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The first block has information about promo parameters and is displayed on the left side:
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The second block is located on the right and has information about promo-sales, as well as functionality for working with promo.
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This block contains the following information about the promo:
Previous year sales for promo period;
Sales forecast for promo period, excluding promotional communications;
Promo sales forecast.
Information can be displayed in volume, value and margin.
Also this block has the following functional for working with promo:
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Approve - by clicking this button, the user approves promo in the system;
Comparable - displays already held promos in the system, which can be compared with the displayed promo, the system displays the following information about comparable promos:
Promo ID - identificators of comparable promos;
Date - the period when promo was held;
Promo name - the name of promo;
Benefit - promo discount in percent;
SKU count - the number of SKUs that participated in the promo;
Avg. match - a coefficient that shows how in percent comparable promo is matched with the displayed promo;
Avg. uplift before - average increase before the promo in percent;
Avg. uplift after - average increase after the promo in percent.
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Upload - upload files with the promo data. It is described in detail in the section "Downloading data files";
Excel - downloading promo data into excel file;
Analyze - go to the Analysis page for a detailed analysis of each of the promotional items;
Edit - go to edit editing promo.
Adding new promo variant
The promo module has a functional that allows you to create several variations of the promo for the same SKUs and stores, this allows you to compare the effect of promo which uses different strategies.
To add a new promo variant, click on "Create a new promo variant"
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After clicking, the window opens in which you can set the parameters for the new promo variant, similar to the parameters that are set when creating a new promo.
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After entering the parameters, you can press "Save" button - for saving promo variant, with the possibility to calculate it later, or "Calculate" button - for calculating the promo and getting the results of the forecast.
After clicking one of the two buttons a new promo variant will automatically appear in the promo display window.
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The new promo variant is displayed first, previously created variants are displayed below, sorted by creation date. The left block of the window displays information about the last added promo variant. For previously created variants, the following functionality is provided:
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- deleting promo variant;
Up - rises variant to the first place in the list of promo-variants;
Edit - change the parameters of the selected promo variant.
The user can add an unlimited number of promo versions for comparison.
Promo details
The Promo module functionality allows user to view not only the general parameters of each promo, but also a detailed level of each SKU participating in the promo. To proceed to a detailed analysis of each SKU, click the "Details" button:
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After clicking, detailed promo information for each SKU opens:
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On SKU level, data is displayed as a table that has the following fields:
SKU Name - identifier and name of each SKU in promo;
Uplift - field in which user can enter a promotional sales uplift factor for a particular SKU in percentages (you must click the "Save" button to accept the changes);
Disc - field in which user can enter discount for a particular SKU in percent (to accept the changes, you must click the "Save" button);
Communication - user can select individual communications for each SKU (to open the selection window, press the "Select" button):
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Comparable SKUs - to open a list of comparable SKUs, press the "C" button. Table of comparable SKUs has the following fields:
Promo ID - identifier of promo, which has comparable SKU;
Dates - the period when promo was held;
Promo name - the name of promo with comparable SKU;
Benefit - promo discount in percent;
SKU ID - identifier of comparable SKU;
SKU name - the name of comparable SKU;
Match - a coefficient that shows how in percent comparable SKU is matched with displayed SKU;
Uplift before - increase in sales before the promo in percent;
Uplift after - increase in sales after the promo in percent.
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Previous year sales for promo period;
Sales forecast for promo period, excluding promotional communications;
Promo sales forecast.
Stores - the number of promo stores in which SKU is in an assortment.
The detailed information can be displayed in volume, value or margin.
Promo editing
On the promo page, you can edit the promo. It is possible to edit the following promo data:
Promo dates. To start editing press button near "Dates" field. After clicking, the window for editing dates will open:
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SKUs that participate in promo. To start editing press button near "SKUs" field. After clicking, a window will open for editing the list of skus (editing the skus is similar to their selection when creating a new promo):
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Stores that participate in promo. To start editing press возле параметра "Магазины". After clicking, a window will open for editing the list of stores (editing the stores is similar to their selection when creating a new promo):
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Promo parameters. The editing window is opened by pressing either the "Edit" button in the right block or the button near "Parameters" field on the left side. After clicking, the window for editing promo parameters will appears (parameters editing is similar to their selection when creating a new promo):
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Downloading promo data to Excel
When you select the function of downloading promo to Excel, the system automatically creates an Excel file with information about the promo. The structure of this file is can be customized for user needs. An example of excel file: "Excel File Example".
Loading files with promo data
The user can load promo data from Excel files to simplify the process of adding large amounts of data to the promo. The system supports loading of the following data:
List of SKUs in promo with discount and communication data (if this data is not specified, then global promo parameters will be used for each SKU). The file must have the csv extension and the following fields (all fields must be separated by a semicolon):
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SKU_ID/ITEM_CODE - the identifier of the product for which you want to load data. In the case of loading by MySales code, you must use SKU_ID, but if loading by the internal code, you must use ITEM_CODE;
BENEFIT_PERC - the benefit for SKU, must be expressed as a percentage with a sign of % at the end (for example 40%, 33%, 28%);
COMMUNICATIONS - communications for SKU. Enter either a communication number or its full name (the way it is saved in the system). Each new communication for SKU has to be added in through the semicolon after the previous one in the row with SKU.
An example of csv file: "Example of csv file with data".
Example csv file is filled with discounts and communications for the three SKUs:
For SKU 360274 both benefit and communication are filled (using the name of the communication).
For SKU 360337 only benefit is filled. Communications need not be filled, but you need to put the required number of semicolons.
For SKU 1137890 both benefit and communication are filled (using the communication number).
It is important that the number of semicolons in each line with SKU should be equal.
Updated discounts on SKU level for already added SKUs in promos. It is used if the user needs to change the discounts for individual SKUs in the promo. В файле должно быть две колонки:
SKU_ID/ITEM_CODE - the identifier of the product for which you want to load data. In the case of loading by MySales code, you must use SKU_ID, but if loading by the internal code, you must use ITEM_CODE;
BENEFIT_PERC - the benefit for SKU, must be expressed as a percentage with a sign of % at the end (for example 40%, 33%, 28%);
The master forecast data. It is used if it is necessary to load data from the file about the master forecast for individual SKUs in the promo (master forecast is a manual forecast obtained by experts). The downloaded file must have the csv extension and the following fields (all fields must be separated by a semicolon):
SKU_ID/ITEM_CODE - the identifier of the product for which you want to load data. In the case of loading by MySales code, you must use SKU_ID, but if loading by the internal code, you must use ITEM_CODE;
FCST - master forecast value for SKU;
WEEK - week for which the master forecast is loaded (optional field);
An example of csv file: "Example of file for master forecast data load".
Promo calendar
A promo calendar is another convenient way to display a promo. It allows the user to track and control all the promos at specific time intervals. In contrast to the list display, the user can see which promos are being held, view past promos, and see their effectiveness in a convenient familiar calendar.
There are three options for displaying a calendar:
Week - displays in the context of the week, displays all the promos held on the selected week:
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Month - display in the context of the month, displays all the promos held in the selected month:
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3 months - display in the context of three months, displays all the promos held for the selected three months:
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The user can not only display promos on the calendar, but also see general information about the promo simply by clicking on it. Similar to the events in regular calendars that everyone is used to. And if you need to see the whole analysis for the selected promo, you can open the promo analysis window by clicking on "Full promo information".
Use cases
Promotional activities in retail is a very important driver of sales and customer acquisition, as well as a tool for competition between retailers. According to a number of studies, the share of promotional hunters (customers - discount hunters) among customers exceeds 70% and continues to grow.
Modern retail offers customers a large selection of products in each category and in most product groups, and price is one of the key criteria for choosing a product on a shelf by a buyer. Also the width and regularity of promotions is an important criterion for a customer to choose a store.
At the same time, each retail chain, attracting a huge number of customers, has a powerful marketing resource that allows it to offer the supplier favorable conditions for promoting its product. Therefore, often, retailers conduct promos together with suppliers. Such cooperation is beneficial to everyone:
The customer receives favorable conditions for the acquisition of goods
The retailer attracts more customers and grows its sales
The supplier provides an opportunity for more customers to learn about their product and also increases sales
However, improper promotion planning carries a number of risks and dangers that can turn it from a profitable tool into a deeply unprofitable one. If the promo did not give the growth that was expected, everyone lost:
The customer did not know about the favorable conditions for the purchase of goods
The retailer did not attract customers and did not increase sales by providing a discount and generated an effect of sales cannibalization of more profitable goods. At the same time, having ordered more goods than necessary, after the promotion, the retailer was left with over stocks, which will not be sold soon, but if it is a perishable goods, then it will lead to write-off and direct losses
The supplier also received illiquid inventory and lost margin without effect on sales
It often also happens that both the retailer and the supplier offer discounts well below the psychological limit of the customers sensitivity, which may entail an unjustified loss of margin.
Accordingly, the main cases for using the promo module are:
Accumulation of structured information about historical promos and keeping a calendar of future promotions
Modeling various scenarios for conducting a promo and choosing the most optimal one. What if you give a 30% discount? What will be the sales? What will be the margin? Is it profitable? What if 40%? But what if you additionally hang a banner, an external outdoor, or carry out a promotion with the support of TV advertising?
Automatic promo sales forecasting with support of forecast verification tools
The use of promotional forecasts for the automatic ordering for both warehouses and stores