Demand is harder to predict than ever. A warm winter can leave technical outerwear sitting on racks. A viral social media post can turn a niche product into a bestseller overnight. Trends surface and fade in a matter of weeks and inventory risk is high.
For independent retailers especially, the cost of getting it wrong is significant. Too much inventory ties up cash and leads to steep markdowns. Too little inventory results in missed sales and frustrated customers. As a result, many are rethinking not just what they buy, but how they buy— and from whom.
1. Moving beyond seasonal buying
Historically, wholesale relationships revolved around seasonal purchase orders. Retailers forecasted demand months in advance, brands fulfilled those orders, and both sides kind of just crossed their fingers. In today’s volatile operating environment, that approach is becoming impossible to sustain.
High operating costs, carrying costs and margin pressures have made deadstock more expensive than ever. In response, many retailers are buying more cautiously, ordering smaller initial batches and relying on agile supply chains and responsive suppliers to replenish popular items mid-season.
2. Sharing data instead of operating in silos
One of the most impactful levers for increasing sell-through today is shared, real-time visibility between retailers and brands.
Many retailers use sales and inventory data from their point of sale (POS) to identify top sellers and stay ahead of demand. Now, they increasingly want access to supplier data to make better buying decisions throughout the season, including inventory availability, replenishment timelines and broader market trends.
At the same time, brands are looking for deeper insight into what’s happening at the point of sale. Access to sell-through, inventory levels and customer demand signals helps brands make better decisions about production, replenishment and inventory allocation throughout the season. According to the 2026 NuORDER B2B eCommerce Report, a whopping 89% of brands reported using sell-through data to actively guide wholesale decisions and execution.
3. Choosing wholesale partners differently
Fragmented wholesale processes weren’t built to keep up with modern retail. Buyers often have to jump between vendor portals, manually reconcile orders, chase confirmations and manage inconsistent product information across brands. Tasks that should take minutes often end up taking hours.
At the same time, customer expectations have never been higher. Retailers have no time to waste on inefficient wholesale workflows, which explains why ~66% of retailers say they have either optimized (~28%), are currently optimizing (~27%) or consider optimizing their wholesale workflows a high priority (~11%), per a recent Lightspeed survey*.
As part of this optimization strategy, many retailers are becoming more selective about the brands they work with. Great products still matter, but many are prioritizing suppliers who also offer:
- real-time inventory visibility;
- fast in-season replenishment;
- reliable performance data; and
- frictionless ordering workflows.
The retailers performing best aren’t just buying better — they’re partnering better, prioritizing transparency, responsiveness and collaboration.
The future of retail is collaborative
Retailers can’t control the weather, consumer sentiment or the next trend cycle. What they can control is how quickly they respond. The retailers best positioned to protect margins are building more flexible inventory strategies, leveraging better data and working more closely with suppliers to improve forecasting and adapt while demand is still building — not after it has passed.
Explore more wholesale insights
Download the complete guide: “The Death of Disconnected Wholesale (and What’s Taking its Place).” Learn what’s replacing large pre-book orders, static assortments and slow replenishment cycles in wholesale — and why it matters for retail.
*Methodology: Lightspeed conducted a survey of its global retail customer base between August 20 and October 6, 2025. A total of 3,289 respondents participated in the study.
