NEW YORK, Aug. 31, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Amid fears that the escalating tariff war between the U.S. and China may be felt hard by the U.S. Consumer this upcoming holiday shopping season, global retail analytics and price optimization leader Intelligence Node today announced findings of a consumer survey1 showing that more than half (54 percent) of respondents are concerned about the tariff impacts to their wallets. The study of more than 1,000 consumers from across the United States also sheds light on strategies retailers can take to keep consumers engaged in 2019, a banner year of retail resurgence on Wall Street that is teetering on the brink of recession.
According to the U.S. Trade Representative's office and the Census Bureau2, $33 billion in apparel, shoes, and hats will be subject to a 15% tariff on Chinese imports starting September 1st, not including an additional $27 billion in electronics, a major category for many holiday sales promotions, that will kick in on December 15th. Coming off the heels of Amazon's record-breaking Prime Day event, the survey affirmed the rank of the categories that led success for Amazon. Respondents indicated that Consumer Electronics and Retail & Apparel goods are the most important (58 percent) to find on sale before purchasing, followed closely by Home & Kitchen appliances (39 percent). These goods are in the crosshairs of the escalating global tariff conflict, whereby prices at brick and mortar and online are expected to rise. Any slowed growth in sales could negatively impact retailers' supply chains and their ability to procure new merchandise for 2020 and beyond.
"Our data shows that global retailers don't need to wait to capitalize on consumer price sensitivity," said Sanjeev Sularia, co-Founder and CEO, Intelligence Node. "They have the potential to create their own Amazon Prime Day by leveraging dynamic pricing strategies and looking at the competitive set to win price-conscious customers."
Intelligence Node's survey data showed that customers don't usually wait around for the big calendar deal days to find a good price on the goods they're looking for, when they need them. About 42 percent reported waiting sometimes for these holiday deals to make big-ticket purchases, while 32 percent would rarely wait for these sales.
"The impending tariffs will bite into everyone's margins," added Sularia. "Being able to optimize prices to maximize your margins, while putting great products into the hands of consumers at a price they feel is fair is key right now. This critical capability also allows brands and retailers to move inventory and reinvest profits into new goods they know consumers want. Sophisticated AI pricing platforms can enable them to stay competitive with the likes of Amazon and other e-commerce giants."
Intelligence Node is a proven innovator in retail analytics technology and offers the world's largest retail product database available in the market today, packaged in an easy-to-use and intuitive user interface. Its proprietary process gathers and analyses billions of unique product SKUs from more than 130,000 brands across thousands of e-commerce sites, marketplaces, brick and mortar stores, direct marketing, and consumer social media. The company's Deep Learning AI enables an accurate and direct side-by-side comparison of pricing across retail assortments, categories, or products, and identifies actionable pricing gaps.
To download a full copy of the consumer survey findings, visit https://www.intelligencenode.com/new-tariff-impact-holiday-season/.
For more information on Intelligence Node's price optimization solutions, please visit http://www.intelligencenode.com.
About Intelligence Node
Intelligence Node is a hyper-growth retail analytics company that caters to retail clients globally. Currently serving more than 150 retailers and brands worldwide, Intelligence Node partners with category leaders like Li & Fung, Tesco, Westwing, Reliance, Mobly, Landmark, and Jockey to optimize their pricing and merchandising operations. Its AI-driven insights are powered by the world's largest global retail product index, unmatched in accuracy, mapping 1 billion+ unique products across 130,000+ brands for more than 1,400+ categories every day. For more information, please visit http://www.intelligencenode.com, and on Twitter @bigdataNODE.
1 SOURCE: Dynata
2 Barros, Anthony; Zumbrun, Josh. (August 16, 2019). Despite Reprieve, New Tariffs Will Hit Wide Range of Consumer Goods, The Wall Street Journal
Contacts
PAN Communications for Intelligence Node
Kate Lavoie-Mayer
(212) 385-9770
IntelligenceNode(at)pancomm(dot)com
SOURCE IntelligenceNode Consulting Private Limited
Share this article