Different Merchandise Strategies - Research Paper Example

Literature Review Different Merchandise Strategies The retail market typically thrives when s identify the efforts the retailer makes to appeal to their needs, that is why smaller convenience outlets within town centers are becoming so popular (Shannon para 5). Secondly, online sales are becoming the new trend to in replacing the out of town big retail sheds coupled with top-up shopping at their local stores. Notably, the current crop of consumer conducts extensive research on their purchases online, by comparing numerous stores inventory using gadgets such as their Smart phones.

Valuable retail web sites will boost foot traffic to the stores, when the retailers are able to connect their consumers purchase history. The retailers are now more and more involved in their consumer online research instead of allowing other expert reviewers or the customer produced reviews and blogs to outwit them. The retailers are now more involved in their customer online social site in reviewing their products and services (Jones 1). The other trend in the offing for retailers is holding of inventory so as to aid their customers to maintain minor inventories at home.

This entails retailer innovativeness needs being linked to the target market, merchandise growth potential, fashion trends, customer segments, and receptiveness to consumers. Retailers are developing concepts which focus on defined price points, geographic markets and convenience offers since consumers are most probable to react to offers plus promotions which are pertinent to their desires and consistent with precedent behaviors (Fiorito, Gable and Conseur 880). Therefore, retailers can use loyalty programs in order to identify their customers, and which also focus on real customer behavior as a forecaster of future purchasing behaviors.

For instance, customized coupons give customer information on a weekly basis and this allows the retailers to quickly make decisions concerning any alteration in their consumer’s behavior. Retailers are also sharing their forecasts, buying plans along with sales information as part of their cooperation initiatives with smaller local retail outlets via data integration. They have realized that they need to possess the capability to act in response to any unexpected demand, re- purchasing of trending styles, and to delay or cancel slow moving styles (Jones 1).

Current consumers are not just looking for larger weekly purchases, but they focus on special purchasing experience and the product, one that is just exact for them. They tend to focus on products and their core needs rather than keeping pace with existing fashion trends. Moreover, they are at all times concerned with the lowest price. Therefore, merchandise plus deals offered online or through mobile devices will certainly be part of the new retail trend. In addition, the cost conscious consumers are forcing retailers to forecast based on specific variety of merchandise, in particular the profitability, controlled decision making and declining goods plus services.

As such, smaller convenience branches in town centers imply that retailers need to improve their multichannel integration (Mitchell, Hutchinson and Bishop 160). Further pressures on retailers consist of broadening supply chains even as the lead times requisite for planning varies, that is why executable business intelligence acquired via the utilization of integrated systems as well as exception reporting will facilitate retailers to come up with quicker and better-informed preference. In such an environment whereby consumers are moving away from "big-box" retail store, retailers are forced to enhance their supply chain processes, and they need to continually endeavor to lower their inventory levels, in addition to decreasing their expenses of handling the merchandise.

This will enable them to effectively plan, purchase, and assign reduced quantity of inventory without harmfully impacting their stores in-stock levels or even decreasing their range selection (Dunne, Lusch and Carver 155). Also, the move by consumers not to regularly use "big-box" retail store in favor of local smaller outlets, implies that retailers need to innovate their branding strategies. Retailers need to merge their disparate brands and enhance the sophistication of their private brand offing.

This requires broadening the brand beyond the boundaries of their stores to fostering the progression of a concrete brand portfolio by differentiating their offers and building scales. Due to margin pressures, retailers will have to lessen their dependence on branding manufacturers, by fighting for concessions from their suppliers, and at the same instance shifting more responsibilities of inventory administration to their suppliers. In order to revitalize their merchandizing mix, retailers initiate their product development teams to come up with products that are only exclusive to their own stores or private labels.

Hence, the private labels helps the retailers to be differentiated from the smaller local retail outlets that are now preferred by consumers, by making sure that the product designs and brand are only available in that particular store (Parrish, 548). Retailers have been trying to develop their customers shopping experience through the use of Point-of-Purchase Advertising. They use this medium to revamp their store image and to re-direct their store traffic to the smaller outlets. In addition, they use POP to reinforce their merchandising plans as it is more credible.

Therefore, Point-of-Purchase Advertising has become the most crucial form of retailers marketing plan as it is at the critical point where products, the consumers, and money to buy merge simultaneously, In addition to serving as the silent salesperson (Dave and Sondhi 34). Works Cited Dave, S and S Sondhi. "Reach out for hot space – In-store advertising in the era of organised retailing with special reference to digital signage." GNA Journal of Management 2.1 (2007): 30–36. Dunne, Patrick M, Robert F Lusch and James R Carver.

Retailing. London: Cengage Learning, 2010. Fiorito, Susan S, Myron Gable and Amanda Conseur. "Technology: advancing retail buyer performance in the twenty-first century." International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management 38.12 (2010): 879 - 893. Jones, Adams. "The added value of good information: Tesco cuts back on store opening." The Financial Times 18 April 2011. Mitchell, Richard, Karise Hutchinson and Susan Bishop. "Interpretation of the retail brand: an SME perspective." International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management 40.2 (2012): 157 - 175.

Parrish, Erin. "Retailers' use of niche marketing in product development." Journal of Fashion Marketing and Managment 14.4 (2010): 546-562. Shannon, Sarah. "Grocers Abandon Big Is Beautiful as Tesco Leads: Retail." Bloomberg L.P. 27 March 2012.