Navigating Seasonal Demand Challenges

Katie Buczek is the Director of Sales for Amazon and Ecommerce at Totes Isotoner, a retailer selling umbrellas and rain gear that was acquired by Randa Apparel & Accessories in 2024. She is also a member of the Digital Shelf Institute and the Women in Retail Leadership Circle. Before Totes, Katie managed independent sales teams at Alpargatas and drove significant sales increases at David Donahue, Inc.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
• [0:00] Intro
• [1:19] Katie Buczek talks about Totes Isotoner, how she joined the brand, and her favorite part about her role
• [3:52] How Totes Isotoner manages its seasonal sales patterns
• [7:05] The challenges of navigating competition in the retail space
• [8:52] Balancing wholesale, DTC, and Amazon sales
• [10:08] How to drive demand for seasonal products
• [16:28] Totes Isotoner’s data analysis strategies
• [20:03] Why budding ecommerce marketing leaders must be tenacious and humble

In this episode…
In today’s fast-paced ecommerce landscape, brands must consider consumer behavior, seasonal demands, and fierce competition. How can you strategize growth while balancing these factors?

As a sales leader for a retail brand’s ecommerce channels, Katie Buczek must generate demand for weather-dependent products. She accomplishes this by monitoring consumer purchasing trends and leveraging data-driven insights for advertising campaigns. Promoting similar products across categories can also drive sales during off-season periods. With so much competition on Amazon, Katie leverages seasonal promotions to capture consumers’ attention and drive them to product listings.

In this week’s episode of Ecom Experiences, Samir Balwani hosts Katie Buczek, the Director of Sales for Amazon and Ecommerce at Totes Isotoner, to talk about scaling product demand among the competition. Katie discusses the brand’s data analytics strategies, how she balances wholesale, Amazon, and DTC sales, and the role of influencer partnerships in driving demand.

Resources mentioned in this episode:
Katie Buczek on LinkedIn -   / katie-parent-buczek-18609122  
Totes Isotoner - https://www.totes.com/