Spring collection. Fall collection. In home furnishings, manufacturers have long released their new product collections at their biggest markets, introducing a robust assortment on an annual or bi-annual basis.
But as trade shows were one of the many things thrown off schedule during the pandemic, manufacturers’ product release schedules then weren’t punctuated by those dates, as they had been for many years. Many manufacturers found themselves simply releasing product as it became available, typically several times throughout the year instead of a massive rollout all at once.
Now, markets are back in full swing. But there is still good reason for manufacturers to keep up a more-frequent product release schedule going forward.
First, know that more “frequent” doesn’t mean you need to double or triple your new product count.
“It’s not about designing more products,“ said Christie Lomanov, brand manager at BrandJump. “It’s about being more strategic in how you roll them out.”
Here are a few reasons why upping your brand’s number of annual product releases is a good idea:
Retailers and customers alike love “newness.” Consumers are shopping frequently these days, so retailers are always looking for ways to keep them coming back. Price promotions and highlighting what’s new are the most common way to do that, so having new products comes with a side of built-in marketing.
“Newness is a great reason for a full-price message to the end customer about your brand,” Christie said.
Split a big release into more manageable batches. A hefty product release means a hefty amount of information to work with, from data to assets to content. By breaking up your new products into more release schedules, you have more time to make sure all information is clean and complete, and have a more manageable number of items to check closely and ensure their quality.
Increase your speed to market. Say you have 500 new SKUs in your latest collection, and 300 of them are ready to go but 200 are held up in production, waiting on data, pending images or any other reason.
Send those 300 products to your retailers so they are live sooner than later. “You don’t have to wait for all of the data, all of the images,” Christie said. “Run with what you have, when you have it. There’s a workflow benefit to keep things moving.”
Getting your product in front of your customers more quickly can also give you an early read on what’s resonating with them, so you can plan inventory accordingly.
Help your new releases stand out. Releasing product only once or twice a year creates a huge collection to introduce to the end consumer.
“With a very large release, some product is going to get lost no matter what,” Christie said. “Breaking up a 700-SKU assortment into three or four releases keeps you from over-saturating and gives the end customer an opportunity to really be exposed to what’s new.”
Christie added that a smaller release can create momentum and exclusivity for marketing what’s new. “It gives you the opportunity to really highlight the product, make it feel special and tell its story to the customer.”
Support your bestsellers. Even if what customers mostly purchase are still the long-standing staples of your collection, new products build buzz and draw customers to your brand. Many retailer sites let customers sort products by new arrivals. Customers who shop that way have a greater chance of coming across your brand if it always has a presence among the “new.”
Plus, with speed-to-market in mind, you’ll see more quickly what products have potential to become your next bestseller.
Help balance newness with healthy inventory. You can’t ship new product if you are already backed up in production. Rolling out smaller, more frequent assortments can give some room to breathe and ensure production can keep up. Healthy production leads to healthy inventory—and healthy scorecards from your retail partners.
Considerations for Increasing Your Product Release Schedule
Moving to smaller, more frequent releases has its benefits, but there are a few things you’ll want to make sure to do if you make the shift.
1. Communicate. As with any change, communication is key. Talk to your buyers to ensure their expectations are aligned with your strategy. It’s helpful to know your retailers and their individual processes—do they plan far in advance? Do they not want to hear from you until you have data in hand?
2. Try to get 1-on-1 time to introduce your new collections. Whether at a trade show, at your headquarters or virtually, schedule time with buyers to give them a brief presentation that tells them more about the products and helps them understand inspirations, features and benefits. The more they know about your product and can get excited about it, the more they’ll be in your corner to help it sell. Have this meeting before your inventory arrives so buyers have time to plan marketing opportunities with their own team.
3. Keep editing your assortment as you add new. It’s just as important to discontinue unproductive SKUs as it is to add new product. If a SKU is taking up space on the website, in your search rankings, in your warehouse—but not in your sales reports—let it go.
As we move into 2022, take a look at your product release schedule and consider breaking it up into three or four rollouts over the year. Doing so can boost your brand, keep your assortment fresh and drive more sales online.
