Black Friday: Did You Find a Bargain?

As ever, Black Friday was a hyperactive day of hyper deals. Deals, reductions, mind-boggling bargains: breathe. Now, we roll into Cyber Week. For retailers, this time marks a supply chain marathon, the ceremonial passing of the holiday baton from Thanksgiving to the festive season.

In this tale of retail frenzy, our hero was a shoe—let’s say, the classic running sneaker—on a voyage through one of the most demanding days in retail.

The Story of a Shoe

The journey started in a distribution center in the industrial heartland. The shoe sat in a cardboard box, yearning for its Cinderella moment. But finding the perfect customer match was far from straightforward. On Thanksgiving Night, as humans in post-turkey slumber dreamed of steaming pie and pondered mega-deals, the warehouse buzzed to life. AI/ML algorithms whizzed and whirred, churning out data-driven predictions to determine which sizes and styles would be shipped to which stores.

The shoe, a size 7, was flagged as a “core size” and prepped for a high-street location in the City. The journey might have seemed simple: Point A to Point B. But stories are rarely that straightforward. Subplots, minor characters, supply, demand, pressures, obstacles, and success all intertwined, forming a dense web of decisions to ensure the shoe arrived snugly on a smiling customer’s foot.

Shopper.com reported that 24% of consumers planned to spend more this Black Friday, while 68.8% would shop across both Black Friday and Cyber Monday. With demand surging, missing out on a single sale could have meant losing a customer for good.

Frenzy on the Store Floor

As Black Friday dawned, the shoe waited on the display shelf. Customers were already queuing outside, hoping to snag the perfect deal. The shoe’s moment of truth arrived. Enter the customer: a young professional in need of running shoes for winter training. She tried on the size 7—it was a perfect fit. The sale was made, and the shoe found its match. A Black Friday success story. Behind the scenes, the plot had been driven by the retailer’s supply chain strategy. Advanced size profiling ensured the right size was in stock, and dynamic inventory adjustments kept the store replenished as sizes flew off the shelves.

The sad truth remained that not every shoe got its Cinderella moment. Some lingered in hope of markdown buyers, while others were overstocked in stores where demand had been miscalculated. These inefficiencies were the very challenges modern supply chain innovations aim to solve.

Cyber Week is Here

Now, as Cyber Week unfolds, the focus shifts to online. Shoppers scroll and scour digital shelves, hunting for deals from the comfort of their homes. AI-driven recommendations fine-tune every interaction, ensuring customers see products tailored to their preferences. Size 7 sneakers—popular in urban centers—are front and center for city shoppers, while suburban customers see sizes that match local demand patterns. Dynamic inventory systems keep pace with every click, adjusting availability in real time to ensure the right products are ready to ship. Retailers know that today’s stakes are just as high as Black Friday’s. A slow-loading page or an out-of-stock notification could mean losing not just one sale but a loyal customer.

For retailers, Cyber Week is about moving stock with precision and personalization. Every customer must enjoy a tailored experience, from initial discovery to final checkout. As the day progresses, supply chains hum in the background, analyzing trends, optimizing fulfillment, and ensuring packages will arrive in time for the holidays.

Wrapping it All Up

As ever, Black Friday was chaotic yet rewarding, spotlighting the importance of preparation and data-driven decision-making. Cyber Week, on the other hand, demonstrates the power of agility and precision in a digital-first world.

Retailers who master both events ensure every product gets its Cinderella moment, whether it’s bricks and mortar or online.

No knots. Laces tied up in a neat little bow. The supply chain running smoothly, ready for the next surge.

o9’s platform enables retailers to transition from their traditional operating model to a digital operating model, so that they can quickly analyze, optimize and evaluate complex decisions before taking action.