Retail Site Evaluation Methods Experts and analysts have at their disposal several methods to evaluate retail site alternatives. These are broadly classified as subjective and objective. Again some are quite simple and some are sophisticated. It suffices to take two most commonly used methods namely, checklist method and quantitative methods. 1. Checklist Method It provides a retail site evaluator with a set of procedural steps for arriving at a subjective yet quantitative expression of a sites value. First, the evaluator enumerates the general factors that are usually considered in any site evaluation. A typical list of factors includes all or most of the site-evaluation principles~ interruption, cumulative attraction, compatibility and accessibility. Secondly, for each general factor, the evaluator identifies several attribute measurements that reflect the location needs of the proposed operation. For instance, interception which is a key location attribute for most convenience retailers, can be divided into the volume Continue reading
Strategic Retail Management
Concept of Retail Store Displays
Displays are the terminal part of the retail store’s interior. Advertising does attract the consumers to the store. However, visual displays have much more to play once the customer gets into the store. Retail store displays are non-personal, in-store presentations and exhibitions of merchandise together with related information. In actual practice, retail store displays are used to: Maximize product exposure. To enhance product appearance. To stimulate product interest. To exhibit product information. To facilitate sales transactions. To ensure product security. To provide product storage. To remind customers of planned purchases. To generate additional sales of impulse items and To improve the image and prestige of a retailer. Merchandise displays are to gain the attention of consumers, provide proper balance, be structured in right proportion, be hard-hitting and convey their message quickly. The expert study conducted by display specialists reveal that on an average consumer spends only 11 seconds in observing Continue reading
Principles of Retail Site Evaluation
Selection of a retail site is based on certain principles that act as guidelines for selecting a site. Several consumer oriented location principles guide the retailers in evaluating the retail site alternatives. It should be noted that there is no straight jacket or standard criteria for retail site evaluation. The main principles of retail site evaluation are : 1. The Principle of Interception The principle of Interception covers a site’s potential qualities that determine its ability to incept consumers as they travel from one place to another. ‘Interception’ has two distinct elements namely, “source of region” and “terminal regions.” “Source of region” is one from which the consumers are drawn and “terminal region” is one that speaks of consumer destination, a region to which consumers are drawn. The examples of terminal regions are residential areas, office complexes, industrial plants, business districts and shopping centers. Any point between- source and Continue reading
Sales Planning in Retail Merchandising
Majority of retailers use a form that summarizes the basic budgetary information for a given merchandise grouping during a specified period normally for a period of six months. The retailer must select the control unit for which projections will be made, before making sales estimates. The “control unit” is the merchandising grouping that serves as the basic reporting unit for various types of information namely, past, present and future. The retailer has the choice to estimate future sales for an entire store, for a merchandise division or department, or for an individual product-line or item. The most three acceptable control units can be merchandise groups, merchandise classes and merchandise categories of all these three, experts recommend merchandise categories as the basic control unit as it is generally much easier to aggregate the information than it is to disaggregate information, i.e., breaking down merchandise groups into classes and categories. This attempt Continue reading
Retail Trading Area Dimensions
A critical element in determining a retailer’s success is the ability to assess and acquire a good location. To achieve this objective, the retailer is expected to identify, evaluate and select trading areas to segment his consumer markets further. After identifying and evaluating local markets, the retailer must then segment them into trading areas. A “retail trading area” is the area from which a store attracts its customers or obtains its business. After this, the terminal point in location decision is that of selection of proper site. Before the trading area identification process, it is essential to know the dimensions to describe a retail trading area. These trading areas dimensions are – area size, area shape and area structure. The Trading Area Size Trading areas range in size from a few square meters to’ a radius of many kilometers. The size of the trading area is a function of the Continue reading
Retail Store Environment
Environment is something that stands for an atmosphere which is external to the retail organisation. Retail store is a subsystem of a supra-system namely, environment because retail units cannot exist in vacuum. In selecting and developing a retail store environment, the retailer must consider its physical and psychological impacts on customer attraction, employee moral and store’s operations. Store’s operations and consumer shopping are both enhanced by a well planned and creatively designed setting. It is a mad, mad-world where ad, ad plays very important role. To appeal to the fashion conscious, hedonistic and up-scaled shopper, the store must create a theatrical environment enhanced by colorful displays and high-tech lighting and audio presentations. A retail store’s physical environment is a complex of the tangible elements of form reflected in the way land, building, equipment and fixtures are assembled for the convenience and comfort of both customers and the retailer. Equally significant Continue reading