Supermarket Sale Management and the Supermarket Industry - Research Proposal Example

A research proposal on supermarket sale management and the supermarket industry Introduction The supermarket industry has become one of the most lucrative industries in the world and their expansion has been rapid. Every year, the sales turnover in this industry are increasing rapid and they have been employing a lot of people. In most of the cases, the retail market in the world are considered to be mature and hence most of the large retailers are mostly like to remain dominant players while trying to increase their market share through mergers and acquisitions and turning themselves into supermarkets (Engleson, M. 2001). The sales turnover and the rapid growth of supermarket has been as a result of the enormous changes that the industry has undergone in last few years. There has been also a rise in the number of supermarket in the world and their sales volume has been increasing rapidly due to increased demand of various products from various consumers. With the increased competition, many people in the supermarket industry have realized the importance of offering a wide range of products from groceries, electronic items, and clothing among other items which will ensure that their shops have a competitive edge over the rest of their rival supermarkets. The supermarket industry has therefore played a significant role in the growth of the economy in terms of creating employment, provision of vital goods to customers among other roles and most of the supermarkets have undeniably adapted it. Nevertheless, most of the international supermarkets such as wal-mart have been able to survive and they have been able to reinvent themselves over a period of time so as they can be able to attract and maintain a wide base of loyal customer and increasing their sales volume (Robert, S. 2003). Most of them have come up with new concepts and innovation and hence they have been able to succeed in their endeavors. In this world where competition is thrive, it seems as everybody is following the same line where most of the supermarkets have become a one stop shopping place and hence killing off the small scale retailers. On the other hand, there has been some criticism on the role that most of the supermarkets have played in the growth of the economy since most of them have been said to be killing off the small scale retailers in the neighborhood. On the other hand, the supermarket industry is currently faced with some challenges of trying to maintain a market share and profits while attempting some of the new concepts in order they would be able to differentiate themselves from other types of retailers (Carmen, M. 1994). It has been shown that there has been some major demographic and consumer lifestyles which have changed the shopping behavior of consumers and that are why consumers choose where to shop and the products they require (Robert, S. 2003). On the other hand, most of the traditional supermarkets have witnessed a decline in how much shoppers spend and how frequently they shop in a particular store and hence the importance of the changes that have been witnessed in most of these supermarkets (Narasimhan, S. 2006). While there have been some supermarket operators whom have attempted to reduce the operational cost and slashing the prices of the products they stock, they find this to be a tough approach when competing with low cost operators like Wal-Mart and Costco and hence there is a need of re-evaluating their strategies (Kahn, B. 1997). Literature review Majority of supermarkets are essentially devising various strategies of increasing their sales volume and maintaining customer loyalty over the years, and some of the strategies used is diversifying in their products and reducing the prices of their products. However, in our increasingly busy lives, consumers are relying on supermarkets for all their shopping needs due to the fact that it is a one shopping place (Kaufmann P.J. 1994). It has been shown in various instances that customers know what to expect and want and whenever they walk into a supermarket. Many of the players whom are in the supermarket industry have learned that establishing clear points of differentiation is the best offense for a highly competitive price/value-based environment in this industry (Lal, R. 2000). Most of the players have started to believe that by trying to focus on their primary shoppers and offering products they want to buy, at fair prices, would result into increase sales for their stores (Bendixen, M. 2007). Most of the people whom have invested in this industry have tried this by trying to treat their consumers with a lot of love, tender and affection in order to ensure that there is growth in their industry. In order for them to find a niche, some supermarkets are experimenting with diversifying their "neighborhood markets," and also up-scalling their stores in order for them to offer more natural, ethnic, and organic foods (Narasimhan, S. 2006). On the other hand, most of the people in this industry have tried to diversify their products and hence they have realized that some of the products that they have wishes to offer must take a market-orientated approach to in relation to prices, they have approached it differently (Engleson, M. 2001). In most cases, the approach that they pursued is usually different from the others and this is mainly based on the products which have been said to have a different characteristics which among them includes being bought by consumers regularly and it has to have a wide customer base whom have a lot of information concerning the product and hence this would increase their sales. On the other hand, some of these products are most likely to be small in number in relation to a supermarkets overall product range their impact is considered to be important to the overall performance of a supermarket due to the image that they create and for their ability to increase overall sales and profitability of their supermarkets (Kaufmann P.J. 1994). However, in the recent days, there has been a trend whereby most of the conventional supermarket stores have been formatted in such a way that they have started reflecting a shift towards a merchandising approach whereby they are offering most of their products at a discounted price (Gibson, R. 2003). This has been one of the strategies whereby they have been able to capture a wide clientele of consumers. On the other hand, most of the customers usually h Walters, R. 1998), he suggested that approximately 40 percent of the population he had sampled in Chicago suggested that they did not have an idea of what it is having for dinner and hence they were turning to supermarkets for their meals. Also most of these supermarkets have therefore tried to capture the booming market in ready-to-eat food and it is also estimated that 45 percent of food dollars are spent away from home and these are mainly in the supermarkets (Carmen, M. 1994). Most of the supermarkets will continue redefining their methodologies of doing their business with various consumers and hence most of them have seen a shift in their strategies. However, it can be highlighted that there has been a stiff competition which has raised the bar for supermarket retailers and hence some of the players in this industry have simply lost sight of what the customers needed and wanted (Bendixen, M. 2007). Regardless, in the recent times most of the customers have less time, and are more intelligent, than ever before and hence the supermarket retailers will continue facing an ever increasing survival pressures and therefore there is a need for consolidation in the market space which will continue to affect the existing supermarket chains, both the large and small scale supermarket (Engleson, M. 2001). Most of the top rated supermarkets such as wal-mart will on the other hand continue increasing their customer base and the size of their store base through recent acquisitions are struggling to absorb what they have bought while trying to defend market share against the upcoming supermarkets (Lal, R. (2000). Nevertheless, there is a need for each retailer to search for its own winning formula in order they can be able to compete with other players and hence they would be able to succeed and this is an advantage that most of the supermarket retailers must take advantage of new innovations and hence they should be able to create customer experiences that deliver true differentiation (Kahn, B. 1997). However, in the recent days, the global economy has been performing badly and there is a need for major players in the supermarket industry to find ways of increasing their sales volume in this industry. Some of the recommendations that most of the players have done include a variety of processes. Since supermarket industry employs several employees in their stores, there is a need of the management to consider retrenching some of the redundant employees, also there are some of the employees who usually perform duties which can be outsourced from other companies such as the cleaners and other employees who perform duties which can be performed by other employees (Mulhern, F. 2007). By retrenching such kind of employees, the supermarket will be able to save some costs which the supermarket incurs in terms of paying their salaries, insurance scheme, and medical scheme among others (Bendixen, M. 2007). My case on this argument is that by retrenchment and outsourcing other services from other companies, Supermarket industry will reduces cost since the supermarket incur since those costs will be borne by the supermarket which they outsource services from. This is a recommendation which has been undertaken by several companies since most of the managers have realized that they normally use a lot of financial resources in terms of paying expenses for employees working on non essential departments within a supermarket and hence through outsource or contracting other companies to undertake those services, they will be able to save some money since they will not be liable to pay some of the costs that the contracted employees incur such as medical bills and those cost will be incurred by the supermarket which has been contracted. Also it can be highlighted that the purpose of retrenchment is to stabilize the declining supermarket so that a firm like Supermarket industry will be able to have the means to attempt its recovery strategy (Kaufmann P.J. 1994). Research has also found out that through retrenching companies are able to save a lot of cost and hence increase their financial portfolio. Research question and objectives Research has shown that the most of the supermarkets have a lot of topical and controversial issue and hence there is a need of researching how supermarkets have been able to increase their sale and how they are managed and used their brand to increase customer loyalty over years. With the debate which has been appearing with most of the economist concerning the supermarket industry, there is a need of conducting a research concerning how well supermarket industry can be managed and how their sale management is: The objectives of this research are to: 1. To find out current opinions towards sale management in supermarket industry. 2. To look at the concept of supermarkets; its importance, the extent to which it operates in the society, and if the various techniques adapted by most of the managers in this industry have been able to increase their sales and how they have been able to dominate other retailers and increase loyalty of their customers. 3. To add to the body of knowledge existing between the supermarket industry. Methodology/Research design Both qualitative and quantitative semi structured interviews will be conducted on a purposive sample of subjects. Qualitative data will be collected through the use of questionnaires, in form of emails, physical questionnaires and this will be administered to some selected workers in the international high street stores and the communities where the organization operates. Quantitative data will also be collected through the use of questionnaires, direct observation and this will be done to some selected international supermarkets such as wal-mart and this will mainly focus on issues concerning sales management and brand loyalty of customers. After data collection and capture, data will be analysed through the use of pie charts, bar graphs based on the percentage of response in order for research to determine the various effects related to the research question. Primary data will be collected via direct observation, questionnaires which will be both close ended and open ended questionnaires, surveys etc, while secondary data will be collected from various literatures and research projects undertaken by researchers concerning supermarkets and sales management.. The sample size will be determined by the base of their regular customers; however, it should be more than 200 people in number. Research Design: I will be use quantitative research design to accomplish this research. In this research, I will collect both quantitative and qualitative data on the supermarket and sale management in the supermarket industry. I will conduct interviews, supply questionnaires and use secondary sources to get information. Data Analysis: In this research, I will analyze the data using several methods of data analyses depending on the type of the data it is. I will use Analytical induction to develop a hypothesis concerning the relationship between supermarket and sale management in supermarket (Mulhern, F. 2007). I will also use event analysis in order to establish the situation of sales management in supermarkets and its relationship to the entire industry A preliminarily indication of results and conclusions It is estimated that after collection of data, the preliminary indication of result will highlight the role of sales management in the supermarket industry and how the management of supermarkets have been able to increase their customer base and sale turnover despite the various challenges they have faced. The international supermarket case study in this research will highlight how sales management and management of supermarkets can be used by the management of various supermarkets stores in order for them to have a competitive edge over the rest of companies. It is also anticipated that the result will show the importance of sales management framework of most of these supermarket can be enhanced and the threats which are faced by these chain of supermarkets to function effectively and efficiently. Project Planning Bibliography Bendixen, M. (2007). Corporate Identity, Ethics and Reputation in Supplier-Buyer Relationships. Journal of Business Ethics 76 Pickton, D. & Broderick, A., (2005), Integrated Marketing Communications, [2nd edition], Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. Narasimhan, S. (2006) "Competitive Promotional Strategies", Journal of Business, 61 Robert, S. (2003) Supply Chain Specific Understanding the Patchy Success of Ethical Sourcing Initiatives. Journal of Business Ethics, 44 Gibson, R. (2003) "Broad Grocery Cuts May Not Pay", Wall Street Journal, May 7, B1- B8 Haynes, W. (2004) Pricing Decisions in Small Business, Greenwood Press, Westport. Kahn, B. (1997) The Grocery Revolution, Addison-Wesley Longman, MA, USA Lal, R. (2000) "Retail Pricing and Advertising Strategies", Journal of Business. Kaufmann P.J. (1994) "Deception in Retailer High-Low Pricing: A 'Rule of Reason' Approach", Journal of Marketing Research Carmen, M. (1994) "Retail Pricing and Advertising Strategies", Journal of Business, 67 Engleson, M. (2001) Pricing Strategy, Joint Management Strategy, Portland Guiltinan, J. (2001) "The Price Bundling of Services: A Normative Framework", Journal of Marketing Monroe, K.B. (1990) Pricing - making profitable decisions, McGraw Hill, New York. Walters, R. (1998) "A Structural Equation Analysis of the Impact of Price Promotion on Store Performance", Journal of Marketing Research. Mulhern, F. (2007) "Implicit Price Bundling of Retail Products: A Multiproduct Approach to Maximising Store Profitability", Journal of Marketing Read More