Technology in Retailing and Management - Essay Example

? Technology in Retailing   Introduction Retailing is the activity through which there is a sale of goodsand services to a consumer with the main aim and goal of earning a profit and this is by ensuring one has as bigger a margin as possible. To ensure that these is the end goal for them retailers always tend to purchase their goods from either manufacturers, producers or even inventors in bulk so as to in one way or another get a discount. With this in hand it means that when they sell the said goods in small quantities they can be able to put a given percentage as their profit and thus attain the same. Retailing can take many form depending on the individual concerned since he/ she may decide to take on a door-to-door delivery system where he/ she goes to the consumer even if they at times might not have ordered the same (Baker, Grewal & Levy, 2004). This at times influence impulse buying. Another form involves the use of a given permanent location that may be a shop, mall or even market place. In this second scenario the customer only buys when they themselves have gone to the said place. From the above small description of what retailing is we can proceed and take a keen look at the various models of retailing we have. The first model involves independent retailers who are basically ones who have built a given business from its inception to its current state. They are those who we call the entrepreneurs who see to it that a business grows from an idea they had, its early stages of growth until it is fully established (Emmitt, 2012). Independent retailers are very different from the second group of retailers who only acquire an already existing business. These retailers either acquire the business through buying the said business or at times it through inheritance. We can see that these group does not have the difficulties of coming up with a plan and executing it to inception. Theirs is just to maintain and improve on an already existing business. In this group we can say in one way or another may entail franchise where there is a purchase of a franchise which is like buying the legal approval to use a brand name, or the concept and business plan of an existing business. The final model of retailing we look at is the technology based business which involves the use of technology in the acquisition, retaining and servicing of consumer needs. Thus due to a still competition from already existing models of retailing, technological retailing has to establish and follow given guidelines in order to stay among the top models. After all is said and done we have to take a look at the E-strategies used in retailing to one way or another ensure the success and practicality of the retailing business (Baker, Grewal & Levy, 2004). The first option involves offline shopping which we have looked at in detailed in the previous paragraphs. It is also known as bricks where consumers are at liberty to try, feel and even measure or fit on product before they can acquire the said product. This is not to mean that they may accept returns from consumers as this varies depending on the terms and conditions of the retailer. In this category as we have seen may involve clothing stores, supermarkets and malls among other on location retailers. Another very familiar option involves the seeing of the products online and buying the same offline which is commonly known as bricks and some clicks.in these scenario, consumers tend to gather information about a given service or good online via the internet and after some comparison and analysis goes ahead to buy the said product in a store that has the same. This strategy might not work for the website operator especially if the site is not part of the ownership of the store (Emmitt, 2012). This is because a consumer might research on a given alien site and proceed to buy the product from a different store thus the website operator gets nothing. Another issue with online research before purchasing is that if the information on the site is not updated one might get the wrong information in terms of the pricing or even availability of the actual product in the store. The most viable strategy is the offline and online retailing which is also known as true bricks and clicks. This is where there is an intertwining between offline and online retailing that allows a consumer to make and specify a given order on a particular product either offline or online and still have the option of either going to collect the said product in person at a predefined store location or have the product delivered to them at their point of residence (Baker, Grewal & Levy, 2004). These might be a very important phase especially to retailers who want to transition from offline retailing to online retailing. This transition phase allows the consumers to adjust to the same while giving the retailers a chance to correct any issue that may arise then before a full transition occurs. Finally there is the clicks only strategy which is purely an online retailing choice. This is an option give to consumers to directly search, analyze and purchase goods and services from a retailer via the internet. It is commonly known as e-commerce to many. Here the consumer and retailer never meet and the only media of communication is the web browser where the consumer enters what he/ she want and the retailers ensures the delivery is made with the option of payment before delivery or on delivery (Emmitt, 2012). This form is required to have a very high level of security and confidentiality to ensure a good and professional relationship is maintained between the retailer and the consumer. Online retailing in itself cannot function without communication. In one way or another, consumer and the retailer have to communicate. This aspect is the core concern of many retailers when set up an online platform for retailing. This in itself brings us to the basic reasoning of the interaction between a consumer and the website while not forgetting the website and the retailer on the other side of the divide (Szymanski & Hise, 2000). We have talked about scenarios where a retailer may decide to target a different continent as his/ her new market niche or block. What happens to the communication? How do they address and understand each other? The best strategy for an online retailer is to give their consumer the option of switching between languages through applications that offer translation like the Google translator. This ensures that in as much that there might be a language barrier between the two, which should not be a hindrance for someone to miss an opportunity to purchase a product of his liking. Communication in itself requires heavy investment and may hinder and tender an online retailer from accessing a potential market just because of lack of communication. .eShop is an online retailing platform that tends to encourage and support online retailer in the smooth running of their business. It is a platform that gives online retailers a simpler access to consumers online by giving consumers an option to select a number of products from a site and kind of place them in a cart for easier purchase where the consumer buys them in one bulk option (Baker, Grewal & Levy, 2004). This makes it easy for consumers to know what is being charged and the total cost of purchase by saving them time to calculate. Even better is the fact that from where one is doing the purchase, the platform calculates even the shipping and taxable amount such that on payment it is a one of payment with no uncertainties involved with shipping fee and levied taxes on the said product. The final online retailing platform we take a look at is the online trading community. This is a group of retailers that come together to from an organization with the aim of setting up governing rules and conditions on the form of trading to undertake and the code of conducts for its members. This ensures that there is fair play during trading by discouraging undercutting of deals and mischief by its members towards one another (Emmitt, 2012). In a broader view of the same we see that these ensures continuity of a given business establishment where fair play is tolerated and encouraged with the more established traders looking towards accommodating the less experienced traders. Advantages and disadvantages of online-retailing Time is money as many claim and this is an important aspect we look at as people in general. If there is anything that can save on time then consumers are very ready to welcome it which bring us to the point of saving time as an advantage in online-retailing to the consumer. If one can click and purchase something at a go then to them its way better an option which sees many consumers preferring to shop online with the option of delivery. This is mostly important to the working class group in the society whose time is always defined by an activity that is supposed to be undertaken (Baker, Grewal & Levy, 2004). They are the people who have access to the internet and thus a click away from purchasing an order they require thou this cannot be said of the aged and elders who to them technology is hard to learnt and the time they would spent on the internet is way more than going to the actual store to purchase the same. Therefore we can see that time saving is not an outright advantage since it depends on who is being talked about. The next issue is on pricing of products. In as much as online-retailers may have the intension of lowering prices to attract more traffic, the cost tends to shift the other way. That is, for one to shop online there has to be internet connections to enable that. This requires payment for the internet service and even though the changes tend to be reducing the poor group in the society cannot afford even the computer itself to start with (Baker, Grewal & Levy, 2004). This disadvantages them since they have to travel at times out of their locality just to find friendlier store that may offer discounts enjoyed by the well-doing group in society who can afford online-shopping. The issue on imaging of the picture of the product and the actual product arises here. We understand that anything posted on the website can be enhanced to entice the consumer only to be disappointed at the site of the actual product. Softwares like Adobe Photoshop may be used by online-retailer to portray a high quality product only to be the opposite of the actual product when purchased by the consumer. This is true especially on fresh products like vegetables, fruits and meat products whose quality is determined by the shelf life of the same. Online retailers sometimes claim that they tend to increase sells through referrals (Szymanski & Hise, 2000). The question that comes to our mind is what about impulse buying witnessed in offline stores. It may be a point to argue about but impulse buying is more practical when a consumer is seeing the actual product and even having the option of touching and feeling it. The feeling of touching generates a sense of ownership to him/ her which influences his urge to buy as opposed to a product he/ she sees online. The best advantage that a consumer gets from an online retailer even if he/ she is in a geographically-dispersed area. This is because almost all if not all online-retailers offer a bundled service of delivery to their customers. This ensures that no matter where you place your order the product will be delivered to you. This of course comes at a price since most of them charge delivery services separately depending on your location from their central point. This means that you have to choose between distance and cost. Product information is key to both the retailer and the consumer. This knowledge reduces the chances of returns by the customers and this issue is well tackled by online retailers (Emmitt, 2012). Most of their websites have detailed description of the products and at times they provide links to respective manufacturers for the consumer to access. This becomes very effective in product knowledge as opposed to when a consumer only goes and picks a product from a shelf of a store with little or no information on the same. Another advantage of online retailing is that it provides a perfect pathway in launching new products. This is because the retailers can tag the name of the product with popular keywords that consumers search on the net or through the use of pop up messages that encourage consumers to open them and take a look at the product (Baker, Grewal & Levy, 2004). This is effective especially if you know your target market be it teenagers, working class or even a particular gender. This option can also include links of videos demonstrating the benefits of new products while giving them an option to post feedbacks on the same. A point related on the one above also involve use of customer service emails which ensure that the consumer is always in contact with the retailer be it in the evening or weekend he/ she is sure when they sent a mail it is delivered to the retailer as opposed to on location stores whose accessibility is only limited to the working hours (Szymanski & Hise, 2000). Such platforms i.e. online retailing can use internet services to their advantage like the use of referrals which was mentioned earlier. It can be used in promotions of special offers by linking with other retailers who offer related products. This can be done by bundling the two together and offering the consumer a special offer on the same. All the activities carried out via the internet require a professional who can maintain and run the website. This therefore provides employment opportunities to system administrators who core work is to ensure the proper running of the website with minimal if any interruption being noticed by the consumer on the other side. This however is controversial since a system can be maintained by very few people as opposed to a store that requires a group of workers to assist shoppers when they go to stores to shop. Therefore we see the latter being weightier than the earlier and may conclude that online retailing does more harm than good when it comes to employment opportunity. Conclusion Online retailing as we have seen is a world on its own. It is still new in its inception and only greater visions can steer it to greatness with the public in general having a chance to contribute to its success. It may be complex to understand to some but its opportunities are many since the banking industry can contribute a lot in terms of the form of payment involved, the social media by itself can drive sales when used effectively through smart marketing and advisement. The media itself is a form of online retailing since in the recent past there have been emergence of television home shopping. This can only get better if utilized well though the same cannot be said of franchisees whose option may involve setting up warehouses near consumers for ease and efficiency in delivery of products as opposed to handling directly the transactions since truth be told online-retailing can be even coordinated from different continents since it only requires internet connection. Bibliography Baker, J., Grewal, D., & Levy, M. 2004, An experimental approach to making retail store environment decisions. Journal of Retailing, 68(4), 445–460. Emmitt, S. 2012, Aspects of Building Design Management London: Routledge. Szymanski, D.M. & Hise, R.T. 2000, “E-satisfaction: an initial examination”, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 76 No. 3, p. 309. Read More