For many Walmart suppliers, seasonality is something to manage carefully — especially in categories where demand rises and falls predictably throughout the year. One dry grocery supplier partnered with 8th & Walton through PathFinders Silver to rethink how seasonality could become a growth opportunity rather than a constraint.
Working with Terry Clear, Director of Replenishment and Sales Insights at 8th & Walton, the supplier shifted from a static, once-a-year mod mindset to a more dynamic, seasonal strategy that helped drive incremental sales and bring new customers into the category.
The Challenge: Strong Seasonality, Limited Flexibility
The supplier manages 36 items across roughly 93,700 points of distribution in a dry grocery category with pronounced fall and winter seasonality. Historically, the sales curve closely mirrored temperature trends — demand increased as temperatures dropped and declined during warmer months.
While this pattern was well understood, it created a consistent sales trough in spring and summer, limiting year-round growth and leaving shelf space underutilized during part of the year.
The challenge wasn’t just forecasting demand — it was finding a way to adapt the assortment without disrupting Walmart’s broader category strategy or introducing execution risk.
The Silver-Level Approach: Proactive Planning and Opportunity Identification
At the PathFinders Silver level, Terry’s role went beyond addressing known issues. Together with the supplier, he proactively evaluated the category’s sales profile and identified an opportunity to introduce additive items designed specifically for the seasonal trough.
Importantly, Walmart was only open to this approach because the supplier had already demonstrated strong supply chain performance. Their ability to execute reliably on existing business gave Walmart confidence to support a more dynamic, seasonal assortment strategy.
As Terry notes, Walmart is unlikely to take this kind of risk with suppliers who are still struggling to execute consistently. Strong fundamentals created the opportunity for innovation.
The strategy involved:
- Developing items that performed well during warmer months
- Working with Walmart to introduce these items in spring and summer
- Planning for those same items to be pulled out during fall and winter, when core items naturally regained momentum
This approach created a seasonally rotating assortment, rather than relying on a single annual mod reset.
Execution: Moving Beyond an Annual Mod Mindset
As part of the strategy, a portion of the supplier’s assortment became seasonally available, with items rotating in and out on a quarterly cadence.
This shift delivered several benefits:
- Shelf space stayed fresh and relevant year-round
- The assortment evolved with customer needs, rather than remaining static
- Inventory planning aligned more closely with actual demand patterns
To support the transition, the supplier also increased marketing efforts to build customer awareness around the new seasonal items, ensuring shoppers understood the expanded offering during non-peak periods.
Want to turn seasonal shifts into Walmart growth?
If your business hits a spring or summer slowdown, PathFinders Silver can help you plan smarter, evolve your assortment, and drive incremental sales.
Fill out the form below to start a free conversation with our team.
The Impact: Incremental Growth and Category Expansion
The results were meaningful:
- Sales increased for the supplier
- New customers were introduced to the category
- The category benefitted from incremental demand, rather than simple item replacement
By aligning assortment strategy with seasonality — instead of fighting it — the supplier was able to smooth performance across the year and create growth where there had previously been decline.
Why This Matters for Walmart Suppliers
This engagement reflects the core value of PathFinders Silver:
- Proactive identification of opportunities suppliers may not see on their own
- Strategic planning that connects data, seasonality, and execution
- Guidance that helps suppliers work more effectively with Walmart to evolve assortments over time
Rather than reacting to seasonal swings, this supplier now has a repeatable approach for using them to their advantage.
Looking Ahead
By moving beyond a once-a-year mod reset and embracing a more dynamic assortment strategy, the supplier strengthened both their performance and their partnership with Walmart. It’s a reminder that growth doesn’t always come from adding more items — sometimes it comes from adding the right items at the right time.
If your team is navigating seasonal demand shifts, assortment changes, or inventory planning challenges, PathFinders Silver can help uncover opportunities that lead to smarter, more sustainable growth.
Ready to Rethink Your Walmart Strategy?
PathFinders Silver helps suppliers solve real problems and uncover new growth opportunities.
Fill out the form below to start a free conversation with our team.
