing your favourite beer, wine, or whisky missing from the shelf, especially as you are about to celebrate a special event or holiday with friends and family.”
Aguilar explained that 80% of purchase decisions are made before the shopper enters the store and are mostly driven by an occasion. Seasonal events magnify this even further because shoppers are all purchasing their favourite drinks at the same time, and many will switch to another product if their preferred beverage is unavailable.
He said that seasonal events are critical for drinks companies and require months of planning.
"Do you have an upcoming plan that leverages changes in consumer behaviour and avoids mistakes from the past? Is your team prepared to win in-store? If you plan and execute poorly, it can have a significant negative impact on your sales and lead to customer disappointment," Aguilar said.
StayinFront recommends companies and brands follow four key steps to maximise success during seasonal events.
1. Understanding the shopper
Understanding shopper insights and consumer behaviour is a critical part of anticipating demand. By projecting when your consumers could increase their demand for seasonal items, you can better predict their needs.
2. Zero-based planning
A zero-based planning process prevents you from repeating the same mistakes as the previous year. Seasonal events require their own planning parameters. For example, using the same store clustering strategy as last year is not recommended – it should be based on dynamic demographic elements instead. Among other benefits, this allows for adequate store inventory break-up, avoids out-of-stocks, and reduces unnecessary overstocks.
3. Flawless execution
What would be the purpose of developing a plan if it fails during execution? Prepare your field teams with enough time and ensure they are equipped to win at the point-of-sale.
Maintaining effective communication and visibility of the performance throughout the seasonal period is important. It's the key to facilitating the necessary actions to correct, accelerate, and consolidate the point-of-sale execution in all desired stores until the end of the season.
4. Activate analytics
Collect and leverage all the data and information you’ve gained over the seasonal period and use it to help you succeed in future seasonal events. Keeping a “learning log” avoids repeating common mistakes and improves the planning and execution of future seasonal events, ultimately translating into incremental sales.
StayinFront’s Retail Optimisation Platform (ROP) uses advanced technology like Artificial Intelligence, Analytics, and Machine Learning to facilitate the decision-making, planning, and execution of seasonal events.
For more information, contact Archel Aguilar on aaguilar@stayinfront.com
StayinFront is a Corporate Partner of the Drinks Association