As retail market transforms into an extensively revenue driven entity, the need to optimize on market place openings while fulfilling customer prospects has never been more important. The fight between offline and online segment of retail keeps on getting intense as brick-and-mortar retail looks to be in revival mode with online sellers steer clear of deep discounts to bulk up finances. Aided by the power of a competitive market, offline retail is gearing up for a round two with strong discount packages and experiential marketing strategy. While earlier, the advent of Flipkart and Amazon has ushered a boom in online sales, malls and retail stores had noted a slump in revenue scale which led to a dearth in the reputation management and customer satisfaction. Yet, retailers quickly upped their marketing plans through making an ally of the formidable adversary-technology.
The increased implementation of technology within the retail sphere is influential in how consumers intermingle with brands. Having technology dramatically altering the retail landscape, consumers, today, have grown to be progressively savvy at assimilating and channelizing their shopping experiences for further purchases. Wise retailers understand the importance of deciphering shoppers’ behaviour- it is instrumental for a hike in revenue and visibility, leading to unified success. Also, retailers are utilizing the power of social media- sending out target specific messaging/ campaigns to woo their customers, through creating an exclusive, personalized experience, unmatched by competitors. With time, technology has grabbed the flagging offline retail by its collars and hoisted it up to such a level that online retailers are incurring massive losses trying to compete with the offline. The round two has been won by brick-and-mortar retail and likely so.
Here are two factors that are affecting the rise:
Hyperlocal
Retailers of all size are recognizing the role of specialization. To win in the stringent brick and mortar game requires local specialization of everything from product offerings to store and service design. When it comes to generic products, customers can easily go online, with the variety of products at their disposal. In the past, people would go to a major retailer in a new town because they knew what it would carry. Now people expect to be surprised and delighted when they walk in, creating a space for innovation to occur. They expect to find something they rarely get to experience in their online shopping efforts. Hence, the rise of hyper local stores, that cater to geographical customization.
Omnichannel
The path to purchase has taken a further complex turn, amid the ever-burgeoning growth of online and mobile shopping. This makes inventory accuracy, which is foundational in retail, an imperative part of sales strategy, as products from both brick-and-mortar and digital channels flow through the pipeline. Retailers are swiftly implementing technology solutions to amplify merchandise visibility throughout, from the moment inventory is shipped from the warehouse and received in a store’s back room to when it’s stocked and replenished on the sales floor. A survey states that out-of-stock merchandise is the focal reason of customer dissatisfaction today. Incidentally, the same “out-of-stock” product is available for lesser price at another retail store. Thus, retailers are feeling the pressure to achieve omnichannel proficiency more acutely, believing the integration of physical and digital selling channels to be essential in the entire ecosystem .This rise of “ onmnichannel” is providing retailers with touch bases to lure in consumers through the purchase cycle, leading to repeated consumption.
Conclusion
With these two progressive practices, retail is set to usher in a sea of revolution for its members to capitalize on.
The increased implementation of technology within the retail sphere is influential in how consumers intermingle with brands
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