Why do Retail Outlets Exist?

Few years ago I was into Market Research & the job description involved travelling to various places, collecting information from people. Being a front line assignment we had a budget for staying which just about managed to get me a decent place to sleep in the night. One morning when I got up I realised that the toothpaste was over and early morning I had to get it as I had to brush. I called the housekeeping fellow and asked him to get me a toothpaste tube, he said it was not possible at least for 15 more minutes as he was busy and so I decided to take a walk down and fetch it myself. Luckily a Paan walla near the hotel was carrying a small tube I bought it and came back to my room. I did not realise that had it not been available there I would have had to wait till the boy got free and then got the stuff for me. ( derived service)

Several years later I was wanting to buy an Digital - SLR Camera and I started my search thru friends, Internet, books & various other places as could be possible. Finally when I did decide that I had to buy it, I had several options from which I had to make my choice. At the store finally I met this sales guy who helped me choose the product that I did. He not only helped me but also gave a lot of information on what I had not got thru my research about that type of camera.

In both the above situations in life I was happy as a customer not only because I got the products but I also got them where I expected them, and with the kind of support that I was looking for when I purchased them. There was a certain expectation that got fulfilled from both the places where I made my purchases, The first place I was able to get the product at the simplest and the nearest shop possible while in the second case it was not only availability but the expert advice I got on purchase.

Customers have expectations from categories in terms of their availability and the form in which these are made available, in the above 2 examples we have just taken 2 categories to understand this concept, however in real life there are several such categories and products which have their own set of expectations demanded by the customers.

Customer may expect that at a jewellery counter one has personalised attendance, while at a Saree outlet in our country one will expect to sit down and choose from the various options not only that but expect that the sales person shows you how the Saree will look when it is draped around you. etc etc.
I think a case has been established to prove the point that every customer has several expectations form categories in terms of its availability and service and the point of purchase which has given rise to so many channels which ultimately contribute to the retailing business.

Retail as conventionally has been defined as a Sale in small quantity to final customers is built on what I believe is the Customer Service level output expectation.

Retail! What's it really?

I always wanted to write about many things that I feel & the many things I want to share with people at large. It could be a point of veiw or a prespective over a subject. But everytime I sat down to pen down something it just did not happen. Finally I have been exposed to this medium thru a friend of mine who is also a blogger on finance domain. I have decided to atleast share some points of veiw on the subject and invite opinion,criticism,advice,addition whatever that can add value to the dicussion thru this blog. This blog to start with will have discussion on Modern Format Retailing as a concept and the various topics that are related with it. The basic idea is to educate all of us as much as possible & strenghten the understanding of the subject as we progress on the discussions.

My First Blog!

Retailing as a concept is as old as the hills. There has been lot of literature on this topic which has helped each one of us while we were studying to understand the subject. However my understanding is further strengthened with the 12 years of experience in various aspects of Sales & Distribution. I have always felt the need to exchange this knowledge ( whatever little relevance it has to any body's understanding of the subject ). I am planning to start discussing this subject with the target audience primarily being students in marketing & Retail management studies at various institutes. The idea is to help them appreciate the background on which India is seeing the development in the Modern Format Retailing Business, various aspects of the Retail business, The functions and their Job descriptions in Modern Format Retail; for better understanding of how each one of these students see them fitting in any of those roles or to see the one that they are wanting to fit into as a career choice.

I want to further build up these discussions with contributions from readers on various tools used for being able to manage these business better, it could be anything ranging from generating effective Topline & Bottom lines to getting better Associate Satisfaction Score thru innovative & basic activities in area of employee engagement. Not only this but also a debate on what are the best ways to evaluate the performance in Retail Business ? Is there a possibility that all functions can have organisationally aligned goals to avoid cross purpose working? Are the older tools good enough or do they need some more complimentary DSS for bettering the understanding on potential for business?

Well we can go on having a laundry list for what can be discussed on this platform but I think its better to get started and then keep updating. I will love to have suggestions and recommendations of all kinds to make this attempt successful.

Untill Next Post : HAPPY SHOPPING