Retail management

Unit-4
Managing Retail Business:- Follow these 5 tips to manage your retail operations,
attract new customers, gain repeat business, control inventory, and keep your
staff motivated.
1-Keep the Interest Alive:- Creating a happy customer that is loyal to your brand
requires engagement. A simple way to stay top-of-mind is to implement a
customer loyalty program using a tool like Referral Candy (very easy set up – they
also offer free trial so you can see if it’s a fit for your retail operations).
2-Pay Attention to Your Customers:- This is extremely important in retail
operations: always attend to every customer’s needs and give them amazing
customer service. Increasing your customer satisfaction even by a little bit can
result in loyal customers that keep buying from you constantly.
3- Keep Your Staff Up-To-Date and Motivated:- Make sure that your staff has
good product knowledge. Train them on new products regularly so they stay up-
to-date. Reward them with sales incentives to keep them happy and motivated.
For example, you can run sales contests for achieving 75% of quota within the
first 15 days of the month – the winner gets a gift card.
4-Catch Your Customer’s Eye:- Display your products in such a way that customers
will locate them easily. Stock them in a logical manner (by section) so that
products are easy to see. Also, make sure that the packaging and boxes are
cleaned regularly. Your retail store should always be neat and tidy. Nothing turns
customers off quicker than dirt and clutter.
5- Sell Off Slow-Moving Stock:- Give a special discount on slow moving items, or
pair them with fast moving products to clear out old inventory. Getting less for a
slow moving product is better than getting nothing at all, which could happen if
the item becomes too old or goes past its expiration date. This can also help you
improve your gross margin.
Retail organization & HRM:- Objectives of HRM in Retailing
The HRM objectives in a retail organization serve as standards against which
performance is evaluated. If objectives are well defined and accepted by
employees, these promote harmony among human efforts and invite voluntary
co-operation.
The pace with which new and new corporate are entering into the retail industry,
a retail organization may have to structure and assign tasks, policies and
resources in order to meet this fast changing requirements of the target market,
management administration and employees. Due to high attrition rate and
increased demand for skilled employees, retail organizations have prioritized
retention policies and growth of its employees within the organization.
HRM in retailing has four specific objectives to perform.
1-Societal Objectives:- Retailing is all about selling goods or services or both to
consumers for their personal or family use. Retailing is perhaps the only sector
where the owner of the business has direct interaction with its customers.
Further, retailers in a society are the final businessmen in any distribution channel
that links manufacturers to end consumers.
2-Personal Objectives:- When an employee joins an organization, he does not
come alone. He brings with himself experience, attitude, skill, knowledge,
personality and he tries his level best to take the organization to zenith. He seeks
the organization for realization of his personal growth. If the organization requires
employees for fulfillment of organization objectives, it becomes important for an
organization to help its employees to grow further and achieve their personal
goals.
3-Functional Objective:- Retailing is termed as hard & rigorous business. The store
employees stand on their feet from eight to nine hours in a day. The job of sales
people in the retail outlet is physically demanding and expressively draining.
Functional objectives help an organization to support and enhance the role of its
employees within the organization through provision of information, advice,
facilities and training.
4-Organizational Objectives:- Organizational objectives identify the job of HRM in
bringing about organizational overall effectiveness. It involves HR planning,
maintaining good relations with employees, selection, training & development,
appraisal and assessment. HRM assists the organization to achieve its primary
objectives.
Functions:
1-Identifying the various roles in the organization:- The first step starts with the
identification of the various tasks or jobs that need to be performed in the
organization. This helps in determining the number of people required from
various jobs, the skill sets and educational background needed and the location,
where they are doing to be based depending on the organization structure
defined and the size of the retail operation.
Key tasks in a typical retail organization involve:
• Buying and merchandising
• Store management and operations, and
• Technology support.
2-Recruitment and Selection:- After determining the tasks to be performed within
the organization, the jobs need to be categorized on the basis of the functional or
geographic needs. The aim of the recruitment process is to make available job
applicants for specified job/s. Common ways of recruitment include newspaper
advertisements, visits to colleges, existing employees, references, recruitment
agencies and even websites. Many organizations create an application blank,
which has to be filled in by the applicant and gives the details of education, work,
hobbies and family background. It helps the organization obtain information
about the applicant in standard and structured manner. Once the applications are
received, they are screened on the basis of parameters that are important to the
retailer. This serves as the primary basis for acceptance or rejection of the
candidate.
3-Training:- Training is an important aspect of human resource management in
retail. Typically, in retail training needs arise at the following points:
• Induction new persons / staff into the organization
• Training of sales staff, as they are the persons who are in direct contact
with the customers.
• Training of staff / personnel for skill enhancements.
Retail organization & operation management:- Retail operations management
refers to the task of managing retailing & logistics and finding out ways to control
costs in order to transfer items from the hands of the producers to the customers.
The individual concerned with retail operations management is a retail operations
manager.
Retail operations is a functional term that encompasses all the retailing activities
physical storefronts, chains, and e-commerce sites depend upon to operate
successfully.
Function of retail operation management:-
1-Staffing:- While online sales have certainly changed the landscape of retail,
more and more customers are returning to brick-and-mortar stores for personal
and hands-on shopping experiences. This trend is sure to be on the rise as the
world emerges from the global pandemic that kept us all on lockdown for far too
long.
2-Inventory Management:- You can’t sell products that aren’t on store shelves or
strategically positioned to fulfil your customers online orders. That’s why another
core function of retail operations is managing and tracking inventory – the flow of
products from the wholesaler or manufacturer to individual stores and retail
outlets for purchase by end users.
3-Customer Service:- If your customers aren’t satisfied, they won’t be your
customers for long. Yet, many brands and retailers are learning that managing
and meeting customer expectations in today’s instant gratification world is
getting harder and harder. What are today’s big service challenges from a retail
operations management perspective? First and foremost, it’s finding ways to
meet customers on their terms
4-Visual Merchandising:- Another aspect of retail operations management is
making sure that your in-store displays and aisles look and feel exactly the way
you planned them to look and feel. Store conditions play a tremendous role in
making sales. If products aren’t displayed properly; if pricing is inconsistent; if
store cleanliness isn’t up to par; if shelves are empty because items haven’t made
their way from the backroom, it will negatively impact the customer experience
and, thus, your sales.
Financial Dimensions:- in retail we would have to configure the financial
dimensions in Retail Store or Payment Methods of retail store. This will help user
to identify the posting routine with details of the transaction. If financial
dimensions are not mapped then posting will happen but it will be posted as
entry without dimensions as below images.
Managing Retail Services:- Retail management includes all the steps required to
bring the customers into the store and fulfil their buying needs. Retail
management makes shopping a pleasurable experience and ensures the
customers leave the store with a smile. In simpler words, retail management
helps customers shop without any difficulty.
Customer service is fundamental to all retail because it supports customer loyalty
and contributes to the customer’s overall retail experience. However, retailers
must decide what level of service they will provide for their customers:
No service, such as Amazon Go concept stores that do not have associates or
check lanes
Self-service, such as most grocery shopping experiences where the product is
available on-shelf for the shopper’s selection. This goes a step further when
shoppers use the self-checkout and scan the items, process the transaction, and
bag the product themselves.
Full-service
The variety of supporting services, known as the service type, range from self-
service operators that provide few basic services to full-service operators with a
wide range of highly personalized services.
Service characteristics:- Four characteristics of service are;
• Intangibility,
• Inseparability,
• Variability and
• Perishability
1-Intangibility – Services Cannot Be Felt Before Buying.
Services are intangible in nature. It means that services can not be seen, tasted,
felt, heard, or smelled before they are bought. For example, an airline passenger
has only a ticket and the promise of a safe and comfortable journey.
2-Inseparability – Services Are Generated and Consumed Together.
Inseparability is a major characteristic of services. It means that services are
generated and consumed simultaneously and can not be separated from their
providers, whether they are people or mmachines As the customer remains
present as the service is produced, provider- customer interaction is important in
services marketing. The result of services is affected by both the provider and the
customer.
3-Variability – Service Quality Never Stay The Same.
Variability is another important characteristic of services, which means that their
quality may vary greatly, depending on who provides them and when, where, and
how they are provided. For example, the Sheraton hotel has a reputation for
providing better service than others.
4-Perishability – Services Cannot Be Stored.
Services are perishable, which means that services can not be stored for later sale
or use. A ticket for the evening show of a movie can not be used for watching the
night show. The perishability of services has important implications for service
providers. In the case of steady demand, perishability is not a problem.
Retail BBrandin:- As the digital revolution has changed the overall branding and
marketing landscape, it has also impacted the retail industry. With more and
more people investing in e-commerce opportunities and shopping online,
businesses have to adapt to the complex industry. Unlike product branding, retail
branding is a strategy based on a brand concept but transferred into the retail
sector.
When branding applies to the retail space, the point isn’t to sell specific brands
but to market the overall retailer itself. For example, a department store offers a
variety of well-known brands and services that customers could purchase
elsewhere.
Advantages of Retail Branding
No matter the size of the retailer, an effective retail branding strategy can be put
in place. To fully focus your company’s strategy, it is important to know the
advantages and best practices of retail branding.
1-Your brand is on top of global trends: Our world, especially in the age of social
media, is more influenced by outside parties than what’s outside in our backyard.
As the entire digital landscape makes way for new voices, that leads to new
trends. For retailers to stay ahead of the curve, they must pay attention to retail
business models with and within their industry
2-Your brand will understand decision journeys: A fundamental stage of retail
branding is understanding your target audience and their journey. Your brand
needs to establish key points of that journey – which is easier said than done.
Many factors go into this process because not every consumer (depending on
your business mission and product) is the same.
3-Your brand is strategic with personalization: With many choices out there,
especially when it comes to retail brands, it is important for your company to
showcase how you’re better than other competitors. Whether this is through a
unique social media aesthetic or experimenting with a high level of technology,
successful brands and retailers need to provide an experience that is unique to
their offerings. With strong personalization, consumer engagement will remain
consistent for businesses as long as the service meets their needs.
Key Challenges of Retail Branding:-
Your brand has to deal with online and offline expectations: When consumers are
shopping online, they expect different expectations from what they experience
in-store.
1-Your brand needs strategic personalization: While an advantage to an overall
retail branding strategy is having a personalized approach, this can be challenging
for some businesses and retailers breaking into the market. The successful
implementation of a retail branding strategy correlates with the provided retail
experience – your business must think critically about what you offer as a service
and how it stands out.
2-Your brand must be technologically equipped: It is incredibly important for your
business to be experienced in various online channels – consumers are looking for
accessible brand experiences. This is a key expectation of consumers relying on
the online world for a variety of tasks.
Service Quality Perceptions:-
1-Post-purchase behavior:- It is when the customer assesses whether he is
satisfied or dissatisfied with a purchase. Post-purchase behavior is the final stage
in the consumer decision process when the customer assesses whether he is
satisfied or dissatisfied with a purchase. How the customer feels about a purchase
will significantly influence whether he will purchase the product again or consider
other products within the brand repertoire. A customer will also be able to
influence the purchase decision of others because he will likely feel compelled to
share his feelings about the purchase.
2-Digital Surveys:- Digital surveys, also referred to as online questionnaires, are
research tools that ask consumers questions in a virtual environment. These
surveys are a type of Online Research Method (ORM). Many of these ORMs are
related to older research methodologies that have been re-invented and re-
imagined to work with new technologies and the on-the-go conditions of a digital
environment.
Advantages of Digital Surveys
• The administrator has greater flexibility in displaying questions. Questions
can be displayed with check boxes, pull down menus, pop up menus, help
screens, or submenus.
• An online forum allows responses to be received from more subjects and
from anywhere in the world.
• This method is also cheaper to use, because there are fewer costs incurred
from buying paper, printing materials or paying postage.
• Since data is collected into a central database, the time for analysis is
substantially reduced.
• It is easier to correct errors on an online questionnaire, since the
administrator does not have to reprint and redistribute all the
questionnaires.
Disadvantages of Digital Surveys
• Not everyone has access to the Internet, so the response rate is limited.
• Many people are not receptive to completing questionnaires online.
• Studies indicate that the demographic that responds to online
questionnaire invitations are generally younger people.