Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) Practice Exam

What effect do promotions have on seasonality?

1. They eliminate seasonality

2. They resemble or reinforce seasonal patterns

3. They create longer-term cycles

4. They lead to random variations

The correct answer is: They resemble or reinforce seasonal patterns

Promotions can significantly influence consumer behavior in ways that align with existing seasonal patterns. By strategically timing promotions to coincide with peak seasons, businesses can enhance demand during times when consumers are already predisposed to purchase specific products. For instance, retailers often offer discounts and special promotions during holiday seasons or back-to-school periods, which can amplify the seasonal buying trends. In this context, promotions serve to reinforce the seasonal patterns rather than eliminate them or create entirely new cycles. When promotions are aligned with a season, they act as catalysts that enhance the natural fluctuations in demand that occur during these periods, leading to increased sales that follow the expected seasonal trends. This is why the correct understanding of the relationship between promotions and seasonality indicates that promotions resemble or reinforce seasonal patterns. In contrast, while some answer choices suggest that promotions might eliminate seasonality or create longer-term cycles, this does not align with the typical outcome observed in supply chain dynamics. Promotions do not fundamentally change the underlying seasonal demand; instead, they enhance it. Similarly, while promotions can lead to fluctuations in sales that might appear random, they do not produce random variations in the long-term view as they are often timed purposefully to correspond with consumer behavior trends.