The "international greeting" among retailers is "How are sales?"
The response almost invariably includes a reference to Last Year. Sales are up versus LY, or flat, or down. This is the common metric among retailers.- The U.S. Census Bureau collects data on retail sales each month. Once again, The Retail Owners Institute® has analyzed the monthly retail sales by retail sector, compared those results to the same month Last Year, charted the results for the trailing 6 months, and posted them on The ROI site.
- Go here to see how your results compare to other retailers in your sector. Now, thanks to The ROI, it's easy for retailers to get perspective. (For instance, maybe you find that everybody else in your sector also was down. Misery loves company!)
Interesting. But NOT Significant!
Comparing your own results to Last Year, or even to others in your retail sector, is interesting. How to make it significant? Just one way: compare your results to Plan!Once you know whether sales are ahead of plan or behind, you can use the "lead time" to make adjustments!
And the most important adjustment for retailers is, of course, inventory!
For instance, take another look at your Open-to-Buy plan.
The key number to be watching with an eagle eye: your targeted Ending Inventory for each month.- Sales ahead of plan? You may need to adjust your buying to bring in more merchandise to meet your targets
- Sales lagging from plan? Good thing you found out now! You still have time to make adjustments, and avoid excess inventory.
The ROI makes it easy for you to do all this. Just take advantage of our online BUYING PLAN Forecaster. Available 24/7. Free!
- Entries are easy and fast. Planned sales and margins for each month, plus Beginning Inventory at the start, and turnover rate. That's it!
- Immediately see a monthly Open-to-Buy, including targeted Ending Inventory for each month.
- Powerful. Fast. Free, 24/7. Only at The ROI. Go here to use it for yourself.
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