Sara Allbright, director and co-founder of Retail100 Consulting

Get set for the spring/ summer season

The transition into the new year is a crucial time to set out your stall for the 12 months ahead, says Retail100 Consulting director and co-founder Sara Allbright

Looking ahead to Spring/Summer 2023 can be quite difficult right now, when you have to be laser-focused on having a good Christmas trading season and not be too distracted by the state of affairs in the wider UK and world economies.

However, the transition into the new year is a crucial time to set out your stall for the 12 months ahead, and the whirlwind of seasonal events which starts with Chinese New Year in January and Valentine’s Day in February, and finishes with Father’s Day in June.

For many, January means resolutions, often based on things that people are going to stop doing or change about themselves. Many larger multiple retailers hone in on this, and the perpetual ‘New Year New You’ slogans rebound. While the excesses and gluttony of the festive season will rebound for many into a period of enforced wellbeing, I would rather see the gloomy month of January abound in more of a celebration of the person you are rather than the one you could be.

The mindset of the spring clean, however, is a good place to start - not only in appealing to your customers but also in your approach to your business at this time of year. The first and most important factor to consider is how well you have dealt with any Christmas residual stock. It would be Nirvana to think that anyone comes out the other side with nothing hanging around, but the key is to have a plan on how to deal with it - be that through compelling reductions, or the ability to remerchandise stock into new displays, if generic enough. The ability to do this well allows you to be clear about your strategy for the year ahead.

Valentine’s Day comes first out of the gate in terms of a large sales opportunity, and while the fact that February 14 falls on a Tuesday in 2023 holds back its full potential, the fact that many dogs and cats now receive a Valentine shows that people love the excuse to send a card or small token.

Mother’s Day follows hot on its heels just over a month later on March 19 and for many, this can be the biggest peak in sales of the first half. There is an element of continuity in the stock that can work well for both occasions, with overarching themes of love combined with florals and pink/red appearing in both. However, if you want to be clever with your stock management, just ensure that how you present and merchandise elements for each event differs dramatically, to give customers a unique point of view on both.

Likewise, for both events, personalisation always adds a different dimension to people’s gifting and allows you to take generic items and give them a unique meaning. For a relatively small investment, there are a variety of techniques you can use in-store and online to do this, which create easily applied lettering and sentiments.

In the background of all of this will be the fact that supermarkets in particular will have Easter stock on shelf as soon as Christmas clears the seasonal aisles. While many may bemoan this, these retailers wouldn’t give over significant amounts of valuable space and stock investment to these categories if they didn’t sell it. (Many of us are no doubt guilty of rejoicing at the seasonal return of Mini Eggs or a Creme Egg!).

Outside food retail, it’s better to take more of a spring and newness theme for the lead into Easter, using the lighter and brighter colours of the season to drag us kicking and screaming out of the January blues. The trend for decorating homes in the run-up to Easter is still growing year-on-year, and many a front door is now graced almost year round with a different themed wreath.

And who could have foreseen that 2023 would present us with an unexpected trading opportunity to bridge the gap between Easter and Father’s Day? The coronation of King Charles III will be held on May 6, so stand by with the mugs and bunting.

Overall, to survive through a S/S season, trading agility has to be key - as you leap from one event to another with many only peaking for the few days before the moment itself. Being there ‘For All Life’s Moments’, as one large retailer recently declared, will see customers return to you and encourage loyalty in core gifting categories - and the associated products such as cards and wraps.

Finally, writing this column for the November/December issue of Gifts Today, it would be remiss not to touch on the season, so we would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year.

Sara Allbright is a director and co-founder of Retail100 Consulting, which is a consultancy firm with 100 years of retail experience that helps retailers and brands grow.

Prior to Retail100 Consulting, Sara worked in buying roles at John Lewis & Partners for 18 years, predominantly for home and seasonal categories, including eight years leading gift and home fragrance buying. She has specialised in brand relationships and growing small emerging brands into market leaders. Sara is also experienced in own-label sourcing across multiple categories and countries. Email: hello@retail100consulting.co.uk Visit: www.retail100consulting.co.uk; www.linkedin.com/company/retail100-consulting

L-R: Sara Allbright, Anna Berry, Neil Amer and Elaine Hooper