Data Wrangling: Final Project
Matt Satterfield
2025-02-17
Increasing Sales On Low-Volume Days
One of the biggest challenges in retail, regardless of retail type, is driving mid-week sales. Aggregated retail sales statistics show relatively low midweek sales when compared to weekend sales, particularly Tuesday through Thursday. \({^1}\)
We can address this problem by determining the following:
- Determine if Regork experiences low midweek sales similar to industry trends
- Determine which demographic best able to drive further sales by:
- Ascertaining which demographic is most likely to use promotions
- Building mid-week promotions around products most likely to drive purchases within that demographic
This analysis accomplishes that by verifying slumping midweek sales, showing which target demographic is most likely to take advantage of promotions, and building midweek promotions around the products that that demographic consumes the most.
Regork sees similar patterns in lagging midweek sales (see Figure 1). The challenge is in determining how to drive midweek sales. This analysis derives strategies to drive midweek sales by setting up a win-win scenario that benefits both customers and the Regork company.
Figure 1
A key driver of traffic is promotions.\({^2}\) An effective strategy is:
- Determining which demographic is most likely to take advantage of promotions
- Observing key products that drive that demographic’s sales
- Attaching promotions to that demographic for those products
Figure 2
Figure 2 shows the demographics most likely to make purchases using coupons are customers in the age groups of 35 to 54. Looking at what this subset is likely to purchase can give insight into what products to build midweek promotions around in order to drive sales on those days.
Below is a chart that shows products with highest sales volumes for those within the demographic most likely to be driven by promotional sales.
This graph shows that the three of the products most likely to be purchased within this demographic are:
- Gasoline/Fuel
- Milk (White)
- Soft Drinks
Regork’s marketing team has valuable insight into promotion building. My recommendation is some variant of a “Fuel Your Body, Fuel Your Car” or “Fill the Tank” campaign, in which extra fuel points are offered to customers who purchase milk, soft drinks, or a combination of these on Tuesday through Thursday.
Examples of such promotions are listed below.
Assumptions:
- The average SUV has a 20-24 gallon tank\({^3}\), so the hypothetical promo scenarios below are based on a 22 gallon fuel purchase
- The tables below are based on current non-sale pricing:
- Gallon of milk @ $2.79
- 12-pack of soda @ $10.99
| Purchase | Purchase_Price | Adtl_Fuel_Points | Cost | Cost_Pct_of_Purchase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Gallons Milk | 5.58 | 25 | $0.55 | 9.9% |
| 1 12-Pack Soda | 10.99 | 25 | $0.55 | 5.0% |
| Purchase | Purchase_Price | Adtl_Fuel_Points | Cost | Cost_Pct_of_Purchase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Gallon Milk | $5.58 | 16 | $0.352 | 6.3% |
| 1 12-Pack Soda | $10.99 | 32 | $0.704 | 6.4% |
Note that the second promotion would be more flexible, offering customers a larger discount for large purchase, but not excluding customers who make smaller purchases.
Building a promotion around these findings would, in traditional Regork fashion, create a win-win scenario, in that it would:
- Drive mid-week sales, creating a win for Regork
- Offer discounts to customers most likely to be incented, creating a win for shoppers
- Drive customer loyalty through special offers\({^4}\)
A pilot program is recommended to gauge effectiveness, after which a long-term offer can be implemented, assuming promotion effectiveness.
\({^2}\)https://center.ai/blog/drive-to-store-marketing-strategies/#:~:text=4.,seasonal%20sales%20or%20special%20events
\({^3}\)https://millsequipment.com/blogs/blogs/understanding-average-fuel-tank-size-what-you-need-to-know
\({^4}\)https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1075&context=hsbe_etd