“The Art of Timing: Planning in a World of Unpredictable Demand”

How to Harmonize Calendar, Stock Flow, and Consumer Behaviour in Today’s Market

Merchandising is often about timing. You’ve heard the age-old mantra: “right product, right place, right time, right depth.”It’s a phrase that’s repeated for a reason—it still holds weight. But in today’s market, where conditions shift rapidly, applying it with precision requires deeper alignment between stock flow, seasonality, and consumer sentiment.

In my experience across fashion retail, I’ve often seen the debate: are we meeting the consumer with what they need, or are we steering them toward what we want them to discover? The answer lies somewhere in between. One constantly informs the other. But the most successful trading moments occur when product availability and consumer mood intersect—when the range reflects what people are ready to buy now.

A Three-Horizon Approach

The strongest merchandising strategies I’ve been part of balance three time horizons:

• Immediate trends (4–6 weeks): Tapping into what’s buzzing now—reactive, fast-moving, and opportunistic.

• Mid-term (3–6 months): Planning the broader shape of the season—ensuring foundational categories are represented in the right weights.

• Flow state: Maintaining a continuous, agile offer that reflects the evolving mindset of your customer and the realities of product movement.

This is where merchandising management comes into play: preparing your locations (channels, categories, or even touchpoints) to reflect the prevailing mood, while setting up the infrastructure to support what's coming next. This means knowing what stock is available, what needs amplifying, and what signals you’re responding to—be it price, category, colour, or customer behavior.

The Art of Curating, Not Just Stocking

The modern customer responds to more than just product. They’re influenced by sentiment—an emotion, a cause, or a feeling. Whether it’s the pull of a niche trend, the appeal of practical innovation (think SPF protection, comfort-led fits, or sustainable design), or a cultural undercurrent gaining traction—these cues matter.

Great merchandisers use both internal feedback (sell-through, CRM, store intel) and external insight (global trend movements, local shifts, social triggers) to curate an assortment that feels alive.

You’re not just stocking a shelf—you’re composing an edit that reflects a moment in time. When done right, it’s a blend of logic and intuition, data and gut, art and science. It’s not just product—it’s storytelling through stock.

And the truth is, no two assortments can ever be the same again. Even with the same framework or process, the context changes. And that’s what makes this job both challenging and deeply creative.

How does your business balance short-term agility with long-term planning? I’d love to hear how you approach the three horizons in your own work—share your thoughts in the comments or contact us to discuss.