Running a successful retail business in Australia hinges on making informed decisions based on reliable supplier information. Here is a recent case when a supplier provided incorrect, possibly misleading information to one of our customers.

A garden supply retailer received promotional materials from a supplier urging them to stock up for "National Garden Week" with a note that it was fast approaching in early June. They were drawn to the note as they remembered last year, they did well with National Garden Week. However, they decided to check what sold well in early June while making an order. Upon checking, they discovered nothing unusual in their POS System reports. That was strange, as they remembered doing well at National Garden Week. So they decided to check online. They soon discovered National Gardening Week is in the third week of October, not June. Further investigation found that the supplier had inadvertently used American dates for the holiday.

They were lucky; this wrong communication could have led to premature stock purchases if they had ordered. Besides the financial problems, they could easily have suffered humiliation by displaying the incorrect date, which could have eroded customer trust and damaged their reputation.

This example is far from unique. Many supplier communications do not account for local market conditions or seasonal variations.

The lesson is clear: unchecked supplier information can lead to mistakes.

Trust but verify.

Written by:

Bernard Zimmermann is the founding director at POS Solutions, a leading point-of-sale system company with 45 years of industry experience. He consults to various organisations, from small businesses to large retailers and government institutions. Bernard is passionate about helping companies optimise their operations through innovative POS technology and enabling seamless customer experiences through effective software solutions.

Valentine's Day is considered an excellent marketing day, so it is worthwhile to see how your business performed on that day. You need to measure and analyse your sales to improve your business.

I did a brief market survey yesterday, with a wide range of results, from terrific to little. Everyone would agree that something is better than nothing. Now, here are some tips on how to measure your Valentine's Day Sales and get your score:

Use Sales Reports

The best way to track your Valentine’s Day sales using your real data is by using your point of sale (POS) system's sales reports. Here's how:

Compared to Previous Years

Run a sales report for 14 February and compare it to the same date in previous years. This will show you growth and trends over time. Pay attention to:

• Profit
• Number of transactions
• Average transaction size

Analyse by Department

Break down the sales data by department. See which products and product categories performed best. One point you may find interesting is the colour red, did items of this colour sell well?

Spot Top Employees

See which employees rang up the most sales. 

Review Inventory Levels

Analyse how your inventory levels changed before and after Valentine's Day. Look at bestselling products. Did you sell out of any items? This helps you know what quantities to stock next year.

Check Customer Traffic

Beyond sales data, also look at customer traffic trends. Did you get more traffic than normal? Did you get more sales? Higher traffic but no improvement in sales shows you probably had the wrong goods in the shop.

Compare Promotions

Review any marketing promotions or campaigns you ran for the holiday. See which ones worked best.

Ask Customers and Employees

One point I also suggest is to talk to your customers and staff to get feedback. What did they like about your Valentine’s products and service? What could be improved for next year?

Taking the time to measure and analyse your Valentine’s Day sales will provide insights to help improve planning and boost sales in the future. With the right POS reporting tools, like ours collecting and learning from your holiday sales data is easy.