The Role Of Financial Struggle And Unemployment On The Retail Sector

Because the retail grocery market is typically low margin, “typically in the mid-single digit range”.(VALUELINE, 2013) It is critical for companies to have some type of cost advantage over peers, the larger chains may be able to obtain better and cheaper access to products than the independent stores(economies of scale). Labor is also a significant cost to retail grocers, representing 50% to 53% of total operating costs (EHOW, 2013). Other operating costs (including rent, utilities, transportation, and technology) are controllable by the company. Lastly, technology costs are key in the retail grocery industry in order to increase efficiency in operations and aid marketing aids. Point-of-sale systems can help to increase inventory turnover and sales and lead to better targeted customer marketing (COUNTERPOINTPOS, 2013)

Target Corporation is an upscale discount retailer whose mission is to provide trendy merchandise to their “guests” or customers (Target Corporation, n.d.). In order to achieve its mission, Target relies on its efficient management team to execute its vision and maintain operations. To learn more about a manager's role at Target, we interviewed Lisa Novgrod, a store manager of Target, on November 3rd, 2017. One of the topics discussed in the interview was the growth of online shopping and the struggle to be competitive online against giant e-commerce companies like Amazon.com and other retail competitors like Walmart. Currently, Target is having difficulty translating their competitive advantages such as a great in-store experience and trendy

Gone are the days of waiting in long lines while at grocery stores with the hopes that that person in front of you will have a speedy transaction without the delay of a price check. The grocery shopping experience is quite different than when we were children. Many of us in the Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z era are ditching the long lines and relying on apps to fill our fridges. However, while many of us are relaxing in the comfort of our homes and ordering a week’s supply of groceries, others are bypassing the cashier and are heading directly to self-checkout.

The technology changes affecting REI are not unique to the company. Nationwide, consumers are ‘wisening up’ to new technologies and they are increasingly demanding expanded services from the companies they do business with. While the dot com revolution of the early 2000’s projected the death of traditional brick-and-mortar stores, the reality today is that customers are demanding comprehensive shopping experiences, experiences that seamlessly integrate online shopping with visits to traditional stores. For example, an REI customer might choose to purchase a pair of La Sportiva Rock Shoes in-store, order them online and pick them up from a store, or purchase online and have the shoes shipped directly to their home. Technology is not just

The increasing dependence on online marketing around the world can be a challenge in keeping goods and services at a low price. A growth in populace is a nonstop link to an increase in products and services vital to withstand the population; this means that the essential products are not going to decrease but in fact increase significantly. Therefore, the marketing team must prepare its promotional strategy, it must transform the characteristics of the “4 P’s”, marketing strategy,” (place, product, price, and promotion). The products and the prices must be dependable, and the promotion of online shopping must be encouraged and with these strategies SAM’S would attract potential new consumers. Sam’s Club will target typical consumers that use

The Internet has changed the way we do virtually everything, including the way we shop. However, shopping is not the only thing that has changed. In the last decade we have changed the way, we apply for loans, study, and even plan a vacation. Doing any of these things would have been impossible a few decades ago. At present, online banking, paying bills, ordering new services, and shopping online have become part of our daily lives. Traditional brick-and-mortar stores have been around much longer than online stores, but we cannot deny that online shopping is giving the traditional stores competition. Many consumers still choose to shop at regular brick-and-mortar stores because they like to see and

The grocery retail industry worldwide has grown in recent years to become one of the most intensely competitive industries due to the continuous amounts of new entrants. A grocery retailer is one that sells food and other general household items. Hypermarkets, supermarkets, discounters and small grocery retailers are all under the grocery retail umbrella. Between 2003 and 2008, the grocery retailing industry accounted for 45% of store-based retail values sales over the world. The figures

1. As a customer, what do you want from an online grocery store? How does consumers’ behaviour differ when shopping for groceries on-line vs. off-line? What are the implications of these differences on the operations of an on-line vs. off-line store?

Today’s customers are more aware and empowered, and have more bargaining power due to the exponential increase in competition – direct, indirect or substitute. In retailing, they want hassle-free shopping, have less time at their disposal to locate the shop and the merchandise and are reluctant to keep waiting. The modern format retail stores are doing their best to anticipate the customer’s demands and are going all out to redesign their store interiors, offer more choices in varieties and assortments, and are giving as many services as feasible.

Internet Research. 2005, Vol. 15 Issue 3, p335-352. 18p that consists of seven focus groups from different parts of the country tried finding about the perception of consumers on the concept of online grocery. The research indicated some positive and some negative beliefs, which were remarkably congruent across groups. In the minds of consumers, while the concept has advantages of convenience, price and product range. Disadvantages, such as the loss of the recreational aspect of grocery shopping could act as mental barriers where one bad experience can result in permanent disapproval of the

Smart phones are allowing customers to shop with their phones inside stores; credit cards are accepted via phones vs. cash registers. Technology brings online shopping vs. in store shopping. And, advertising is popping up on smart phones as electronic messages as customers shop based on their location. Service is defiantly the key to keep a customer coming into a department store.

Retailers have adapted to the online marketplace out of necessity and opportunity. The great recession placed many retail companies in financial hardship and while some failed, others innovated and became some of the largest companies in America such as Amazon. A recent trend is consumers are buying more products online than ever before. As a consumer, I enjoy shopping in the convenience of my home and having the items delivered to my doorstep in 48 hours or less. Global internet access continues to increase, with mobile devices and affordable internet for the home, consumers will continue to shift and buy products online rather than in retail brick and mortar locations. Online sales in the United States have increased over 250% in the last ten years, accomplishing $250.0 billion in 2012 (Tehrani, 2014). Therefore, Amazon is in a solid market position to capitalize on the future trends and booming ecommerce

The traditional retail market has been transformed by technological advances. The internet today has allowed consumers to purchase various products from home ranging from apparel to groceries. The online shopping market has grown significantly within the past decade, leading to many online e-commerce startups such as Amazon, eBay, and mobile start-ups such as Instacart. While e-commerce provides convenience for shopping, it has created major disruption to the traditional shopping industries. Traditional retailers have since faced bankruptcy due to their inability to compete with such start-ups. The traditional American toy store, Toys R Us, announced its state of bankruptcy just last month due to a significant decline in sales. More and more consumers are turning to online giants such as Amazon to purchase daily items as a result of convenience. According to the Washington Post, Toys R Us is just one of more than 300 retailers to file for bankruptcy this year, as Americans ditch the shopping mall in favor of their laptops, smartphones, and tablets (Bhattarai, 2017). Shopping which used to require walking or a vehicle trip to stores is no longer required for consumers with online shopping. Online shopping has appealed to consumers worldwide by encompassing the business aspect of service convenience which constitute saving time and/or effort (Jiang, Yang, and Jun, 2012). For consumers whom have busy lives and those whom are physically disabled, online shopping is a positive

A study by Deloitte in 2013 revealed some interesting facts about consumer’s buying behaviour and habits. It found that consumers were diverting attention away from in-store purchases and rather doing their grocery shopping online. The emergence of e-commerce has reduced the proportion of instore impulse

Consumers have many choices when deciding where to purchase their goods. While retailer managers are deciding how to win the consumer’s business and increase revenue, they are also constantly trying to figure out ways to reduce costs. Technology helps retail managers improve areas of inventory and supply chain management as well as customer satisfaction and loss prevention (Green, 2002). This paper explains how technology