Perfect Storm Affects Retailers As Holidays Approach

U.S. retailers have concerns about their business' financial performance as they head into the peak holiday shopping season. A study from Flintfox, an intelligent pricing specialist, found 57 per cent have these concerns while 56 per cent are worried about the impact of lower consumer spending on the bottom line. Reflecting the widespread concerns about the difficulty of finding the correct inventory mix, 47 per cent are worried about inventory challenges and 30 per cent say surplus stock. With supply issues continuing to effect global businesses, 45 per cent say disrupted supply chains could still have an impact on profitability. In a bid to mitigate these challenges, 67 per cent will use pricing promotions over the next few months and 54 per cent say those promotions will be greater than in previous years. However, the picture is mixed in terms of what respondents expect these promotions to deliver as 30 per cent expect a lower volume of sales and 39 per cent anticipate a higher volume of sales. Likewise, 32 per cent expect lower margins and 40 per cent predict higher margins. This uncertainty is leading to careful reflection over internal processes for determining pricing.