What Are The Various Challenges In Retail Industry
If you are a retailer seeking to establish your business with flying colors? Then get ready to face, accept, deal with, and win the challenges in the retail industry with a positive approach. Being a successful retailer and setting up your business in a win-win condition is tricky in today’s globalized business environment. But thanks to those innovative trends and technologies that make your survival easier and increase your success possibilities.
In the past few years, India has successfully established its retail industry at the 5th rank globally. It is emerging as the most growing and high potential industry. The promising trends of the Indian retail market contribute approx 8% to its employment sector and about 10% to the country’s GDP. Hence to maintain this contribution with increasing levels, it is crucial to encourage the low and medium-level business.
But on the other hand, there are so many problems in retailing. Since many retailers are still sticking to those outdated traditional business techniques and trends, they are unaware of the modern retailing trends that can bring their business a long way.
5 Major Retailers’ Problems And Methods To Overcome Them
Let’s briefly look at major current retail problems and their practical solutions.
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Matching With the Customer’s Demand and Expectations
It is the most prominent retailer’s problem. Technology has made it possible to keep the world in your hand in the form of mobile. Everything you want to shop for is accessible to them. Today, young customers are increasing, and they are crazy about online shopping. All they want at their doorstep is a product catalog or order delivery. In simple words, they like to order from home and home delivery of the order. They neither want to visit a shop nor appreciate waiting for their turn in a long customer queue. They find it time-consuming and frustrating. Also, it increases the hazel of the retailer to handle many customers at once.
Solutions:
- Bring Your Business to the eCommerce platform or create your business website to make it reachable to your potential customers. Do marketing your products on various social media sites to make them accessible to everyone.
- Acknowledge your visitors by providing them with a detailed product catalog.
- Ask them to fill out a feedback form so you can better know their choices and likings and thus can improve your working infrastructure.
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Success In Attracting New Customers And Retaining Old Customers
Since they have multiple options, they don’t care anymore and prefer to explore more. Where they find the best deal, they get ready to buy. Therefore they must never miss out on the best deals from your end. Once you make a customer, you have to deliver him customer satisfaction. Making a loyal and repeat customer predominantly affects your return on investment. Acquiring a new customer require high investment cost than your older or retained customer. Hence it is one among the biggest challenges in retail industry.
Solutions:
- Bring some offers, discounts, and competitions regarding your products sales. Reward your customers on each round of shopping.
- Avoid traditional marketing methods like banners, holdings, and newspaper advertisements. Use social; media platforms to make your product accessible to net spender target customers.
- Develop a robust Customer Relationship Management System to help you retain your customers.
- Stay in touch with your old customers. Offer them a customer care helpline to get desired help regarding their purchase when required. It develops trust in them.
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Establishing A Proper Supply Chain Management
For the success of your business in the retail industry, it is necessary to provide the desired product to your customers on demand. There should be a balanced relationship between demand and supply of the product. If the request is high and you do not have that particular product in your available stock. It can encourage your customers to go to your competitors. The supply chain management is a big retail problem and it has the following solutions.
Solution:
- It is crucial to have a sound inventory management system. To make the product available on-demand, inventory and seasonal inventory are vital factors.
- Adopt a robust logistics system. Logistics have formalities and an integration system by which customers can place their orders when required.
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Adopting A Digital And Cashless Payments
In the last two years, the use of UPI transactions has grown about 1200 times. The customers don’t want to go in cash. Noone supports keeping a significant amount in their pockets. The government of India is also encouraging cashless or digital transactions. Rupay UPI transaction is an example.
Solution:
Retailers should adopt digital transaction methods in their business. They should contact the virtual gateway of contactless transactions. Customers can make online payments for their shopping items. There are additional benefits to the retailers also. There is a direct bank-to-bank transfer of money. So they are not supposed to go to the bank to deposit money daily.
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Absence Of A Proper Data Management System
Data is the key to every working process. Without Data, the thought of a retail business is just an imagination. Data management is one of the biggest retail challenges various retailers have to face during survival. Multi-channel shopping is the primary choice of modern customers. Most retailers cannot bring their data on different channels. They do not have a robust data management system that can regulate, update and convey the Data properly.
Solution:
- Businesses should significantly modify their data-driven approach. It is equally beneficial for companies’ internal infrastructure and gaining high customer experience.
- A suitable communication medium is essential, To forecast the real need of your consumer. You can import Artificial Intelligence or Chatbots to know your customers better.
- An advanced data strategy helps you find your loyal customers, make decisions, and update consumers for new upcoming.
Conclusion
Money is not a problem nowadays. Customers approach for higher quality and brands. Urbanization has changed the behavior and choices of modern customers. Shopping malls, supermarkets, and organized retail are the majority of competitors, and people prefer to shop there. Such competition creates concerning problems in retailing. The best way to win these challenges is to adopt a flexible and innovative technical approach and a sound business management system. Changing the traditional business and marketing methods increase the possibility of your business success.