April 6, 2023
ECR Retail Loss recently published an interview featuring Arzum Akkas, Assistant Professor of Operations & Technology Management, discussing innovations in how retailers sell products that are about to go out of date at discount prices.
In a recent ECR web meeting, two retailers presented their different approaches to using technology in managing markdowns of near-expired items. First, a retailer shared how they had worked with a company called Flash Flood which uses a simultaneous markdown process. This presents a problem, however, surrounding the number of products to put in your own in-store markdown process, versus how many products should be placed in Flash Flood. The difference of this company compared to their competitor, Too Good to Go, is that while one must buy items individually, they are stored in a fridge. Too Good to Go uses a different model which entails the use of bundled items.
As Akkas interviews several retailers, very different answers were heard about their exploration with these apps. Some haven’t investigated it, while others say they’ve piloted but stopped using them. That makes Akkas wonder how retailers evaluate the value of these applications. She states,
“One benefit that I heard through my research is that some retailers are concerned about their freshness image when they do markdowns. These apps like Flash Flood and Too Good to Go, they should overcome this concern as it’s their whole positioning as a company in the market. They provide an environmental solution”.
