While economic indicators and stock-market activity point to signs of improvement for the industry, retailers should still brace for a modest and unpredictable recovery in 2010, according to Wayne Usie, senior vice president, retail, JDA Software. Speaking at the National Retail Federation conference, Usie noted that retailers reported impressive Black Friday and Cyber Monday numbers; with 195 million shoppers visiting stores and web sites over Black Friday weekend and approximately 96.5 million logging on during Cyber Monday. But despite these promising numbers, average spending per person still dropped $30 from a year ago.

"With this smaller pool of consumer-spending dollars, retailers that can adjust their supply chain and merchandising operations to accurately meet consumer demand can rise above the competition," Usie said.

JDA Software has outlined several critical strategies for retailers to navigate the long-lasting impact of the recession, respond to opportunities associated with the current recovery and lay the foundation for future growth. These are: Focus on demand by integrating time-phased demand planning practices into merchandising processes; implement localized assortment planning; adopt localized pricing; and apply localized space allocation strategies. Details of these strategies are outlined here: http://www.jda.com/company/press-release-details.html?ID=1932.

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