Smart strategies for retail success in 2025: Turning challenges into opportunities

It’s no secret that 2025 has been a slow start for the retail and wholesale industries. As consumers become more mindful of their spending, many brands and retailers are facing an uncertain market—often with surplus stock. In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at the current retail landscape and share practical strategies to help you navigate this challenging period while maximizing your sales potential.

A challenging start to the year: slow sales impacting wholesale

The start of 2025 has been challenging for retailers across Europe, with reports indicating slower-than-expected sales growth. In Belgium, retailers faced disappointing results during the January ‘Solden’ season (Brussels Times), reflecting a cautious consumer mindset. Similarly, in the Netherlands, FashionUnited reported that retail growth has hit its lowest point in a decade. In Germany, shifting consumer behavior was evident, with Reuters highlighting a 1.6% decline in retail sales in December. Meanwhile, in France, while many consumers participated in the winter sales, overall spending power remains under pressure (Oney).

This slowdown in consumer sales has had a ripple effect on the wholesale sector, as retailers hold off on restocking due to excess inventory and tighter budgets. Many small retailers are proceeding cautiously, prioritizing cash flow and strategic purchasing over bulk restocking. This shift in purchasing behavior has led wholesalers and brands to rethink their strategies, offering more flexible order minimums, volume discounts, and tailored product assortments to accommodate retailers' evolving needs. As the market continues to adjust, finding the right balance between inventory investment and financial flexibility is more critical than ever.

How retailers can navigate these challenges

While the current climate presents challenges, there are plenty of opportunities for both retailers and brands to adapt. The key to success in this start of the year will be making smart buying decisions, optimizing stock, and securing competitive pricing - but how this is achieved differs for retailers and brands. 

1. Smarter stocking: finding balance between relevant inventory and financial stability

In this year marked with economic uncertainty, retailers are facing the challenge of balancing fresh and relevant inventory with ensuring a stable cash flow. To navigate this challenge, smarter stocking can be implemented by keeping inventory lean and targeted. This strategy helps retailers avoid overstocking and reduce financial risks.

Tips for smarter stocking:

• Smaller, targeted restocks: Instead of large bulk purchases, retailers should focus on targeted, smaller restocks. This strategy helps maintain a relevant inventory mix while minimizing excess stock that could go unsold. Using the ‘Low Order Minimum’ filter on the Marketplace allows retailers to place smaller, more frequent and cost-efficient orders from a wide range of brands.
• Monitor seasonal trends: Anticipating seasonal demand is crucial. Retailers can improve stocking efficiency by aligning purchases with seasonal spikes and events, ensuring that the most popular products are available when customers want them. For example, by stocking up 2-3 months ahead for popular holidays like Easter, retailers can ensure that they have relevant inventory on their shelves in time for the seasonal demand.
• Leverage Orderchamp’s filters: By shopping on Orderchamp’s Marketplace, retailers can filter options to search for products and brands that are on trend, with low order minimums and at the guaranteed best price.

2. Local sourcing: reduce costs and improve delivery times

Local sourcing is a great way for retailers to mitigate the supply chain challenges such as delays and rising costs. Buying products from local suppliers not only helps cut down on shipping costs but also ensures quicker deliveries, which is vital in keeping shelves stocked with in-demand products.

Tips for local sourcing:

• Prioritize local suppliers: Retailers can reduce shipping fees and cut delivery times by choosing local suppliers, keeping their supply chain agile and cost-efficient.
• Support sustainable products: Consumers are increasingly interested in locally sourced and sustainable products, making local sourcing a win-win for both the retailer and their customers.
• Orderchamp’s local supplier network: Orderchamp connects retailers with local European suppliers, allowing them to source quickly and cost-effectively. Retailers can filter suppliers by “Brand Location” and “Time To Ship”, which helps optimize delivery times and reduce shipping costs.

3. Low order minimums: maintain cash flow and minimize risk

Retailers should focus on maintaining financial flexibility without tying up capital in unsold inventory. Opting for suppliers that offer low order minimums allows retailers to purchase only what they need, mitigating the risk of excess stock.

Tips for low order minimums:

• Test products in smaller quantities: Retailers can experiment with new products without committing to large quantities, ensuring that only high-demand items are stocked.
• Manage budgets more effectively: By ordering smaller quantities, retailers can manage cash flow without the risk of over-investing in stock that may not sell.
• Orderchamp’s low minimums: Orderchamp allows retailers to place smaller orders with low minimums, offering them the freedom to manage their budgets while keeping their inventory well-stocked. Retailers can also explore products with no minimums to further reduce risk.

4. Prioritize bestsellers: reduce risk with proven products

Focusing on bestselling products is an effective way for retailers to reduce risk, particularly in uncertain times. Bestsellers are known to drive consistent sales, ensuring a stable revenue stream.

Tips for prioritizing bestsellers:

• Monitor sales performance: Retailers should regularly analyze their sales data to identify products that consistently sell well. Replenishing these items ensures that their customers’ needs are always met.
• Stock high-demand items: By keeping a steady supply of bestselling products, retailers reduce the risk of stockouts and ensure customers always find what they’re looking for.
• Orderchamp’s bestseller filters: Orderchamp’s Marketplace helps retailers easily identify best selling products across different categories. This feature ensures that retailers can prioritize bestsellers while keeping their inventory relevant and in demand.

5. Leverage discounts and promotions to stay competitive

In an increasingly competitive retail environment, strategic discounts and promotions can help retailers attract more customers and boost sales without cutting into profits too deeply.

Tips for leveraging discounts and promotions:

• Run time-sensitive promotions: Offering flash sales or seasonal discounts helps create urgency and encourages immediate purchases, driving higher conversion rates.
• Bundle products for larger sales: Offering volume discounts or product bundles can encourage customers to purchase more, increasing the average order value.
• Competitive pricing with Orderchamp: Orderchamp offers retailers bulk discounts, exclusive offers, and a best price guarantee that allows them to secure products at competitive rates, which they can pass on to customers through discounts or promotions.

6. Strengthen supplier relationships: secure better terms and consistency

Building strong, long-term relationships with suppliers is essential for ensuring a steady supply of goods and favorable purchasing terms.

Tips to strengthen supplier relationships:

• Cultivate trust with suppliers: Retailers should engage in open communication and honor agreed-upon payment terms to establish stronger, more reliable supplier relationships.
• Build loyalty with trusted brands: Retailers can minimize risk and gain better terms by developing long-term relationships with trusted brands.
• Use Orderchamp’s messaging tool: Orderchamp facilitates direct communication with suppliers, allowing retailers to easily negotiate personalized pricing, request bulk discounts, and establish tailored agreements.

For brands: adapting to new buying behavior 

Brands must rethink their approach to wholesale by aligning with retailers’ cautious purchasing behavior. Some points to consider include:

1. Offer flexible order minimums to accommodate retailers with limited budgets

In an era of cautious spending, retailers are tightening their budgets and purchasing smaller quantities of inventory. For brands, offering flexible order minimums is key to maintaining strong wholesale relationships. By reducing the barrier to purchase, you allow retailers to stock up without overcommitting financially, ensuring they can replenish their shelves more frequently with high-demand products. This flexibility allows brands to cater to different retailer sizes and budgets while boosting repeat business.

Tips for brands:

• Lower minimum order quantities to accommodate smaller (long-tail) retailers and those with cash flow constraints. This approach helps retailers manage their stock levels without accumulating excess inventory.
• Implement tiered pricing based on volume, offering discounts for larger orders while still accommodating smaller orders at competitive rates.

2. Provide volume-based discounts to incentivize larger purchases while remaining affordable

With tighter budgets, retailers are often seeking ways to maximize the impact of their purchasing decisions. Offering volume-based discounts can incentivize them to place larger orders, which benefits both the retailer and the brand. This strategy not only rewards bulk purchases but also strengthens loyalty, as retailers feel they are getting more value for their money.

Tips for brands:

• Introduce bulk pricing tiers that offer significant discounts as order volume increases. This encourages retailers to purchase in larger quantities, increasing your average order value while also making the products more affordable to your customers.
• Ensure your pricing remains competitive by monitoring the market and adjusting discounts based on demand, seasonality, and market trends.

3. Curate smaller, high-margin product assortments to match retailer demand for proven bestsellers

Retailers are increasingly focused on curating smaller, high-margin product assortments to drive profitability while minimizing financial risk. By focusing on proven bestsellers, brands can offer retailers a more predictable inventory strategy that meets customer demand without overextending their resources.

Tips for brands:

• Analyze sales data to identify your top-selling, high-margin products and tailor your product offerings around these proven winners. This ensures that retailers are stocking the products that will likely turn the highest profit.
• Offer smaller, curated collections rather than large, diverse assortments. By concentrating on fewer, more impactful products, you provide retailers with inventory that is easier to manage and more likely to sell through quickly. You can achieve breadth of inventory whilst still maintaining focused curations through different product collections that serve specific needs, seasons or retail categories.

4. Strengthen relationships through personalized communication and tailored offerings

Retailers are looking for more than just a transaction—they want personalized service and tailored offerings that meet their unique needs. By strengthening relationships through personalized communication, brands can create deeper loyalty and foster long-term partnerships. This can be achieved by understanding the specific challenges faced by each retailer and offering solutions that help them succeed.

Tips for brands:

• Regularly communicate with your retail partners to understand their specific needs, seasonal requirements, and market trends. Use this information to tailor your offerings and provide personalized solutions.
• Set up dedicated account managers or customer service teams to provide retailers with exclusive offers, priority support, and custom solutions that address their needs. A simple way to achieve this is with AI-powered chats that can help you provide accessible customer support without needing to expand your team.
  

5. Set up customer-specific pricing to reward loyal customers with targeted discounts

Loyalty is crucial in today’s competitive wholesale market. By offering customer-specific pricing, brands can incentivize repeat business and reward long-term partners. Tailored discounts based on purchase history or volume ensure that retailers feel valued, leading to stronger partnerships and higher retention rates.

Tips for brands:

• Implement customer-specific pricing strategies that offer discounts based on purchase volume, order frequency, or years of partnership. This encourages retailers to continue purchasing from your brand while feeling rewarded for their loyalty.
• Use targeted promotions to help retailers restock high-demand products, ensuring they have the inventory they need to drive sales.

While the Orderchamp Digital Fair offers brands a great opportunity to present their products to retailers in an appealing way, success in 2025 will require more than just offering discounts. It will take smart planning, adaptability, and the right tools to navigate an ever-changing market. Retailers will seek brand partners that can work with them to meet the challenges facing their business, and brands will need to have the right tools to provide this flexibility. By partnering with Orderchamp, brands can leverage Orderchamp’s B2B features to offer their retailers with buy now, pay later payment options, customer-specific pricing, bulk discounts, lower reorder minimums and more. We believe that these value-added services are what will truly set brands apart and attract retailers that are looking for a win-win situation: being able to refresh their inventory whilst remaining cash flow positive.

Turning challenges into opportunities

While the start of 2025 has been tough for both retailers and brands, it also presents an opportunity to rethink strategies and embrace smarter, more flexible ways of doing business. Retailers who focus on targeted restocks, bestsellers, and cost-effective sourcing will be in a stronger position to maintain steady cash flow while keeping their collections fresh. Meanwhile, brands that adapt to evolving buying behaviors with flexible order minimums, competitive pricing, and personalized offerings will be better equipped to maintain strong wholesale relationships and drive sales.

At Orderchamp, we’re committed to supporting retailers and brands through these shifts. Whether you’re looking to secure the best deals at the Digital Fair or optimize your wholesale strategy for the months ahead, now is the time to take action. With the right approach, 2025 can still be a year of growth and opportunity—even in a changing retail landscape. Discover the Marketplace today and explore exclusive discounts, curated collections, and smarter wholesale solutions to set your business up for success in 2025.