How APAC retailers can prepare for high foot traffic during the holidays

Seasonal hiring, labour optimisation, and inventory management are huge factors for a retailer’s success during loaded shopping periods.

Retailers in APAC are more than poised for effective preparation for the seasonal period, courtesy of well-organised planning, resourceful hiring, flexible schedules, and sufficient stock of retailers in the region, a report by Sensormatic Solutions found.

With packed days of the region lasting from November to February, retailers should use the most reliable tools to strategise their operations and sales.

The first strategy is protecting profits. The periods with the most foot traffic are also those that have increased shoplifting, employee theft, and organised retail crime. Retailers should remain vigilant and sagacious in protections like Shrink Management as a Service (SMaaS), anti-theft tools, and Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS)-connected detection systems.

Those security measures allow monitoring of inventory, foot traffic, and employed staff, shielding profits, products, and property from breaches and interferences. As such, when a traffic volume is that heavy, retailers need to study and apply stringent protections for their business.

The next is maximising resources for efficient labour and customer service. The report also provides solutions like Traffic Insights, Shopper Journey solutions, and Associate Engagement analytics that link the traffic volume to retail quality.

For Traffic Insights, owners can incorporate diverse solutions, aiming to provide a personalised shopping experience. Furthermore, the Shopper Journey solution prepares a well-rounded framework for retailers to entertain customers. Associate Engagement analytic provides a comprehensive study of the ideal shopper-to-associate framework for retail.

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Finally, the proceeding step is investing in better inventory accuracy and click-and-collect fulfillment. Retails can enhance their enterprise-wide inventory strategies and logistics through a wide range of digital solutions: supply chain visibility, on-floor visibility, and inventory visibility. Radiofrequency identification (RFID) sensors also help protect inventory data and keep track of the products in and out.

An automated system is the most efficient option to avoid logistical issues and ensure seamless production before the year-end rush. However, the aim is to protect inventory and its accuracy from outside threats.

The report further emphasized the degree how which fully-occupied days for APAC retailers can be a huge factor for shopping quality. But the busiest periods can be translated to the heftiest investment in quality and service to customers. And it would take investment in seasonal hiring, labour optimisation, and inventory management to make sure they thrive.

Sensormatic projects that shoppers in Australia and New Zealand will mirror their North American and U.K. counterparts closely this year by doing the bulk of their in-store shopping during December. However, these two countries are the only nations around the world in which 60% of the busiest holiday shopping days happen on weekdays.

In the other parts of APAC, including Singapore, shoppers are expected to start their in-store shopping later. APAC shoppers' busiest shopping days are expected to happen on or after Christmas Day. This stems from local preferences, sales, and discounts that are offered around Christmas and the year’s end.

The noteworthy exceptions to this happen largely in South Korea, where two of the country’s busiest days are expected to happen during the second half of November. This is due to the country’s national Sale Festa period starting on November 11 and running through the end of the month and seeing retailers offer deep discounts on in-demand products.

"Unlike Australia and New Zealand, shoppers in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea will likely turn the Sundays immediately before and after Christmas into major in-store shopping days," read the report.