When the only thing that’s constant in this industry is change, we know how hard it can be to keep up with all the latest retail lingo. That’s why we’ve broken it down into this list that includes the most important retail terms to know. Whether you’re a newbie or just looking to refresh your knowledge, these terms are key in the industry. Show
Product Related Terms and IdentifiersRetailers use a slew of different identifiers to describe products and variants. Color Choice (CC)
Continuity Product (same as Key Item, Never Out-of-Stock, Basics)
Seasonal Products (same as Fashion, Newness)
Style Number (Style #)
Stock Keeping Unit (SKU)
Variant
Supply Chain Related TermsCase-Packs (same as Carton Quantity)Case-packs are pre-configured packs of the same SKU within a case. If the case-pack for a White SM Shirt is 5, it would mean that the vendor would be providing 5 of these shirts within a case, and that is the smallest shippable quantity by the vendor. Vendors typically do Case-Packs to reduce the handling costs of SKUs. Case-packs can either be broken in a distribution center before sending eaches to the stores, or can remain unbroken which would mean a case of goods would be sent to a store. Delivery Window
Drop
End Date
First-In, First-Out (FIFO)FIFO is a type of inventory management strategy where a retailer uses the product that has been on the shelves the longest to fill an order. This method is used in an effort to ensure that the business does not lose money if the product expires or falls out of demand over time. A business such as a grocery store may follow this strategy to ensure they don’t lose profit on foods that expire (i.e., keeping foods that will expire sooner more accessible on the shelves so that consumers purchase and use those before their expiration rather than products that have more time to expire and can be purchased later). Last-In, First-Out (LIFO)LIFO is an inventory management system alternative to FIFO where a business will sell their most recently acquired product. With LIFO, a business will use today’s prices to calculate the cost of goods sold (instead of the actual cost paid for the goods that were sold). This is usually used for products that don’t perish or become obsolete, such as gas or pharmaceutical products. LIFO generally reduces overall profit and is commonly used by businesses to minimize the amount of taxes they need to pay on reported profits (although you will eventually pay the same amount in the long term). Launch Date
Market Week / Buy Week
Pre-PacksPre-packs are multiple-sizes of a particular choice added in a pack for inbound fulfillment to DC and outbound to stores. The goal is to reduce cost of handling for the retailer. A typical pre-pack for a shirt could look like (1 SM, 2 M, 2 L, 1 XL) making a pack of 6 eaches. In this case, the retailer would typically send the pre-packs to the stores as they are and not break the pre-packs in a warehouse / fulfillment center. ProcurementIn retail, procurement is the process of acquiring and buying the products or services your business will sell or provide. If your business manufactures its own goods, procurement can also mean finding and purchasing the parts and materials you need to make the products. This process can also entail the purchasing of goods and services that are needed for your company’s daily operations. Although you may see “procurement” and “purchasing” used interchangeably, it’s important to note that procurement can also include activities in the buying process beyond just purchasing (for example, processing payments, approving expenditure requests, etc.). Special Make Up (SMU)Special make-up is when a Brand (i.e. supplier) manufactures an item that is special for a retailer. SMU orders typically have Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) restrictions associated with them. Supply ChainThe retail supply chain encompasses everything involved in getting your products to your customers. It includes the people, resources, technology, and processes that come together in order to create and distribute a product or service to the consumer. For example, a typical supply chain may start with inventory management and the selection or design of product offerings. It typically also includes packing and shipping considerations and the process for returns. Supply chain management refers to the act of coordinating all of these moving parts, from supplier relationships to warehousing and more. Inventory TerminologyAllocationAllocation is a term used in retail inventory management that describes the tracking and distribution of products to a retailer’s various store locations (i.e., their distribution network). The goal of merchandise allocation is to maximize sales and avoid markdowns as much as possible. Available To Promise (ATP)Number of units that can be promised to the customer. Let's say that you have 0 units available on stock currently, but you will be receiving 10 more units later today. Assuming that you can fulfill incoming orders tomorrow, your Available to Promise (ATP) inventory would be 10, since you can fulfill new orders with the incoming order. Along with Available to Sell (ATS), Available to Promise (ATP) are better measures to use while determining which products to mark as in-stock on their website. Available To Sell (ATS)Number of units available on hand to sell. This is especially important when there is a big time period between when a Sale Order (SO), i.e. customer order happens, and when it gets shipped. During this period, the physical inventory will not be reflecting these SOs, since they haven't been shipped yet, but it is best for the retailer to stop taking new orders on this inventory, since that would run the risk of running out of stock on these items. Therefore, it is best practice for a retailer to use either Available to Sell (ATS) inventory or Available to Promise (ATP) inventory when determining which products to mark as in-stock on their website. Available To Ship (ATS)
Cover Level
Lead Time
Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ)
Order Cycle
Out-of-Stock Rate
Retail
Safety Stock
Wholesale
Planning TerminologyAnnual Operating Plan (AOP)This is the plan set for the business at the beginning of the year. Usually set at the beginning of the year and not changed. Assortment PlanningAssortment planning is a practice where retailers choose which products to keep in their inventory for the upcoming season. During this process, they consider and select both the number of product categories they plan to sell as well as how many product types will be available within each category. Assortments can be categorized as shallow (department stores that offer a bit of everything like Target) or deep (specialty stores that focus on certain products with lots of options for each product type like Ulta focuses on beauty products). Bottom UpBottom-up selling is another sales strategy that is more common in business-to-consumer sales. This strategy targets the direct users of the product or lower-level management and often results in smaller sale amounts than top-down strategies. With this approach, it is smart to make sure the product adoption process is relatively easy and low cost. ForecastingForecasting refers to the use of past data and market research metrics to anticipate the future of consumer behavior. This process usually accounts for seasonality in certain markets and works to identify purchasing patterns that will likely continue in the coming months or years. These predictions can often translate to more efficient amounts of inventory being held and stocked on shelves, as well as effective pricing of goods and long-term success for the business. In-Season PlanningAdjustment of the plans you have in place based on the latest data in-season. Typically done as a part of the open-to-buy management process. Middle OutThe middle-out approach combines both top-down and bottom-up sales strategies. In merchandise planning, the ‘middle’ in middle-out usually refers to middle management. Open-to-Buy (OTB)OTB, or open-to-buy, is a merchandise planning formula that allows retailers to define a specific budget for future inventory orders over a set time frame. Having an OTB plan is an effective way to ensure you always have a balanced amount of available stock (not too much or too little) to meet your consumers’ demand. Toolio offers an Open-to-Buy Template that bases projections for the upcoming year on the previous year’s performance. This template can help you utilize the OTB formula and organize your plans, allowing you to overcome the challenges of maintaining the right amount of inventory for positive cash flow. Pre-Season PlanningCreating a plan before the beginning of the season. Typically done 6-18 months ahead of the start of the season. How far in advance you do this planning process will depend on your lead times and the length of your product development process. Purchase OrdersA purchase order is an official contract between a buyer and a seller, created by the buyer before their purchase is made. This document includes a variety of important order details, such as the number of products needed, product type specifications, and payment and delivery information. Purchase orders are very common for small businesses buying large amounts of products in bulk, and these orders can be specialized to be recurring if needed or if the relationship between buyer and seller is particularly strong. Check out Toolio’s Purchase Order Template for a centralized location to track the purchase orders you want to send to vendors and have sent to vendors. Scenario PlanningAn essential part of operating a retail business, scenario planning allows you to consider various ‘what-if’ situations and how your business can adequately respond to them. One key factor to note is that scenarios in this type of planning are events that could realistically happen, and are different from one another. Planning for negative situations that disrupt regular business flow should help improve your retail company’s overall resilience, team coherence, decision making, and structural capabilities. The COVID-19 pandemic is a great example of a type of scenario that could have been considered by businesses several years ago. In this scenario, a business would ideally consider what resources would be needed to accommodate rapid changes in consumer behavior and how team members would need to adapt to sustain business growth. Seasonal AssortmentSeasonal assortment, or seasonal merchandising, is the strategy of keeping and managing inventory in alignment with seasonal trends and fashions in your industry. This could refer to traditional seasons such as summer and winter, holiday seasons, recurring trends that happen around the same time every year, or trending fashion styles. Using a retail calendar can also help you keep track of important dates to your specific retail market and help you plan for how your assortment may need to change well in advance. Top DownTop-down is a type of established sales strategy where a product is positioned to sell to the leadership or executives of a potential customer. This is a popular approach for products that can be used throughout a large company, especially in B2B sales. Working Plan (WP)This is the latest plan adopted by the business based on the latest learnings on sales performance. Weekly Sales, Stock and Intake (WSSI)WSSI stands for aWeekly Sales, Stock and Intake report. This is a report used for planning purposes to understand Sales, Inventory and Purchase Order over time, to understand stock levels and plan out Purchase Orders. WSSI is also known as an Open to Buy, and is a term used more often in the UK vs. Open to Buy being a terminology used in the US. CurvesRetails and planners rely on curves or ratios to determine optimal levels of inventory to hold or purchase. Below are typical curves that are used in retail. Color CurveColor curve gives the ideal breakdown between different color variants of a style. This is calculated using historical demand ratios. A sample color curve can look like:
Sale Curve (same as Seasonality Curve)Sale curve describes the week-over-week change in demand on a particular item (or a collection of items like class or department). This is calculated by studying historical sales rates. A sale curve would look like:
Size CurveSize curve gives the ideal breakdown between different size variants of a color-choice. This is calculated using historical demand ratios. A sample size curve can look like:
ActivitiesMerchandise Reporting
. Receipt Activity
Sales Activity
Ready for the next step?Check out how to apply these terms in our list of basic retail math formulas to know. Which of the following affects consumer/retail outlet?The selection of retail outlet therefore, can be made considering a number of factors. These are: outlet image, advertising, outlet location and size consumer characteristics. It is the perception of the consumer about the store. It concerns all the attributes associated with the store.
What is also called the merchandise mix?Product assortment, also known as merchandise mix, is the range and variety of products you offer to your customers. It defines the product types your customers ultimately know you for.
Are two or more retail outlets that are commonly owned and controlled?corporate chain stores: two or more outlets that are commonly owned and controlled. voluntary chain: wholesaler-sponsored group of independent retailers engaged in group buying and merchandising.
Which of the following attributes affects retail outlet selection?The price of the product affects retail outlet selection.
The price of the product is a major factor in this decision.
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