Unit 5

HRM in Retailing
The HRM objectives in a retail organization serve as standards against which performance is
evaluated. If objectives are well defined and accepted by employees, these promote harmony among
human efforts and invite voluntary co-operation.
The pace with which new and new corporate are entering into the retail industry, a retail organization
may have to structure and assign tasks, policies and resources in order to meet this fast changing
requirements of the target market, management administration and employees. Due to high attrition
rate and increased demand for skilled employees, retail organizations have prioritized retention
policies and growth of its employees within the organization.
The scope of HRM in retailing is indeed vast and multifaceted. All the activities a retail store
employee has to perform from his entry to exit broadly come under the purview of HRM. HRM in
retailing is composed of survival-integrated activities such as employees’ recruitment, selection,
induction, training and development, supervision and compensation.
The main objective of HRM is to ensure that right person should be appointed at right position
according to his or her caliber, interest and experience in the relevant field. Broadly, HRM in retailing
has four specific objectives to perform.

These are as under:

1. Societal Objectives:
Retailing is all about selling goods or services or both to consumers for their personal or family use.
Retailing is perhaps the only sector where the owner of the business has direct interaction with its
customers. Further, retailers in a society are the final businessmen in any distribution channel that
links manufacturers to end consumers.
Therefore, considering all these factors, socially and ethically, it becomes imperative for a retailer to
satisfy the existing and would be needs and wants of the society. The organization, which ignores this
aspect, soon may find itself out of competition. Keeping pace with the market trends and continuous
changing fashion is another criterion that retail organization should consider as a part of their social
organization. In fact, societal objectives are basically responsible for the needs and challenges of
society.
While performing societal objectives, retailers should try to minimize the negative impact of such
demands upon the organization. The inability of the organizations to use their resources for society’s
benefit in social and ethical ways may lead to restrictions. For instance, having no option, society
may limit HR decisions to laws that enforce reservation in hiring retail employees and laws that
address discrimination, safety or such areas of societal concern.

2. Personal Objectives:
When an employee joins an organization, he does not come alone. He brings with himself experience,
attitude, skill, knowledge, personality and he tries his level best to take the organization to zenith. He
seeks the organization for realization of his personal growth. If the organization requires employees
for fulfillment of organization objectives, it becomes important for an organization to help its
employees to grow further and achieve their personal goals.
Personal objectives of the employees must be fulfilled if a retailer is serious about long-term survival
of its organization. If organizational efforts are only directed towards profit maximization, sooner or
later, it will become difficult for the retailing firm to retain or maintain its employees, resulting in
decline in turnover and employees’ performance.

3. Functional Objectives:
Retailing is termed as hard & rigorous business. The store employees stand on their feet from eight to
nine hours in a day. The job of sales people in the retail outlet is physically demanding and
expressively draining. Functional objectives help an organization to support and enhance the role of
its employees within the organization through provision of information, advice, facilities and training.
Simply stated, functional objectives attempt to uphold (sustain) the department’s contribution at a
level suitable to the organization’s needs. All the efforts, policies and resources spent on HR will go
waste in case HRM in an organization is found to be more or less sophisticated. Therefore, it becomes
imperative on the part of HR manager to adjust its HR that should exactly meet its organization’s
requirements. Further, the department’s level of service must be tailored to fit the organization it
serves.

4. Organizational Objectives:
Organizational objectives identify the job of HRM in bringing about organizational overall
effectiveness. It involves HR planning, maintaining good relations with employees, selection, training
& development, appraisal and assessment. HRM assists the organization to achieve its primary
objectives.
It is the department that co-ordinates the activities of rest of the organization to achieve
organizational mission. Therefore, an astute retailer will infuse passion for success in its employees.
If the store staff is actually on the company’s pay roll, rather than outsourced from agencies, there
will be greater commitment.

HR Challenges for Retail Industry

The boom within the retail sector in India and its corresponding spike in demand for talent has
underscored the necessity for effective hour systems. The performance of human resources has
special significance in retail because the staff operates in an exceedingly distinctive atmosphere.

In any retail organization, the people who talk to the customer, when a customer walked into your
store are the face and revenue getter of your organization.
“Take away my factories, but leave my people, and soon we will have a new and better factory.”
Andrew Carnegie, the American steel billionaire.

Here a list of top hr challenges faces by a retail organization human resource executive.

1. Employee Tracking

Most of the retailers have there store pan-India and have a lot of different store in a same
geographical area so tracking of employee productivity is a tedious task.

2. Manpower Planning As Per Infrastructure

Each retail store has different sections for fulfilling the demand of the consumer base, a study had
shown that if a retail customer specialist is trained well it will automatically increase the profit of the
store and also it creates a good customer experience.
For examples – If there is a demand for the milk-related product in your store in morning and daily
needs item on weekdays you need to have more trained employee in this section so that service will
be fast and that section will not be overcrowded.

Constant monitoring will help management to know where

they are lacking manpower planning and can help to train the employees to achieve the organizational
objective.

3. Seasonal Demand

During the festival, there are always rush on retail stores.so employee demands are more and
workforce needed to be more organised during this time to handle this volume of customers.

4. Lack Of Formal Education

There is the requirement of qualified and talented manpower to look after the day to day operations
and cater to the wide spectrum of customer desires. As there is lack of formal vocational institutes
where the employee can be trained, most of the retailers in India depend on in-house training or
fulfilling their training needs with small institutes.

5.Bad Loans
Bad loans are the big problem in the retail sector as workers in this industry take a lot of loans from
the company and as well as from bank so proper tracking is required for maintaining the balance.

6.Women In Retailing

There are a lot of women in retailing and its also scientifically proven that women increase the
productivity of retail store if they are working properly as they have the ability to pursue people and
they have genetical ability to work with perfection and multitasking.
They can be easily trained and they can maintain a store more properly than men.

Some policies need to be made by the organisation for giving women some extra privilege like
maternity leave, sharing working hourse.t.c.

7.Threat Of Poaching

Employee poaching is also very high both in organized as well as an unorganized retail industry.
Skilled manpower is scarce in this industry and as such attracting the employees of competitors by
offering them better salaries is a rather easy option.
A lot of capital is invested in each individual for his training and development, so if any employee
leaves its a loss of organisation. So you have to always retain good employee because they are assets
of your organisation.

8.Career Advancement

A lot of employees in the retail industry even don’t know the path for growth in their careers.
Proper goal management and training are required so that they will grow and their growth will also
help the organisation to grow, Goal completion rewards are one of the initiatives that can be done by
theorganisation.
Some training like proper communication classes, personality development classes, Packing
Techniques, Technical training are few of the things organisation may adopt for growth.

9.Stressful Environment
The working pattern of the retail industry requires employee to put in long hours of work which
generally cause fatigue and result in lower motivation among employees. Besides this, in part-time
and casual jobs there is less job security, flexible shifts, unlimited working hours, lower salary and
benefits & poor working conditions resulting into stress.

10.Analytics Overview

As there are the vast number of employees working in a single organisation Management level people
rely only on data that is shown in there databook or screen to address the problems some common
problems may be employee attendance, individual store productivity, retention of employees
analyzing this data can figure out problem area so that they can act on that before its too late.

HR function in retail

In any retail organization, the people who deal with the customers at a one to one level are considered
the face of the organization. Thus, people who work at the store level are important. Hiring the
persons with right attitude is important as in the case of most retail stores, the employees need to
work long hours, and also need to work when the rest of the people may be on a holiday e.g. on
Sundays or on occasions like Diwali, Christmas etc. Secondly the retailer needs to have the persons
with the right skill sets taking care of functions like buying and merchandising, as the product is the
key in a retail set up.

In this section, we examine various aspects of human resources function in retail.

The Human Resources function in retail involves:

1. Identifying various roles in the organization.

2. Recruiting the persons with right attitude to fit the jobs.
3. Training
4. Motivation of employees
5. Evaluation of employee performance.

Identifying the various roles in the organization:

The first step starts with the identification of the various tasks or jobs that need to be performed in the
organization. This helps in determining the number of people required from various jobs, the skill sets
and educational background needed and the location, where they are doing to be based depending on
the organization structure defined and the size of the retail operation.

Key tasks in a typical retail organization involve:

1) Buying and merchandising

2) Store management and operations, and
3) Technology support.

It is necessary that persons with the right attitude and skill sets are recruited for the above mentioned
functions as they are the key in any retail organization. While professional qualifications for the
various tasks are important, it is also necessary to hire persons who understand consumer trends and
technology and what it can provide. This is extremely important, as traditionally retail has been one
of the oldest users of information technology.

Recruitment and Selection:

After determining the tasks to be performed within the organization, the jobs need to be categorized
on the basis of the functional or geographic needs. The aim of the recruitment process is to make
available job applicants for a specified job/s. Common ways of recruitment include newspaper
advertisements, visits to colleges, existing employees, references, recruitment agencies and even
websites.

Many organizations create an application blank, which has to be filled in by the applicant and gives
the details of education, work, hobbies and family background. It helps the organization obtain
information about the applicant in standard and structured manner. Once the applications are
received, they are screened on the basis of parameters that are important to the retailer. This serves as
the primary basis for acceptance or rejection of the candidate.

In case of most of the organizations, the candidates who are short listed on the basis of the bio data or
application blank are called for a personal interview. A personal interview enables the interviewer
gauge the attitude of the person and his suitability for the desired job. Depending on the position
applied for, the selection procedure may comprise of one or more interviews. When the candidate
passes the interviews stage, reference checks may be done and the final decision is taken.

Training:

Training is an important aspect of human resource management in retail. Typically, in retail training
needs arise at the following points:

1) Induction new persons / staff into the organization

2) Training of sales staff, as they are the persons who are in direct contact with the customers.
3) Training of staff / personnel for skill enhancements.

When new persons join any organization, an induction program is conducted. The purpose of such an
induction program is to familiarize the new entrants about the organization’s policies and methods of
doing business.

In retail special importance is given to the training of sales staff as they are commonly termed as the
face of the organization.

Database Marketing

Imagine that you work for a company specializing in electronic devices and gadgets. You have
several new products arriving in your stores this week, and to spread the word, you decide to
implement a direct mail campaign to neighborhoods near your stores. But is mailing to everybody the
most effective approach? And what about technology and gadget customers who live just outside of
those neighborhoods?
If there were only a way you could just hit a button on a computer, and generate a list of all the
people in these areas who might have a genuine interest in your product…
Database marketing is a form of direct marketing that uses databases of customers to generate
targeted lists for direct marketing communications(See also Direct Marketing). Such databases
include customers’ names and addresses, phone numbers, e-mails, purchase histories, information
requests, and any other data that can be legally and accurately collected Information for these
databases might be obtained through application forms for free products, credit applications, contest
entry forms, product warranty cards, and subscriptions to product newsletters.
Using our opening example, a database at a technology store might well be able to produce a list of
customers who had purchased similar products and might be interested in a new promotion. These
databases, once built, allow businesses to identify and contact customers with a relevant marketing
communication. Database marketing is particularly useful for large firms, which have large customer
bases that generate huge amounts of transaction data. The larger the initial data set, the more
opportunities that exist to find groups of customers and/or prospects that can be reached with
customized communication.
Many of those larger companies attended the Direct Marketing Association’s annual National Center
for Database Marketing Conference and Exhibition, where companies network and discuss how to
improve database marketing. Exhibitors at the 2011 conference included American Express, Experian
Marketing, Pitney Bowes, and the SAS Institute. Companies recognized for excellent performance
with database marketing included Microsoft, Farmers Insurance, General Motors, IBM, and the
Whirlpool Corporation.
As with other forms of direct marketing, the most responsive customers to database marketing are
those who have opted in to mailing lists—such as when an online shopper checks a box marked
“Send me information on future promotions.” Such customers have already expressed interest in the
company’s products, and as such as more likely to be interested in new products and sales from that
company. (See also Permission Marketing)
However, careful database analysis can produce many other lists of customers based upon other
activity, who will be just as (or more) likely to respond to a particular direct marketing message. The
whole point of database marketing is to make sure that marketing communications are being directed
toward the most receptive groups. For one campaign, this may be buyers of mobile devices and
gadgets; for another campaign, the target group might be couples in the “empty nest” phase; while a
third campaign might be directed at singles who are politically active. Proper maintenance of data and
opt-out options reduces the number of people who have no interest in receiving such communication.
Database marketing begins with… data. The more useful data available, the more effective the
campaign.
Such data comes from a number of sources. Many businesses collect data as part of a typical business
transaction. For example, since finance and insurance companies already must collect name, address,
and other information for a sale, it takes little extra effort to retain this information in a database.
Online retailers can also easily collect such information, as well as purchase histories; offline retailers
may use club-card systems to accomplish the same thing. Additional data comes in from customer
service, which can keep a record of all their customer communications. Meanwhile, marketing and
sales leads create additional customer records.

While data on existing customers can be collected through transactions, data on prospects is largely
obtained (purchased) from third parties. Different countries have various laws controlling what
information can and cannot be sold, often restricting it to name, address, telephone number, and
perhaps some demographics. Many businesses will readily sell this information to marketers; others
may have privacy agreements with their customers that prevent them from doing so.
Occasionally, transaction histories may also be sold. When Borders bookstores went out of business,
the company sold customer records to Barnes and Noble, which was then able to market directly to
Borders’ former customers (for example, by offering Barnes and Noble member cards to those who
had previously purchases Borders cards). In addition to third parties, prospect data can also be
obtained through sweepstakes, on-line registrations, and other methods.
Larger companies will often manage all the data they collect from varying sources through a data
warehouse. The warehouse receives diverse data sets from different departments and companies,
integrates it into one mega-database (often several terabytes in size), and then parses it back out into
smaller databases used for various functions. The use of a data warehouse allows a business to
process much greater amounts of data—and again, the more data available, the more opportunities for
finding groups of customers that will respond to a customized message.
At this point the real work of database marketing is done. Database analysts develop programs for
filtering and mining the data for actionable information. They may segment customers based upon a
number of different demographic and behavior factors. For example, they might use RFM analysis—
segmenting groups by how recent, frequent, or how much monetary value customers’ purchases are.
They may also use statistical models, such as logistic regression, to predict future behavior and create
customer lists.
In addition to direct marketing, database information can also be used in some systems to pull up
customer information while interacting with the customer (known as real-time business intelligence),
which allows for greater personalization. Additionally, databases fuel Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) systems, which use the information to present personalized offerings of products
and services.
The extent to which database systems can be effectively employed depends upon a number of
factors—how up-to-date the information is, what analytics are used, and the software network and
level of connectivity in the business. Major information technology companies, such as Google and
Apple, are most effective at using their databases for real-time intelligence and personalization of
business.

The benefits of database marketing

 Make your marketing communications more targeted
With an accurate, clean and centralized record of each customer in (formed by a Single Customer
View marketing database), marketers can create precise customer segments using offline and online
data. This segmentation can be performed based on basic demographics such as age, gender,
geographic location and purchase history. Or, you could also cluster groups of customers using RFV
analysis, scoring and behaviors from online interactions across your web, email and social media
channels.
  Improve the efficiency of your marketing
Segmenting customers is not only good for ensuring that the correct person receives the most
appropriate message. It is also far more cost effective than a ‘one message fits all’ approach to direct
marketing. Finely targeted marketing is more efficient, particularly when sending emails and
mailshots, as you are not wasting money sending catalogs or communications to those who are
unlikely to respond.
 Develop better relationships and customer loyalty
Analyzing your marketing database will help you identify your most loyal and most profitable
customers. This means you can single them out for treatment that demonstrates your appreciation of
them. For example, shaping loyalty programs that reward their behavior, to build deeper relationships
and encourage first-time buyers to become repeat customers.
For consumers and clients, the effective use of database marketing will also benefit them, because:
 The customer experience is personalized
It is widely agreed that customers value and engage more with brands that can offer them a more
personal shopping journey. Using data for personalization means you can send communications that
meet their interests, as well as customize their online experience. For example, analyzing their
browsing data to change website pages so that they features products, services and messaging more
suited to them.
 Customers receive an improved service
Database marketing helps you understand what customers need, and respond with engagements that
meet these needs. A more customer-centric approach means better customer service, which prioritizes
what they want over dictating a standard marketing message. Moreover, as your customer database
can collect and store data that tracks their buying behavior, as well as their post-purchase feedback
and product reviews, marketers can revise future messaging appropriately.
 The requirements for successful database marketing
A data-driven approach to marketing can make your marketing strategies both more profitable and
more affordable. However, how successful you are using your database will depend on several things:

 Your ability to access your customer data. If you can’t get to your customer data, you cannot put it to
use. This is a problem that a Customer Data Platform can solve.
 The quality of your database (inaccurate, out-of-date data will perform very poorly no matter how
well carefully it is segmented). This is where the Single Customer View process comes in, by
merging, duplicating and cleansing your different streams of data into a single, trustworthy record for
each customer.

 Your ability to analyze your data and automate campaigns. This is where the multi-channel campaign
management features of BlueVenn help you turn insight into action.

Retail Sales Training

Retail sales training is the process used to train your store associates in how to engage a stranger, how
to build rapport and trust, how to show a product and demonstrate its features and (more importantly)
its benefits, how to contrast and compare products, how to overcome objections to sell value over
price, and how to close each and every sale.

There are a lot of sales training programs out there for all types of products; from cars to insurance,
from luxury aircraft to timeshares, from real estate to software.
There are, basically, four different types of retail sales training:
1. In-person retail sales training which can work two ways:
o A dedicated on-staff trainer who goes around to stores
o An outside trainer who appears at a company gathering of stores or regions
2. Online retail sales training
3. Shadow or “buddy system” retail sales training
4. Self-paced retail sales training

The Future of Retailing

Technology & Tools to Facilitate Decision Making
Technological change continues to be a game changer for retailing that can simultaneously benefit
consumers and retailers. For example, technology enables consumers to make more informed
decisions, receive more targeted and beneficial offers, and obtain faster service. It also assists retailers
in reaching appropriate consumers at lower costs, due to technologically created efficiencies. They
highlight mobile apps, scan-and-go technologies, self-check-outs, QueVision, and smart shelf
technology. For example, self-check-out technology helps shoppers scan, bag, and pay for products
without any need to interact with a cashier. Customers thus gain control; retailers enjoy reduced labor
costs from the fewer number of cashiers required. QueVision gives retailers insights into how many
registers are needed and the expected wait times, using data garnered from infrared sensors over store
doors and cash registers, predictive analytics, and real-time data feeds from point-of-sale systems.
Using this technology, grocery retailers have been able to reduced wait times from more than 4 min
to less than 30 s. Thus, QueVision improves the customer experience, through shorter wait times, and
benefits the firm in the form of happier, less stressed employees.
The introduction of smartphones have revolutionized shopping. From mobile apps, to geo-fenced
targeted offers, to constant access to the online environment, the advances in this realm have led to
constantly changing consumer expectations and to retailers’ enhanced ability to connect with
consumers.
Visual Display & Merchandise Offer Decisions
Today’s consumers are bombarded with merchandise and offers. The question is how to design and
deliver offers that stand out. Understanding this can help retailers decide how, when, and where to
display merchandise (and associated offers), according to the channel format (in store or online).
Manufacturers also recognize the importance of ensuring that consumers pay attention to their
merchandise and offers, such that they seek ways to make their merchandise stand out from the
competition on the shelf or online.
Kahn (2017) highlights the need for manufacturers and retailers to account for a “visual salience bias”
and make assortments easier for consumers to process. She recommends several key strategies for
doing so, such as reducing the size of the assortment presented, reducing information intensity,
making sure each item relates to the assortment context, and carefully thinking through the spatial
positioning of merchandise.
As part of their visual merchandising efforts, retailers must consider locational effects for their
merchandise and their sales promotions, both online and in stores. Recent research demonstrates that
the location of the sale price in displays and communications online can have considerable impacts.
For example, Biswas et al. (2013) reveal that the sale price is more effective when it is to the right of
a higher advertised reference price rather than placed to the left. Suri et al. (2017) similarly find that
when the price is portrayed to the right of the package, it is more effective for increasing purchase
intentions and purchases of lower involvement products (e.g., beverages) than when it is on the left.
Consumption & Engagement
Consumers’ actual consumption of goods and services is at the heart of all retailing. Designing goods
that offer value to consumers is critical to success of retailers and service providers. Creating a
superior customer experience can differentiate companies (Grewal, Levy, and Kumar 2009; Verhoef
et al. 2009). This holistic customer experience concept “involves the customer’s cognitive, affective,
emotional, social and physical responses to the retailer. This experience is created not only by those
elements which the retailer can control (e.g., service interface, retail atmosphere, assortment, price),
but also by elements that are outside of the retailer’s control (e.g., influence of others, purpose of
shopping)” (Verhoef et al. 2009, p. 32).
Consumers can constantly access information, due to the ubiquitous presence of smartphones and
tablets and their dedicated apps. Apps then produce another driver of social media engagement for
retailers, namely, the ability to provide relevant information and participate in dynamic conversations
with customers. These information and dynamic effect factors also enhance consumers’ desire to
engage with their extended social network. Understanding how these various spokes turn the wheel of
social media engagement is another way that retailers can enhance their engagement with consumers.
Of course, the consumer experience also depends on the retailer’s category. For example, food
retailers may engage with customers to promote healthier eating. Similarly, retailers must consider
how to best engage customers online or in stores using visual cues contained within digital displays
or dynamic Dynamic messages (e.g., videos), as opposed to static ones (e.g., pictures), help mentally
transport customers into the experience, which creates a stronger emotional connection, which in turn
reduces customers’ price sensitivity and enhances their consumption of more hedonic options
Substantial existing research focuses on the customer experience already Future research should focus
on employee engagement. For retailers, employee engagement could result in greater consumer
engagement. highlight the need to understand the role of dynamic experiences and how experiences
and engagement levels evolve over time.
Big Data Collection & Usage
Retailers have always been inundated with data. In the recent years, they increasingly have started to
take advantage of options for organizing these data better, improved access to computing power, and
the availability of proprietary or enterprise analytical systems. The power of big data, coupled with
effective analytical systems, permits retailers to manage a host of issues. Bradlow et al.
(2017) organize the various sources of retail data, including those captured from enterprise systems;
customer/household information captured from loyalty, website, or social data; and locational-based
details gathered using mobile and apps. These authors discuss the dimensions of big data in terms of
the customer, product, location, time, and channel, highlighting how retailers can use these data
strategically to optimize prices and maximize sales.
Thus, big data are helping retailers and researchers understand customer behavior. Their emergence
has led researchers to undertake field studies and experiments that provide clearer assessments of the
causality between an exogenous or independent variable (e.g., promoted price, display location,
assortment expansions, service responses) and a host of dependent variables, from increased store
sales and profitability to brand switching. Retailers can rely on survey-based measures, such as
purchase intentions or positive evaluations, to generate greater engagement, loyalty, and profits.
Analytics & Profitability
Kumar, Anand, and Song (2017) highlight the importance of carefully developed, thought-through
retail strategies supplemented with analytics. They also link these strategies to retail profitability.
Such strategies can be explicated at four levels: market, firm, store, and customer. For example, at the
store level, these authors highlight what we know about strategies associated with marketing mix
location and atmospherics, and then specify topics that need further exploration. In addition, they lay
out actions that need to be undertaken to execute these strategies. As an illustration, at the store level,
key executional actions include personalized pricing, dynamic pricing, mobile targeting, and
technology to improve customer experiences.
In addition, retailers should carefully develop and manage their vendor relationships. Ailawadi and
Farris (2017) highlight important issues that retailers wrestle with as they move toward and manage
multi- and omnichannel distribution operations. There are clear benefits to an omnichannel
distributional structure from a consumer’s point of view, ranging from transparency to uniform
policies. However, for retailers and suppliers, such forms of distribution pose unique challenges. To
understand the challenges and the important questions they raise, Ailawadi and Farris (2017) specify
some key insights from academic research as it pertains to the focal metrics being used in practice, in
terms of the depth and breadth of distribution.

The Further Future of Retailing

Retail is evolving at an accelerated rate due to changes made possible by technologies and evolving
consumer behaviors. Integrating channels and the power of big data are not distinctive factors
anymore but rather are prerequisites of competitiveness. Where the field goes will depend on even
newer emerging forces: The Internet of things, virtual or augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and
robots/drones/driverless vehicles (Deloitte 2016).
Research into the Internet of things should clarify how it may influence shopping behavior, as well as
the role of frontline employees (Rafaeli et al. 2017). Smart homes are being designed with a host of
smart appliances (e.g., refrigerators) that can reorder products as stocks get low. Similarly, smart cars
convey relevant information to service departments and may schedule future service appointments.
Thus, research needs to explore whether the Internet of things will increase consumers’ engagement
with retailers, service providers, and brands or if it will reduce consumer engagement, as machines
take over all the “talking” to other machines (i.e., the start of machine-to-machine commerce).
Virtual and augmented reality has offered vast promise for a long time; those promises are just
beginning to be realized. The new forms of technology-based reality and applications enhance
sensory perceptions For example, fashion retailers use new technology to help customers engage in
virtual fashion shows . Apps using augmented reality also are advancing the reality, such as apps for
car dealers that allow consumers to view how different components look on a car, or games such as
Pokémon GO that combine a hunt for virtual creatures (Pokémon) with the real-world locations of the
players. A mobile device’s GPS capability makes this possible.
Apps that rely on artificial intelligence (AI) also are on the rise in a variety of contexts, from Siri on
the Apple phone, to Cortana on Microsoft, to Alexa on Amazon’s Echo, to query-based response AI
systems for retailers (e.g., Macy’s On Call). These AI-based responses can have tremendous positive
impact on customers as they shop, whether physically or online. The consequences could include
more informed and engaged customers, but they also might mean that service employees’ jobs would
need to be retooled to enable them to provide information at an even higher level than available in an
AI application.
Building on AI-based technology, many companies are testing driverless vehicles, and various
manufacturers and retailers are taking advantage of advances in the technology for robotics and
drones (Van Doorn et al. 2017). Major manufacturers and retailers already use robots extensively in
their distribution centers. Amazon also has publicly discussed its plans for drone delivery, to augment
its existing delivery options. Such applications suggest a host of research possibilities, such that
studies should pursue a better understanding of the short- and long-term benefits and consequences of
different delivery methods.
 What is omni-channel retail?
This means that you will use multiple channels (computers, brick-and-mortar stores, direct mail,
catalogs, mobile devices, etc) to create a seamless consumer experience.
Going forward, this is the strategy that you need to adopt.
“The future of the Internet as I see it: convergence. It may sound a little sci-fi, but all I’m talking
about is the linkup between the physical world and mobile technology and the web—an improved
union between stores, the online world, and mobile phones.” – Paco Underhill, Why We Buy
An omni-channel approach to marketing will allow your audience to engage with your brand as they
choose: when they want, where they want and how they want. This flexibility doesn’t just make you a
“pleasure” to deal with, it fosters a positive relationship between you and the consumer.

There are a number of things retailers can do to transform a traditional retail

model into an omni-channel model:

 Optimize locations based on new shopping behaviors.

How are your customers behaving as they shop? Do they like to pull out their phone and do a price
comparison? Do they take a photo with your product and upload it to Instagram? Do they call
someone to ask for advice? Once you understand more about their behavior, optimize your
locations to make the most of it. If people enjoy shopping with their phone, offer them a discount
they can only get if they scan a code and subscribe to your mailing list, or perhaps, if they buy the
product in-store, be entered into a competition to win something. There are many things you can do
to take advantage of this.

 Innovate.

Stop looking to everyone else for ideas. Come up with your own strategies to keep people buying.
You will likely need to encourage a mix of mobile, web and in-store actions. You might direct
people to your real store store via an online promotion.
 Integrate all of your operations across channels to create a channel-less
operating model.

In simple words, ensure that if someone wants to buy something in-store, they can use a discount
they receive online. If someone is following your business on a social media site, your offers are
available to them in-store. If someone want to order something online, they can pick it up in-store.
In simple terms, it’s an approach to selling that involves the seamless use of multiple channels.
In an omni-channel approach to retailing, merchandise and promotions are not specific to any one
channel. Each operations channel is a part of the supply chain, enabling customers to communicate
with the company in a number of ways. Omni-channel retailing usually requires the use of real-time
data in order to meet customer expectations. If someone adds something to their shopping basket
from within an app on their phone, when they log on to their computer later, they expect to find the
item still in the basket. It also implies a certain level of personalization, tailoring marketing to a
consumer depending on their location, purchase patterns, social networking affinities and more.

Globalization and its impact on retail industry in India

Globalization is the name for the process of increasing the connectivity and interdependence of
the world’s market, and businesses. This process has speeded up dramatically in the last two decades
as technological advances make it easier for people to travel, communicate, and do
business internationally.(“Investor words,” 2009)
Globalization has increased across the world in recent years due to the fast progress that has been
made in the field of technology especially in communications and transport. The government of India
made changes in its economic policy in 1991 by which it allowed direct foreign investments in the
country. As a result of this, globalization of the Indian Industry took place on a major scale.(Maps of
India, 2011)
The various beneficial effects of globalization in Indian Industry are that it brought in huge amounts
of foreign investments into the industry especially in the BPO, pharmaceutical, petroleum, and
manufacturing industries. As huge amounts of foreign direct investments were coming to the Indian
Industry, they boosted the Indian economy quite significantly. The benefits of the effects of
globalization in the Indian Industry are that many foreign companies set up industries in India,
especially in the pharmaceutical, BPO, petroleum, manufacturing, and chemical sectors and this
helped to provide employment to many people in the country. On the other hand, Globalization can
affect the economy in india negatively, it could increased competition in the Indian market between
the foreign companies and domestic companies, With the foreign goods being better than the Indian
goods, the consumer preferred to buy the foreign goods. This reduced the amount of profit of the
Indian Industry companies. This happened mainly in the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, chemical,
and steel industries. The negative Effects of Globalization on Indian Industry are that with the coming
of technology the number of labor required decreased and this resulted in many people being
removed from their jobs. This happened mainly in the pharmaceutical, chemical, manufacturing, and
cement industries.