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3 Key Black Friday Strategies for Retailers

Every year, Black Friday causes sales to soar thanks to astute businesses and buyers who can’t pass up a good deal. While online sales channels have grown to significant prominence in the past decade, today’s consumer desires both efficiency and a high-quality experience – and retailers must meet this demand if they want to surpass the competition this Black Friday. When preparing for the festive shopping period, preparation is vital – and retailers must understand the challenges that their business could encounter during such a busy season within the year. This includes limited inventory, shipment delays, and staff shortages. RFID deployment can help to ease each of these pain points.

Efficient Inventory Management

RFID technology has several advantages, including the ability to scan multiple tags at once from a distance of several meters, allowing a huge quantity of goods to be checked and accounted for in seconds. The data attached to the tags can be altered remotely, allowing information to be updated in real-time. RFID can also be used to prevent product overstocking or understocking. The technology assists with quality control, especially if retailers sell items with a limited shelf life, as well as stock control by positioning tag readers in high-risk areas such as entryways.

Further to this, retailers can conduct bi-monthly stock counts using RFID technology, resulting in inventory accuracy of 93%-99%. Without RFID, inventory might typically be taken once or twice a year, resulting in stock accuracy of less than 60%. RFID allows for real-time inventory data to move from supplier to customer and back again. By employing a system to manage inventory, retailers may avoid out-of-stock situations, boost customer confidence, and maximize sales during Black Friday.

Enable Employees to Serve

Through RFID, retailers can quickly manage stock levels in seconds, enabling them to identify individual products and trace them from the warehouse to point-of-sale. During a busy Black Friday event, this allows retailers to maintain order fulfilment and make smarter decisions quickly across the supply chain. Employing this cutting-edge technology reduces the need for human inventory counts, allowing in-store associates to instead provide greater customer service on the shop floor. With the ongoing labor shortage, it has never been more important to create operational efficiency for associates. The time saved from stock counts can be the difference between a great and an unsatisfactory experience for customers.

Meeting consumers’ growing needs and providing a satisfying experience involves a flexible strategy that makes use of technological advancements to build a retail journey that seamlessly connects with buyers’ lifestyles. During the busy festive season, customers rely on efficiency – whether this is buying online and picking up in-store (BOPIS), or having visibility of where items are located. With RFID, retailers can rest easy knowing that their customers have all the information on hand, as well as a range of purchasing options that best suit their demands.

The Role of Technology in Customer Experience

With ever-increasing expectations, keeping a customer is just as important as winning a new one. The introduction of RFID technology, which gives the necessary supply chain visibility, simplifies and enhances retailers’ omnichannel offering. As a result,  customers can now conduct product research online, reserve their purchase, and then pick up the product in-store rather than wait for delivery. Alternatively, a client may utilize the omnichannel to explore and purchase products in-store before having them delivered to their home. When retailers anticipate and respond to customer demands quickly, customer satisfaction only improves.

Black Friday is coming. And in the current economic climate, more emphasis is being placed on this year’s event than ever before as consumers are expected to have an increased appetite for significant savings. With RFID technology deployed, retailers can create a streamlined and frictionless experience for their customers. All product information will be readily available and kept up to date in real-time, and an omnichannel approach will allow customers to shop by their preferred means, delivering a high-quality experience that keeps customers coming back for more.

To find out how your business can benefit from RFID technology this Black Friday, contact info@sml-rfid.com