Blog Archives - Page 16 of 32

Retail is all about the value and its perceptions

Posted on July 26, 2019March 21, 2022 by admin

Customers are the king and queen in retail and they are valuable to the business. On the flip-side, customers are also seeking value in what is being offered to them. Retail brands across the globe are fiercely pegged against each other in this value game, and the one who offers the best value as perceived the customer will be the clear winner.

Let’s try to understand this better. In this day and age of technology driving the industry towards innovation and disruption, there is no ambiguity anymore in the current and future roadmap for retail businesses to survive and thrive. One thing is clear, the retail brands who standout on their customer experience expectations will taste success. However it is important to understand the customer experience paradigm.

Traditionally, retail was transactional and product focused, but that is no more the case. As the focus of the business pivots on the customer, the customer experience paradigm has undergone a significant shift since the early retail days. This shift has largely been the result of technology enabling customers equipping themselves with more information and decision making power, thus putting them in the driver’s seat who are now calling the shots. Fundamentally, the customer experience is all about the value the customer perceives in two ways – i) their interactions with the retail brands, and ii) the offerings they receive from those brands in terms of products/services. Thus, it all boils down to the value the customer receives from their relationship with the retail business.

For retail brands, the best part is that now they have multiple opportunities to provide perceivable value to their customers. As retail has moved from transaction focused to being more customer centric and other factors have influenced the sector big-time, the shopping journey has evolved. Here is where retail brands can seize their opportunities to establish their value offerings. For example, while the customer is researching, a retail company can provide the necessary information that the customer seeks, even though the customer is not seeking information with the intention of purchase. Another example is where a customer can be offered an additional discount while their product is replaced due to issues in the products they had initially purchased. These are some of the many instances of how retailers can offer value – either qualitative or quantitative. These valued offerings will cement the brand-customer relationships in the long-run and thus prove to be a mutual benefit for both the retail company and the customer.

The Omni-channel Transformation of Retail Businesses at ETP #Futuretail, Malaysia

Posted on July 22, 2019September 14, 2023 by admin

ETP Group, Asia’s leading Omni-channel Retail Software company hosted senior representatives from Malaysia’s leading retail organizations to discuss future challenges and opportunities in an ever-changing retail landscape. The key discussion, “The Omni-channel Transformation of Retail Businesses in Malaysia”, was led by team ETP, including Mr. Naresh Ahuja, Chairman and CEO, Mr. Raj Jagasia, Executive Director, Mr. Pranay Pujara, Consulting Manager – Projects and Mr. Danny Foong, Business Development Manager.

The discussion was part of the ETP #Futuretail 2019 event held at the Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel, recently. Mr. Danny Foong welcomed the ETP #Futuretail guests and Mr. Raj Jagasia shared an overview of ETP’s growing presence in Asia. Mr. Naresh Ahuja then shared insights on the growth of the Malaysian retail industry in the context of Asia Pacific and the transition of traditional retail to modern retail, e-commerce and omni channel retail.

Mr. Raj Jagasia, Executive Director, ETP Group initiated the discussions with an introduction to ETP.

Mr. Naresh Ahuja, Chairman & CEO, ETP Group then shared insights on the performance of retail, e-commerce and omni-channel in Southeast Asia.

Mr. Pranay Pujara, Consulting Manager – Products, ETP Group presented a live demonstration of ETP’s Omni-channel Retail Solutions to establish how ETP can help retailers in Malaysia to overcome the challenges in omni-channel retailing.

Following the live demonstration a panel discussion was held with eminent industry experts. The panel shared their thoughts and opinions about the changes in the buying behavior of Malaysian consumers over the last 3 years, the value of the brand in the mind of the modern day consumers and whether the internet has commoditized brands. The panel exchanged their views on the future of malls and stores in the 3 to 5 years. They also discussed about the digital transformation of retail taking place in Asia in the next 2 to 3 years and whether it will leapfrog the US like the Asian mobile technology did. They highlighted the 3 priorities that retailers should focus on to handle the change in consumer behavior.

ETP will continue to drive the omni-channel transformation of retail businesses across Asia-Pacific, India and the Middle-East.

How retailers can leverage O2O effectively!

Posted on October 30, 2023October 31, 2023 by admin

The O2O concept is not new, rather it has been a buzzword for a few years now but in the last couple of years this concept has started gaining importance. In simple words O2O means online-to-offline where online channels are used to drive customers to the offline stores. The main aspect here however is to make this experience flow between the virtual and the physical channels seamless and impressive.

Below are three ways how retailers can use their existing resources to leverage O2O effectively.

Brick And Mortar Stores:

By treating stores not just as sales channels but also as distribution centers, retailers can leverage their store network to satisfy customer needs by using store level inventory to deliver orders to customers’ homes as well as for click-and collect orders. With these new fulfillment options enabled by the store, consumers can click, collect and return goods as per their convenience. Modern day customers are demanding a better combination of value, convenience and experience and brands who strike the right balance between delivering great product value and offering superior customer experience and convenience will emerge as customer favorites.

Combination Of Channels:

About a few of years ago retailers went about developing websites and mobile applications to expand their presence and some retailers also shifted to an online-only presence without having any offline stores since the trend seemed like the customer was increasingly going ‘digital’. Moreover running and managing brick-and-mortar stores were seen as an expensive and time consuming affair. But the modern day retailers have realized the need to go ‘omni-channel’ i.e. seamlessly integrating both their online and offline channels to enable customers to research, purchase, earn and burn loyalty points, and return, across channels. Brands focusing on getting their omni-channel right will definitely win the customer experience race.

Data Management:

In order to get it right in omni channel retailing, retailers need to manage their customers and inventory across channels. As customers randomly switch between channels while shopping it is imperative for retailers to ensure that the customer demands are satisfied, irrespective of the channel they choose. Here is where data management will help. Having insightful customer data such as past buying patterns and purchasing history, as well as accurate information of the product inventory and stock, and having all this available in near real-time will allow retailers to be proactive towards managing demands across channels effectively and thus mitigating chances of lost sales. Moreover profiling customers will also enable retailers to create and execute targeted promotions and campaigns to spike customers’ interest in the brand and thus boost sales.

Also Read: How Can Retail Leverage The Benefits Of Blockchain

3 Important Differentiators for Retail Brands to Stay Ahead of the Competition

Posted on September 24, 2023September 26, 2023 by Omprasad Devadiga

The retail markets across the globe are becoming increasingly competitive for 2 major reasons. On the one hand technology has disrupted the industry in multiple ways and on the other hand customers shopping behaviors have changed dramatically. Additionally, both these factors are influencing each other to further pose more challenges and create opportunities for retail businesses. In this intensely competitive scenario, retail brands need to differentiate themselves so that they emerge winners.

Below are 3 important factors that can help retail brands differentiate themselves:

Supply chain –

Simply put, getting the customer what they want and where they want it is a serious concerns for most retailers as the complexity of processes and operations increase with the different channels and random ways the customer goes about shopping and ordering products. New omni-channel fulfillment options such as click and collect or BOPIS, endless aisles, reserve online and pick-up in-store, and a few other combinations have emerged over the last couple of years. Moreover, same day delivery, drone delivery, collection from preferred location, anywhere returns, and so on, have also come to the fore lately. Offering these fulfillment options requires retailers to have a solid supply chain system that can reduce the chances of stock-outs, damages and other potential risks. Thus it is important for retailers to focus on the supply chain and use technology to optimize it so that there is a smooth flow of the product from manufacturing to the consumer.

Customer relationship –

As stated earlier, technology has influenced the shopper. Customers today are more informed and demanding than about a decade ago. In addition to that, they are spoilt for choice thanks to the variety in products, different channels of shopping, payment methods and accessibility to information. The customers are on the driving seats and retail brands need to be ready to fulfill the demands of the customer on their terms. This will be possible only if companies keep their customers at the focal point in the business. They will have to build deep and long lasting relationships with the customer and take appropriate efforts to understand and know their customers’ preferences. Using technology to capture and analyze customer related data and with proper customer segmentation and profiling, retailers will be able to design and create tailored offerings to the customers in terms of products and related services.

Marketing and branding –

It is a no brainer that if retailers are not able to get their marketing right, they won’t be able to click. Retail companies are pumping in huge investments and efforts into their marketing and branding strategies and execution. But with so much noise around it is difficult to get noticed. In order to stand out, retail brands must adopt for a unity in diversity approach. Firstly have uniform branding and messaging, secondly identify platforms where their customers are most likely to be and thirdly promoting the brand message across these platforms will help retailers reach the desired audience with higher chance of conversions. Taking this to the next level by designing and creating offers and promotions that are hyper personalized, localized and unique will have customers wanting for more. As customer attention spans are small, retailers need to get their act together and render the maximum impact in a short time.

Also Read: What Retailers Need To Understand About The Omni-Channel Customer Experience

How does ‘CRM Software’ enhance the retail customer experience!

Posted on March 26, 2019May 19, 2023 by admin

ETP Omni-channel CRM solution is integrated with the ETP Omni-channel Store Solution and it connects the business back-end operations with the supply and demand channels. This ensures the customer can peruse, pick, purchase, like, promote, review, search, seek information and provide feedback from anywhere at any time.Using the omni-channel retail CRM software, channel-based promotions can be developed, tracked and modified while capturing valuable customer feedback. It provides seamless visibility with a dedicated OMS engine to optimize customer order fulfilment. Customers are delighted with personalized offers and empowered with multiple retail channels, modes of payment and delivery options which further aid sales frequency.

ETP Omni-channel Retail CRM software integrated with the ETP Omni-channel POS solution ensures improved brand visibility, sustained engagement, easy access to products and cross/up-selling promotions to increase the revenue per customer steadily.

Big Data Trends You Cannot Miss Out On!

Posted on March 15, 2019June 1, 2023 by admin

Big data analytics is on a rising curve with organisations across industries realising the role that it plays in their business growth. The estimated worth of the big data market is all set to witness a substantial increase from US$ 46.34 billion at the end of the year 2018 to US$ 203 billion by 2020. This emphasises on the emergence of big data analytics and the subsequent change in the business landscape.

Let’s discuss the dominant trends in big data analytics :

Rising demand of big data frameworks

The demand for big data frameworks like Hadoop, NoSQL and Spark is expected to increase by about 32.9% annually. A Forrester Report mentions that approximately 60% enterprises are expected to have Hadoop clusters implemented by the end of 2018. This will accelerate big data processing, improving the accuracy of critical business decisions through real-time insights.

Data visualisation-integrated models

Data visualisation and data discovery will come to the forefront. There has been an apparent shift in the concept of data discovery from simply focussing on data analysis to offering deeper business insights. This will in turn empower enterprises to track and closely monitor visual patterns.

Big data analytics in the clouds

The volumes of data in the database of enterprises have been increasing in leaps and bounds. Despite constant efforts from data scientists to break down. Analysing such vast volumes of information has remained a growing challenge. With lack of sufficient manpower to make the best use of these data, it is time to upgrade and digitise their software systems to the clouds to simplify big data processing. This will help in interpreting the unexploited data, also referred to as ‘dark data’.

Streaming Analytics is transforming Big Data Analytics

While cloud software has been gaining popularity since quite a few years. Streaming analytics takes it one step forward by analysing data while it is still being created. This phenomenal big data analytics trend is re-defining the meaning of real-time data analytics. This also eliminates any scope of revisiting or replicating datasets, ensuring zero tolerance for delays in big data processing.

Evidently, the future lies with big data analytics. However, the big question is “What next?”. It will definitely be intriguing to wait and watch how big data analytics unfolds in the coming years and the dynamic role that it will play in interpreting extensive volumes of data.

AI Revolution in Retail and Consumer Products

Posted on February 27, 2019June 1, 2023 by admin

Artificial Intelligence, abbreviated as AI, has been at the centre stage of business innovation since quite a few years now. It shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Instead, going by the recent trends, its adoption is expected to increase manifolds in the next couple of years. The rapidly growing competition in the retail industry requires the players to consistently innovate with their consumer products. They need to improve the efficiency of business processes and improve decision-making – exactly what AI is equipped to help them achieve. This will ensure consumer loyalty and further increase their base, helping them to stay buoyant in the challenging retail market conditions.

A recent report titled “The coming AI revolution in retail and consumer products” conducted by the global IT company, IBM, predicts a bright future for AI-powered innovations. Conducted at the 2019 Big Show, which was hosted by National Retail Federation, the study included participants from 1,900 retail and consumer products from 23 countries.

Let’s take a look at the salient points of the report that was released by IBM’s Business Value.

79% of consumer products and 85% of retail organizations that participated in the survey revealed their plans of integrating AI in their existing better supply chain planning by the year 2021.
Two out of five retailers already use AI, and the number is expected to become double by 2021.
The retailers surveyed believe that AI may push up their annual revenue growth by a significant 10%.
Artificial Intelligence plays an important role in automating demand forecasting and customer engagement.

How Click-and-collect can help boost your retail business (video)

Posted on February 25, 2019June 8, 2022 by admin

Omni channel retailing enables retail brands to expand their presence as it removes the dependence on a single channel and allows the use of multiple channels to interact with their customers as well as sell products. ‘Click-and-collect’ or ‘Buy online pick up in store (BOPIS)’ is a powerful omni-channel fulfillment option that is gaining popularity, globally. The below video illuminates some of its important benefits.

ETP Omni-channel Retail Software Solutions provide you with features such as ‘Click and collect’ enabling you to deliver a unified brand-customer relationship across all channels.

ETP SIS V5.5 (Shop-in Shop) Mobile Solution

Posted on February 21, 2019June 8, 2022 by admin

ETP is delighted to launch the ETP SIS V5.5 (Shop-in Shop) Mobile solution for retailers.

ETP’s Mobile SIS solution helps shop-in-shop/departments store retailers better manage their sales, CRM and inventory on a convenient mobile platform in their SIS/Consignment location within department stores. Retailers can now make their replenishment more efficient to avoid over and under stock situations with online information of sales of sales and receipts from SIS stores. They can receive goods and track inventory movement at SIS stores. It removes the hassle of doing reconciliation with department stores on periodic sales and collection. Built on the technology that supports both Android and iOS, the ETP Mobile SIS solution can be hosted on premise or on the cloud.

Mr. Naresh Ahuja, Chairman & CEO, ETP Group mentioned, ‘’The problem shop-in-shop retail brands have is that they get sales information from the department stores either weekly or monthly and the data may not always be accurate. ETP Mobile SIS is a user-friendly, powerful mobile app which can allow them to record the sales (not actually produce the bill), update the system when they receive goods and also do a stock take.”

What makes luxury retail a challenging business?

Posted on October 27, 2023October 31, 2023 by admin

Luxury products have always been one of the most admired and sought after products. So much so, that consumers of such products take pride in their possessions and are often considered to be of a higher class. They and their products are the ‘talk of the town’ most of the times in social gatherings and people like to be associated with such class conscious, brand loving and luxury seeking consumers. Luxury products therefore had few options and demanded a high cost of purchase deliberately tailored to a select set of consumers.

But now times have changed thanks to rapidly changing consumer mindsets and the very idea of “luxury” is evolving. The old-fashioned ideas that defined luxury as aspiration, high status, exclusive, wealthy, don’t really paint the exact picture of what customers perceive about luxury products. One of the drastic changes over the recent years is that the new age luxury isn’t for showoff. Similarly other values that luxury brands exclusively attributed to, such as better quality and style, precise workmanship and great designs, are not exclusive any more to luxury.

Consumers’ tastes are evolving. There is an indisputable appeal for new products and services along with more choice of options yet having the flavor of uniqueness and exclusivity. This has given rise a various breeds of brands such as specialised ones and those that are highly customised to customer demands, thus increasing competition.

Further, along with changing tastes, customer shopping patterns and buying behaviour have undergone a tremendous transformation. Traditionally, luxury shoppers heavily relied on physical retail to fulfil their desire for luxury goods. But now, multiple channels have come into the game and customers willingly switch between channels to get what they want. Seamless demand fulfilment across channels necessitates the reduction of various issues such as decrease in quality or other losses that are caused during the course of the supply chain. While older shoppers are still playing a significant role in the luxury market spends, millennial’s and Gen Zs are predicted to account for the larger growth in the coming years. Moreover, their new spending habits which are faster, more frequent, brand-conscious and trend-driven while being highly influenced by digital platforms.

All these are the modern day challenges that luxury retail businesses, especially the ones still depending heavily on the heritage and traditional processes are facing and there is one way out. They need to transform their retail businesses to omni-channel and employ the right omni-channel retail software to exceed their customer expectations and fulfil their business goals.