What to Expect From the Consumer This Holiday Season
Tis the season for planning?
GXO Logistics (GXO) CEO Malcom Wilson broke down how consumers and retailers alike can get ahead of another busy holiday shopping season.
FULL VIDEO TRANSCRIPT BELOW:
MALCOLM WILSON: I think the consumer is more focused now than ever in terms of quality of service, the kind of consumer experience. What we're seeing right now is I think we're going to have a great peak season. I think peak season will soon be upon us.
Our own teams are planning with our customers for what's going to happen through October, November, December. Our warehouses this year, unlike last year, have got inventory. Those supply chain disruptions that we saw in '21 are largely disappeared. So I think it's going to be a very good holiday season.
KATHERINE ROSS: Well, that's interesting that you say that because we saw from MasterCard and Visa that consumer spending hasn't slowed down despite everything that we've seen. And so you think that we're still going to see robust consumer throughout the Christmas season and whatnot?
WILSON: Based on everything we can see, obviously we're speaking to so many big blue chip organizations that GXO is partnering with, they're are customers. So we have detailed discussions with them about their plans for peak season, what inventories arriving, the expected sales that they're going to make. And normally, these guys are very accurate. So yeah, I'm optimistic about this year's holiday season.
ROSS: With the consumer in mind and also inflation, what advice do you have to both business leaders and consumers?
WILSON: For consumers, I think it's just enjoyed the holiday season. I think it's going to be good. I think there's going to be good availability of different products. I think for business leaders, it's all about planning. Planning will make a big success, making sure that the right capacities are available. Of course, making sure that we've got the right resources.
And for GXO, that's about robotics. It's about technology. But it's also about people. People are at the heart of it. We work hard to make GXO a great place for people to work. And that will ensure that they've got the right resources to make a very successful holiday season.
