Success mantra for small retailers- embrace technology
Indian retail industry is unorganized in terms of the sheer number of small retail outlets. The big retail brands in India have, however, learned to honour the power of this army of retailers.
Yet, all this is at a crossroads with the increasing impact of e-commerce and India becoming the turf of war between Walmart and Amazon. The e-commerce war is rapidly altering the terrain not only for small retailers but also from the big brands equation with the channel. It is thus vital that both the brand owners and small retailers, globally, up their collaborative game to retain their strategic relevance. The revolutionary connect provided to individual relationship by social network is now finally available as the “weapon of mass growth” for the small retailers and brands combined.
Digital technology has given the magic wand to know the details of inventory, business opportunity and customers’ choice to the last mile.
For a retailer, this brings in synergy and orchestration across entire business. It also means empowering a sales channel to enable more cross channel activities e.g. click and collect service, buy online and collect in-store, accept customer returns and refunds for products bought online, store kiosk for browsing and payment for products, etc.
The mantra is to employ data, make use of inter-connected technology, and add human engagement element to reach the digital customer.
Certain retail-engagement platform can help brands, distributors and retailers to connect, promote and transact between them and directly with customers.
Such technologies like FOOP, helps in reducing communication and operational gaps between a brand and its consumers, as every consumer has a right to give their feedback about the product and its subsequent offerings services and brands and manufactures to know about the feedback of consumers.
Manipulations and frauds that exist at each level are curtailed. As some of the technologies have a horizontal communication model, each leg of retail value chain interacts freely with each other, leading to enhanced transparency quotient in retail business.
The technology coupled with retail-engagement platform has the potential to reduce costs, improve efficiency, expand markets and increase customer satisfaction making the business partnerships a productive venture.
It is important to consider every point on the path in order to create a full picture of how goods are actually made and sold. Some technologies involve finding new partners to help transfer goods from producers to consumers.
A good way to go about retail expansion is to leverage the collaborative assets with complete protection of business advantage. Smaller players can do this by partnering with brands.
The consumers can look forward to a complete overhaul of modern and traditional retail to their advantage. The best part of this retail engagement paradigm shift is the possibility of each and every player that collaborated, emerging a winner.
