There’s been all sorts of calamities, some caused by external issues, some self-inflicted.
I recall 1995, 1998, years where the companies I was with caused their own problems.
2001 – a hybrid of the end of the dotcom era and self-inflicted damage.
2007 – when you could feel that customers spent all their “free” money from their homes, there wasn’t anything left to spend (as we’d soon find out).
2012 – the collapse of the omnichannel movement begins (accelerating into 2016/2017).
2021 (Fall) – the popping of the COVID bump.
The data I’m seeing these days is mixed, with some able to thrive, others battling external issues and internal mistakes.
When business signals are mixed, reassess your marketing spend, reassess your new item development plan. Run your Class Of Report (I’ll do it for you if you don’t have the resources to do it), and make sure you aren’t -20% on demand from new items this year (which will cost you money on existing items next year) or -20% on existing items this year (meaning you discontinued stuff you shouldn’t have).
