by Steve Strauss on September 9th, 2009
Q: Fall always feels like the new year to me with the kids going back to school and all. Do you think this year will be better than last?
Emile
A: It couldn’t be much worse, could it? Like many others, I do indeed see things continuing to improve as this calendar year winds down, and getting better next year especially.
I think the real question is – what are you going to do to make it better?
By now, you know the drill. I don’t need to tell you to work smarter, or market more, or increase your networking,... Read more »
by Christina Lee on July 8th, 2009
This back-to-school season, most U.S. consumers plan to spend as much or more on sporting and outdoor products as they did last year, Retailing Today reports.
For such products – including footwear, apparel and equipment – about 53 percent of parents with kids age 18 plan to spend the same amount, as 28 percent anticipate spending more.
The study, conducted by SportsOneSource, found that parents with a household income under $40,000 were most likely to spend “a lot less” this year. But it also found this group to be most likely to spend “a lot more” than any other household... Read more »
by Christina Lee on November 11th, 2008
In attempts to prepare for the upcoming and largely unpredictable holiday season, retail stores and experts debate whether they can rely again on back-to-school sales figures for answers.
Including back-to-college sales, back-to-school spending makes up the second largest retail season of the year. Nielsen predicted, then confirmed through findings that this past season was “shorter but more intense.” Consumers had waited for more aggressive sales and promotions to appear as the first day of school drew near.
In anticipation of a slower season, retailers cut back-to-school inventories in anticipation of a slower season, according to The New York Times .... Read more »
by Veronica Stone on July 30th, 2008
In order to maximize your profitability during seasonal changes, specifically with the back-to-school season, you need to remove the guesswork. You need to know exactly how the market is going to behave to make the most money.
Predicting the Future
How can you know when the peak sales are going to drop off? You can’t predict the future can you? Of course we can’t predict the future, but we can learn from our past.
Retailers keep track of what happened previous years to know how to effectively sell this year. Managers order enough calculators not only to get them through... Read more »