A retail store’s front is the first impression that consumer has for a store. Three components make up retail store’s front namely, front configurations, window displays and store’s entrances. 1. The Store-front Configuration There are three possible front configurations namely, Straight front Angled front and Arcade front. The “straight front” is a store configuration that runs parallel to the side-walk, street, mall or a parking lot. Usually the only break in the front is a small recess for an entrance. This store front design is operationally efficient because it does not reduce the interior selling space. However, it lacks consumer appeal because it is monotonous and less attractive than either of the other configurations. Window shoppers can inspect only a small part of any display from anyone position when retailers use the straight configuration. Another limitation is that reflective glare from windows can inhibit window-shopping, while heavy foot traffic and Continue reading
Retail Management Concepts
Retail Organization and Classification of Retail Units
Retail Organization The term retail organization refers to the basic format or structure of a retail business designed to cater to the needs of the end customer. Recently, some scholars have started referring to India as a nation of shopkeepers. This epithet has its roots in the huge number of retail enterprises in India, which were over 12 million in 2003. About 78% of these are small family businesses utilizing only household labor. Retail firms may be independently owned, parts of a retail chain, operated as a franchisee, leased departments, owned by manufacturers or wholesalers, consumers owned or co-operative society. A retail unit could be owned by: Manufacturer (e.g., company owned retail outlets) Wholesaler (e.g., Vastra outlet in Rajouri in New Delhi) Independent retailer (Chanakya Sweet Shop near Hazratganj in Lucknow) Consumer (consumer owned grocery stores in man y residential societies) Co-operative society (e.g., Mother Dairy milk booths in Delhi) Continue reading
Macro Environment Factors in Retailing
What do you mean by retail environment? A retail marketing environment consists of the external actors and forces that affect the retailers ability to develop and maintain successful transactions and relationships with its target customers. We can distinguish between the retailers’ micro environment and macro environment. The macro environment consists of legal, social, economic and technological forces. Demographic Environment The first environmental fact of interest to retailers is population because people make up markets. Retailers are keenly interested in the size of the population, its geographical distribution, density, mobility trends, age distribution and social ethnic and religious structure. Demographic structure is seldom static for long and changes in its composition often test the residency of a marketing firm. Further, these changes influence the behavior of consumers which, in turn, will have a direct impact in the retailer’s business. The ripples of these changes will reach the organization forcing it to Continue reading
Unit Planning and Merchandise Lists
Unit planning is an operational management tool to plan the merchandise assortment and support. It is directed at determining the amount of inventory the retailer should carry by items and by units and answers the inventory questions of how many product items or assortment and how many units of each items or support to stock. The process of unit planning involves the use of several merchandise lists which constitute a set of operational plans for managing the total selection of merchandise. Based on the type of merchandise, the retailer carries, one or more of the following three merchandise lists namely, Basic Stock list, Model stock list and Never-out list. These merchandise lists represent essentially the ‘ideal’ stock for meeting the consumer’s merchandise needs in terms of assortment and support. 1. Basic Stock List The “basic stock list” is a planning instrument retailers use to determine the assortment and support Continue reading
Elements of Retail Store Interior Design
The retail store’s exterior is responsible for attracting the passers by both actual and potential customers to induce them to enter the store. The store’s interior is much more important than the exterior as it welcomes the actual consumer. The layout and design of a retail store communicate a significant amount of information about the retailer to the consumer. The retail store’s interior must contribute to the retailer’s fundamental objectives of minimizing operational expenses and maximize sales and consumer satisfaction, therefore, profits. To attain these goals, the store’s interior not only must be inviting, comfortable and convenient for the consumer. It must also permit the retailer to use the interior space efficiency and effectively. Let us try to touch up on the basic elements of the retail store interior design. 1. Fixtures A major consideration in developing an appropriate store design involves the use of fixtures. They are used to Continue reading
Customer Spotting Techniques in Retail
Customer spotting techniques include several methods by which the retailer attempts to “spot” customer origins on a map. By carefully observing me magnitude and arrangement of these origins the retailer can identify the dimensions of the trading area. Retailers normally define customer origins by home addresses, although customers place of employment are also important. Some of the more common customer spotting techniques include surveys of customers’ license plates, customer surveys, analysis of customer records and studies of customer activities. License Plate Surveys. By recording the license plate numbers of automobiles in the store’s parking area, retailers can obtain customer home addresses. Sampling normally includes the checking of licence plates at different times of the day, different days of the week and different weeks of the month to ensure a representative sample. The major advantage of this technique is it is relatively in expensive method. However, the advantages are; (1) It Continue reading