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Was Target's Missoni mob predictable?
- TAGS:analytics, business intelligence, demand forecasting, fashion, Insider Content, Missoni, Target
- IT TOPICS:E-Business, Emerging Technology, Enterprise Apps
The fantastic response to Target's launch of a designer clothing line from Missoni on Tuesday may have looked to the outside world like an enormous success. And as a publicity stunt the Missoni incident was a big win. Images of customers storming stores and sold out shelves made the news. Target's stock went up 2% that day. But it was, in fact, a disaster because the company was unable to fully capitalize on events.
Target's first mistake was that it massively underestimated demand, leaving money on the table as stores ran out of stock. Some of that pent up demand it may recapture in the coming days. Some will have simply evaporated.
Its second error was not having e-commerce infrastructure that could deal with the unexpected spike in demand. The customer stampede into its online store, which came as customers rushed its brick and mortar outlets, took the retailer's Web site down for most of the day. In so doing, it killed not just the day's potential online sales of Missoni merchandise but those of thousands of other products as well. That was preventable.
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