EOSS is here to stay and the challenge will be not to make our brand look like a discounted brand

End of Season Sales is becoming a pronounced season in itself. Over the past few years, we have seen brands extend their EOSS to almost 2 months for each season. This is primarily happening due to the consumer being extremely cautious about buying in fresh due to overall economic slowdown which has left him with lower allocation towards such purchases which are more discretionary in nature. opines Abhijit Ganguly, Brand Director, Grasim  during a candid chit chat with Retailer Media

End of Season Sale (EOSS) has been a hit sales strategy among retailers. How do you analyze the evolution of in terms of consumer purchase trend?

EOSS is becoming a pronounced season in itself. Over the past few years, we have seen brands extend their EOSS to almost 2 months for each season. This is primarily happening due to the consumer being extremely cautious about buying in fresh due to overall economic slowdown which has left him with lower allocation towards such purchases which are more discretionary in nature. The consumer is willing to wait for the discount and usually plans his festive buying,  gifting and self purchases in one go.

Online retailers offer whopping discounts with sales going on throughout the year. How different is the EOSS sale at a physical retail store as compared to the online EOSS?

Most brands usually try offering similar discounts across both online and offline formats. In case there is any differential, it will work negatively for a brand. However, since offline is being used more from the purpose of a liquidation channel, most brands try to sell their previous season’s stock at heavier discounts online.

How are the promotional initiatives planned for this EOSS?

For Grasim, we are a fairly young brand and therefore have lesser issues related to stock surpluses and hence do not have a big EOSS planned

How have you promoted your EOSS through social media? What strategies have you used for the same?

Grasim has tied up with Amazon and our EOSS is being promoted jointly by Amazon and us through various social media channels. We have a loyal customer base of almost 1 lac consumers who are connected with us through Facebook and we create awareness of our EOSS through this medium.

What has been your discounting strategy for this EOSS?

At Grasim we always believe in keeping things simple and therefore we have flat discount policy.

For your brand, how this season of EOSS has fared till now?

This season of EOSS has been better than expectations. We got really good response.

What new strategy have you adopted this season which was not present last season? What benefits did you received out of it?

We adopted the strategy of giving our gifts to our consumers which has linked to merchandise being bought .This offer did very well this season.

What's the future of such sales strategy? 

EOSS is here to stay and the challenge will be not to make our brand look like a discounted brand. We are planning to have a year round offer in a few select styles which allows the consumer to buy us through the year and also helps us keep our discounted products to the minimum for a EOSS period.     

What changes have you roped in with reference to technology in retail? Are there some changes in usage of technology during EOSS as compared to normal times?

Earlier EOSS was more of a traditional media driven strategy where in announcements were made through newspapers. We have now started getting more personal by reaching out to our audiences through social media and also through various direct communication strategies