Labor Day traditionally signals the end of summer as students head back to school and families plan last-minute vacations.
The back-to-school shopping period, which includes the Labor Day three-day weekend, is one of the busiest sales seasons regardless of the holiday. The National Retail Federation estimates that total back-to-school sales figures will reach $68 billion for 2015. It's also a heavy travel day, because pools, lakes and seasonal venues often close after Labor Day.
Why are Labor Day Sales so Popular?
Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer, means retailers are taking a look at their seasonal product inventory and making room for upcoming fall and winter stock. Although many students are in school by Labor Day, many parents spread their back-to-school shopping over several months to take advantage of promotions. Clothing, outdoor furniture and other seasonal items are the most common products put on sale, although plenty of other retailers also focus on taking advantage of the three-day weekend.
Due to seasonal venues closing after Labor Day, travel-related businesses also take advantage of this sales opportunity. About 14.2 million people are expected to travel by plane, according to ABC News, with the busiest travel day falling on September 4th. Airlines, car dealerships and car rental companies often take advantage of the large traveler numbers with marketing promotions. Airlines also use projected traveler numbers to increase their overall capacity, hopefully accommodating consumers who take advantage of discounted flights.
The Focus on the In-Store Experience for Labor Day Sales
Many customers opt to head in store for Labor Day, and even consumers opting for online and mobile e-commerce use ship-to-store or in-store pickup almost 50 percent of the time. The most attractive promotions offered by retailers often drive customers to the brick-and-mortar store, as retailers know customers have the day off or are visiting from out of town. This is the last three-day weekend they have for some fun or shopping time, so many retailers do their best to maximize Labor Day revenue by attracting as many people as possible. Over 85 percent of email marketing during this time period references sales and other promotions, according to Experian.
Retailers get customers in the doors by attracting them with deep discounts on seasonal products and related items, thereby clearing out their older inventory. While customers are coming through the doors, early previews of fall and winter product lines are introduced as well. A quality customer experience is an essential part of building brand loyalty and generating interest for your latest products. Getting actionable data on the retail execution for your brand is helped by enterprise SaaS software, such as retail mobile data collection apps.
The Benefits of Enterprise SaaS Software for Labor Day Preparations
Determining whether your brand has effective retail execution during the busy Labor Day weekend necessitates real-time data collection throughout the holiday, and the surrounding weeks. Mobile retail data collection provides you with the product information you need to prepare for next year's Labor Day by documenting insights regarding successful (and perhaps not so successful) strategies. Some enterprise SaaS software can give you data points about whether your products are out of stock, how the retailer handled the merchandising and display information.
The Labor Day weekend is an important sales weekend for brands and retailers alike. Collecting the right data during this busy weekend helps you see how effective your retail execution is, what you need to change and how you can improve your revenue over this critical retail period next year.
