KResearch predicts that retail sales in 2023 will see continual growth in line with economic conditions and consumer purchasing power but still face multiple challenges. In 2023, the retail market is expected to expand by 2.8-3.6%, thanks to the return of tourists, rising product prices in line with production costs, and the government’s “Shop with Payback” program.
The retail industry has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 epidemic. Along with economic constraints, one of the major challenges facing the retail industry is changing consumer behavior. Thus, retailers need to be adaptable and flexible.
Promotions are a must-have in the Asia-Pacific region, especially in Thailand. Today’s consumers are looking for the best deals on high-quality items, and they are particularly price-sensitive due to the continuously increasing cost of living. As a result, many retailers continuously run promotions and set the lowest possibleprice to attract customers and increase the opportunity for more sales.
“Although promotions drive retail sales, not every promotion is effective enough to be profitable for retailers. Research from RELEX Solutions found that one-third fail to grow sales, and up to one-third actually generate losses,” said Stefano Scandelli, Senior Vice President EMEA and APAC, RELEX Solutions. When promotion planning goes poorly, retailers lose money, time, and customer loyalty, and they can also negatively impact relationships with their suppliers.
Running too many promotions is also considered a sensitive strategy for retailers. When products with weak promotional potential are advertised too often, the value and image of the products are threatened as well as the profit margin. Data is the best indicator of whether promotions have been successful or not.
Promotion planning is complex, especially without technology to help determine the effectiveness of previous promotions. Using manual spreadsheet-based processes can be a slow, error-prone process that relies on basic information from past promotions, making it hard to improve future projects.
“RELEX Solutions, a unified supply chain and retail planning platform, has the ability to help identify how effective a previous promotion was, find out whichcampaigns to start, stop, and adjust, and then determine which combination of price, tactics, and features will generate the best results for your business,” said Scandelli.
The primary goal of promotions is to increase consumer engagement, demand, and sales – all of which are primary drivers of profit margin and competitiveness. RELEX Solutions supports this goal with technology to automate and streamlinethe planning, evaluation, and execution of in-store and online sales campaigns for a specific set of products at a specific discount for a specific time.
In addition, RELEX Solutions helps boost accuracy by testing campaigns in a sandboxed environment to predict their impact and ensure every promotion has the potential to deliver the best experience for customers as well as generate profit.
Coop Estonia, a market leader in the Estonian grocery market operating up to 330 stores, is one of RELEX’s successful customers who uses the promotion solution. RELEX is helping Coop Estonia manage more than 2,000 promotions each month. “We have already seen the result in higher sales, higher profit, and more engaging campaigns,” said Oliver Rist, Purchasing Director at Coop Estonia. “RELEX Solutions has been very accommodating and understanding of the Coop way of thinking.”
