Retail Management (Essay Sample)

Running Head: Retail Management
Case study of retail management
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Introduction
With the increasing globalization of economic and business enterprises marketers have embarked on an effort to ensure that they make use off the available technology to enhance their course. A very good example is where most of the organizations have adapted the use of E-marketing. It is worthy to note that even with the emergence of E-commerce; most of the problems that E-retailers face are not appreciated by most of the store shoppers. When retailers understand their consumers, business relations can be greatly improved because the retailers will seek to improve the shopping experience of the consumers who will in turn come back for more and more (Davies, 1998). This case study will focus on what retailers can do to better understand their consumers and their behaviors for a better business.
The most important points a retailer can learn about a consumer
As consumers have to beat the little time they have to accomplish a couple of tasks, most of them look forward to making the best out of the shopping time. It is therefore important for retailers to understand that consumers look for three most important things when going for shopping i.e. quality products, convenience and they need to be well informed before making any choice. This is so because most of the consumers will not compromise on either quality or brand and settle for anything lesser than what they have been looking for (Blythe, 2001). In the era of E-marketing, most of the retailers have decided to make sure that consumers are well informed on the product by having them posted on their websites as well as having the zoom and pan option for the consumer to have a better view. Others have gone the extent of using 3D so that the consumer can have varied view points before making any decisions.
On the issue of compromise, consumers will walk out of one store and get to another just to make sure that they get hold of what they want. In order to cater for this demand, most of the stores stock up the different products that the consumer might be in need of. The three main things that retailers need to know about consumers can be summarized into shopping productivity where consumers will get the best while spending the least possible amount of money, one-stop shopping where they can get hold of all they want at a go and convenience in shopping.
Consumers are looking forward to great and greater shopping experience every time they go out for shopping. This means that given the way people who mostly are consumers are becoming busy and committed i.e. they have to balance between work, family and household chores not to mention that they need to have some leisure time, most of them would like to enjoy their shopping experience. This means that consumes want a variety of products and brands to choose from while at the same time they should be located within the same building (Davies, 1998). To ad onto that they still want to be fully informed about the product they are buying their effects and how they will be of value to them. All the products should be of high quality i.e. the consumers should be satisfied with the quality of the product and where possible they should be made in such a manner that they meet their tastes. All these should be accomplished with convenience and at the spending of the least possible amount of money (Blythe, 2001). This means that the consumers are seeking more and more from the retailers while they want to spend less and less of their energy, time and money for getting the best products and services in the market.
Customer Segmentation
The use of customer segmentation as a retail strategy is very good idea in that it helps most of the businesses have the greatest impact possible on the market. With the increase in competition most of the firms have no option but differentiate their products. This is also beneficial to the consumers in that the firms get to concentrate more on how to satisfy their needs i.e. firms start concentrating on quality rather than on voluminous products which have very little impact on their finances (Croft, 1994). If wells elected the segment of consumers usually have the same tastes and therefore it could be much easier for the retailer to satisfy the demands of the consumers. It is also easier for the firm since it will spend much less resources in marketing the products to the segment due to their common tastes (Dibb and Simkin, 1996).
The principle behind customer segmentation is that a business is able to focus its resources as effectively as possible hence increasing the chances of success. This includes retailers focusing on the subsection of a community such as the youth elderly, women, children or otherwise who have the greatest potential of becoming resourceful customers i.e. who are able to generate income for the business (Weinstein, 1994). Segmentation is often encouraged by the fact that different sections of the market have the different consumer behaviors while those in the same segment tend to show the same behavior. This is used to help a firm decide on the basis that it is supposed to undertake its customer segmentation in that segmentation can be done on the basis of lifestyles, demographics and other factors that influence consumer behaviors in one way or another (Michman, 1991).
Segmentation includes businesses differentiating their products in manner that meets the requirements of their consumers, coming up with new designs or redesigning the existing in order to be in line with the needs of the customers, finding the section of the market that responds greatly to the business products. Segmentation can be made to be more effective if the retailers could find out the buying behaviors of the target group and what influences their decisions to choose one product over another. Other advantages associated with segmentation include avoiding unproductive markets while at the same time increasing brand loyalty among the market and reducing brand switching (Croft, 1994).
Targeting subset of a segment within the market might not be considered as segmentation. For example a firm that deals with women products such as clothes cannot decide that it wants to segment and concentrate more on clothes of women of a certain age group. Even though it might be applicable and prove to be beneficial it might not be considered as customer segmentation (Weinstein, 1994). Consumer segmentation is not usually an easy task because a wrong decision could ensure the end of a business i.e. wrong decision could lead to a business investing in the wrong consumer group only to end up making loses rather than profits. A major challenge has been on how to analyze all the data that is there concerning the consumers before coming up with the right segment that is to be targeted (Dibb and Simkin, 1996).
Having what is hot when it is hot
In the market something is referred to as ‘hot’ when it is high on demand. This is also the time when most of the retailers want to have the product due to the associated benefits. The best way of retailers having the ‘hot’ when it is hot is by being well connected i.e. being up to date with the market including the desires of their customers. Being up to date with the market means being aware of what is the latest model in the market what most of the consumers think about it and at what the price the product is going at. This will be totally different if the retailer has chosen to undertake customer segmentation in that the retailer will only have to focus on the sort of product that he deals with other than being concerned with every thing in the market (Blythe, 2001).
They should also be aware of what their competitors are up to and the sort of products that they are offering to their customers not forgetting the quality. In order to be up to date with the market and to earn more revenues from the consumers, retailers have no option but to offer their more than just products and prices (Davies, 1998). In order to inspire consumers, retailers will have to come up with marketing concepts that have a sense of discovery, seem to capitalize more on consumer desires and not needs, which connects with emotions and which are educative. As already mentioned, the time that consumers have is on the decrease and they are always looking forward to a wonderful shopping experience. With this said the retailers have no option but to ensure that the consumers have fun as they carry out their shopping activities.
Retailers will have also to carry out some research in order to find out what it is that their segment likes most. If the retailers are also involved in production then they will have to be more creative innovative inn creating products that will be on high demand among the consumers otherwise they could be outdone by their competitors. The other aspect which retailers can make use of in enhancing the sales is making the shopping experience enjoyable for the consumers with an aim of improving the shopping frequency (Michman, 1991).
Trader Joe’s Website
Looking at trader Joe’s web site a competitor can learn a few things including that online display and marketing is not as easy as it seems. This is because the retailers are often faced with a challenge of which product to display given that they need to make as much information as possible available to the consumers in order for them to make an informed choice. Despite this trader Joe display that it is important for E-retailers to display as much information as possible.
Another thing is that the retailers should display all the sorts of products that they have i.e. they should display at least one product from the different varieties that they offer in order to give the consumers a glimpse of what is available and wh...