NuORDER by Lightspeed Releases Results of 2023 Holiday Outlook Brand Survey

Rhea-AI Summary

Lightspeed Commerce Inc. released the results of its 2023 Holiday Outlook Brand Survey, revealing concerns about the impact of current economic factors on holiday sales. However, brands are focused on selling more through high-performing retailers and implementing off-price strategies to manage excess inventory. The emphasis on data sharing and collaboration between brands and retailers is growing, with a desire for a more integrated wholesale ecosystem. Balancing historical product performance with predicting future consumer behavior is crucial for success in the holiday season.

Positive

• Brands are focused on selling more through high-performing retailers and implementing off-price strategies to manage excess inventory.
• There is a growing emphasis on data sharing and collaboration between brands and retailers for a more integrated wholesale ecosystem.

Negative

• None.

Brands are concerned about economic impact on consumer buying but opportunities exist

Montreal, Oct. 02, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lightspeed Commerce Inc. (NYSE | TSX: LSPD) released the results of NuORDER by Lightspeed’s 2023 Holiday Outlook Brand Survey today. Powering the world’s best businesses, Lightspeed is the unified POS and payments platform for ambitious entrepreneurs to accelerate growth, provide the best customer experiences and become a go-to destination in their space.


The survey aimed to get a pulse on whether brands are revamping their holiday strategies or doubling down on tried and true programs in light of the current macroeconomic environment.  Over 100 women’s and men’s apparel, footwear, accessories, luxury, beauty, outdoor/sporting goods, and home furnishings/décor brands weighed in on their expectations surrounding consumer behavior heading into the holiday season.


Key findings from the survey are that while the majority of brands (51.89%) are not concerned about how the influx of store closures in 2023 will impact holiday sales, 74.53% of brands are worried that sales may be negatively impacted by current economic factors.


“Due to the increase in store closures, brands will need to offset the lack of product in those stores so that they can still grow,” said Michael Ganci, Senior Vice President of B2B Go-To-Market at Lightspeed. “At the same time, buyers are being more selective and are stocking profitable styles over higher risk trend items. This means that brands will need to focus on selling more of their assortments through high performing retail partners or find alternative retailers to bridge the gap.”


According to the results of the 2023 Holiday Outlook Brand Survey, most brands are not pulling back on wholesale because of store closure this year. Instead, 40.57% are focused on selling more through high performing retailers.


To manage excess inventory due to closures, 29.25% of brands said they are implementing a strong off-price strategy to clear out excess stock that is still on hand during the back end of the selling season. Only 6.6% of brands responded that they were reducing the number of retailers they are selling into. 35.85% of brands aren’t making any adjustments to their current sales strategy.


“There’s a growing emphasis on data sharing and collaboration between brands and retailers,” Ganci continued. “Brands and retailers want a more integrated wholesale ecosystem where they can easily share sales data, check inventory levels and reorder high-performing products to better inform production plans and buying decisions. This is exactly what we are trying to do through the supplier network at Lightspeed. As for the holiday season, balancing historical product performance with the ability to predict future consumer behavior is more important than ever and retailers who can do this successfully are most likely to remain resilient.”

NuORDER by Lightspeed powers the world’s best brands and retailers, including: Saks, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Brunello Cucinelli, Rag & Bone, Kendra Scott, Barbour, Tecnica, Arc'teryx and Shiseido.


About NuORDER by Lightspeed
NuORDER by Lightspeed is a leading B2B platform powering commerce and discovery for the world's best brands and retailers. The platform includes virtual showroom technology, visual assortment and merchandising tools, and integrated payments solutions. Today, more than 3,000 brands and more than 100,000 retailers use NuORDER by Lightspeed to streamline the wholesale buying and selling process. Lightspeed acquired NuORDER in 2021.


For more information, see www.nuorder.com.


About Lightspeed 
Powering the businesses that are the backbone of the global economy, Lightspeed's one-stop commerce platform helps merchants innovate to simplify, scale and provide exceptional customer experiences. Our cloud commerce solution transforms and unifies online and physical operations, multichannel sales, expansion to new locations, global payments, financial solutions and connection to supplier networks.

Founded in Montréal, Canada in 2005, Lightspeed is dual-listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: LSPD) and Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: LSPD). With teams across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, the company serves retail, hospitality and golf businesses in over 100 countries.


For more information, see www.lightspeedhq.com.


Follow us on social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.


Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may include forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements are statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions and are identified by words such as "will", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "estimates" or similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Such statements are based on current expectations of Lightspeed's management and inherently involve numerous risks and uncertainties, known and unknown, including economic factors. A number of risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this news release, including, among other factors, those risk factors identified in our most recent Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, under "Risk Factors" in our most recent Annual Information Form, and in our other filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, all of which are available under our profiles on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov. Readers are cautioned to consider these and other factors carefully when making decisions with respect to Lightspeed's subordinate voting shares and not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are not guarantees of future performance and, while forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions that Lightspeed considers reasonable, actual events and results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements made by Lightspeed. Except as may be expressly required by applicable law, Lightspeed does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or revise any such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For further information: Media Contacts: Canada: Victoria Baker, NKPR - victoriab@nkpr.net; USA: Jennifer Fugel, Newsmaker Group- jfugel@newsmakergroup.com; Lightspeed Media Relations - media@lightspeedhq.com; Investor Relations: Gus Papageorgiou, Lightspeed Investor Relations - investorrelations@lightspeedhq.com

Attachment

• NuORDER by Lightspeed Holiday Outlook Survey 2023