Performance of Any Particular Company in the Present Day - Coursework Example

Contemporary Retail Marketing Table of Contents Introduction 3 Review of the Article 3 Consumer Behaviour 5 5 Retail 6 Evolution of Retail Marketing 6 Consumer Buying Behaviour 8 8 Product Adopter Categories 9 Adoption Process 10 Recommendations and Conclusion 11 References 12 Introduction In the present day context, the performance of any particular company is largely reliant on several key variables that influence the business activities one way or the other. Contextually, it will be crucial to depict that effective operational functions of any business unit is directly dependent upon the shared performances of numerous organisational domains. A few of the notable business domains include human resource (HR), financial operations and marketing activities amid others. Among the various operational domains of any business, the significance of the marketing sector is primary. This is because of the aspect that marketing is the direct means to ensure proper connection with the customers. This aspect is again deemed to hold utmost importance in the retail sector of the world where marketing is a key aspect of the business. In the contemporary scenario, the industry is changing rapidly owing to the advancement of the technology along with the changing preferences of the customers to be involved in more convenient shopping experiences (Bromley & Thomas, 2002). Contextually, this particular study in keeping with the article titled “(R)etail (R)evolution etail is retail is etail” will provide a thorough discussion with regard the evolution in contemporary retail industry of the world with due consideration of the behaviours, buying decision process and preferences of the respective customers. Review of the Article The article titled “(R)etail (R)evolution etail is retail is etail” places a thorough emphasis on the retail sector of the world. It depicts the buying behaviour of the customers and how they frame their spending. The article primarily focuses on the buying experiences of the customers in the presence of the e-commerce in the retail sector in comparison with era of dot.com. The discussion in the article has been made on the experiences of the customers in terms of the choices, prices along with their conveniences. It has been noted that the prevalence of the e-commerce retailing is apparent in several destination of the world including the United States (US), India, Brazil and China among others as rapid increase in the sales in e-retailing sector has been witnessed in these countries over the years. Buying online has become one of the most convenient means for the customers in the contemporary society since it is both time and cost efficient. The connection of the e-commerce with the customers has largely been made in the presence of ‘m’ mobile and‘t’ tablet which further enables the customers to search and buy the right kind of product. A few of the companies including IKEA and one of the leading United Kingdom based retail organisation Tesco have implement latest technologies in order to enable the customers to buy their products through seeing the photos of the products. Additionally, a few of the biggest companies including Google and Amazon are also entering the e-retailing market to establish their business sector as per the changing buying behaviour of the customers. The article also depicts how e-commerce can be used as one of the most convenient means of marketing products and services further ensuring maximum brand development. Certain leading companies including Zara and Converse are using e-commerce to gain utmost benefits. The use of e-commerce is also ascertained in enhancing the buying experiences of the customers in terms of depicting appropriate display of the products. In this regard, companies including Upcload and Bodymetrics are using e-commerce to enhance their product display. Hence, the use of e-commerce is deemed to be quite extensive in the retail sector of the world and it has brought in a revolution in the entire sector altogether (Trendwatching, 2014). Consumer Behaviour Consumer behaviour is the approach of the consumers towards purchasing their products. A consumer’s behaviour is mainly influenced by the aspect of selective retention or selective distortion. Selective retention refers to the approach of consumers where they are able to remember the aspect that is closely related to their needs and beliefs. On the other hand, selective distortion refers to the aspect of the customers where they have the perception of interpreting information as per their beliefs. In the contemporary scenario, consumer behaviour is mostly driven by selective retention. The behaviour of the consumers also changes on the ground of cultural, social, personal as well as psychological factors. However, personal factors have utmost impact on the perception of the customers as their personal needs and attributes ultimately influence their buying decisions (Hawkins & et. al., 2007). With the transformation of the entire retailing sector owing to the advancement of the technology, the behaviour of the customers towards their purchase has also changed in a rapid manner. Now-a-days, customers seek to get maximum convenience along with multiple options with regard to buying products and services for themselves. With the emergence of e-commerce in the business purview, it has been deemed to fulfil these pertinent requirements by a considerable extent. In the contemporary scenario, companies intend to connect with the customers through social media and other technological means so that they can remain updated with the changing nature of the customers behaviour. It is believed that customers are the ultimate authority in the business sector who can decide the faith of an organisation, therefore gaining maximum attention of them will be of utmost importance (Koufaris, 2002). Hence, companies intend to operate their activities in accordance with the changing customers’ behaviour along with demands especially in the retail sector of the world. In the contemporary world, there are various key technological elements that enable customers track down the products they intend to buy from anywhere they want in a most convenient and efficient manner altogether. An example in this regard will be the “Tesco Homeplus: QR code bus stop stores” which enable customers to purchase their products from anywhere they seek to. It is a particular shopping application that directly enables customers to choose the products from the virtual displays that are being provided by the company in bus stops. People intending to buy any of the products of the company can simply scan the barcode with the assistance of the Homeplus app that is being provided by Tesco. This further enables the customers to ensure maximum convenience while purchasing products for themselves. Companies such as EBay are also influencing the behaviour of the customers through this sort of marketing approach. Another example of the prevalence of e-commerce and the impact on the customer buying behaviour is that of the approach of IKEA. The company markets its products in a unique way through linking products with the images in its Swedish blog wherein the customers will be able to buy directly from the images (Trendwatching, 2014; Mooij & Hofstede, 2002). This aspect also targets the present day buying behaviour of the customers and offers maximum convenience for them. Retail Evolution of Retail Marketing Notably, with the changing nature of the modern-day business environment, the approach of conducting the business has also changed rapidly over the last decade or so. This change in the business domain is mainly experienced owing to the advancement of the technology which has transformed the means of conducting the business activities in a comprehensive manner altogether. This aspect is also evident in the retail industry of the world where the impact of changing business environment and rapid technological advancement is quite apparent. The retail sector is one of the biggest and most significant business domains of the world. Its contribution towards the economy through reducing unemployment rate is deemed to be quite vital and noteworthy to say the least. It is estimated that the retail industry of the world will reach the figure of US$450 billion by the year 2015 which is again deemed to be quite a valuable prospect for the overall world economy. Notably, rapid changes have been experienced in this particular sector owing to the advancement of the technology which again directly results in changing buying and preferential behaviours of the customers all over the world (The Times of India, 2008). The digital technology that has been prevailing all over the world has entirely changed the way people purchase their needed products. The trend now-a-days is that people tend to buy more online than using traditional method of shopping through bricks and mortar stores owing to the fact that it is more convenient both in terms of time and money. The beginning of the era of the e-commerce in the retailing sector has changed the entire outlook of this particular sector which is again termed as retail revolution. The distribution types in the retail sector mainly include exclusive and inclusive forms of distribution. Inclusive distribution refers to the approach of the producer where they are heavily reliant on a large number of intermediaries while in exclusive approach the producers are deemed to rely on a few number of intermediaries. In the retail sector of the world, producer mainly prefers to involve with inclusive distribution as they intend to sell products of various brands to acquire maximum number of customers. In order to attain comprehensive understanding in this regard, the analysis of the customer behaviour and customer buying decisions will be crucial which are stated in details hereunder: Consumer Buying Behaviour The decisions of buying amid the consumers is influenced by several key factors which include the approach of the company, the types of marketing companies are involved with and the preferences of the customers among others. It is believed that the customers in the modern day scenario intend to take their decisions regarding buying their products at quite a short span of time. In order to take maximum advantage of this aspect, companies develop their marketing campaigns with the aim of catching the attention of the customers instantly. For example, Gucci has taken the approach of promoting its summer collections through the point-know-buy technologies where they upload videos showcasing the products of the company. This aspect is intended towards attracting the instant attention of the customers. In the modern day context, the buying decisions of the customers are also influenced by the approach of the companies towards engaging the buyers with the products. For instance, the management of Zara has come up with a people-oriented initiative where they encourage the buyers of their products to upload their photos wearing the apparel of the company every week. The company will select one photo every week from the company website and reward the same with EUR 300 (Trendwatching, 2014; Childers & et. al., 2001). This is an approach of the company towards engaging the customers to influence their buying decision making process further ensuring their loyalty towards the brand and its products. The decisions of buying of the contemporary customers are also influenced by the price at which the product is being offered. It is also believed that the buying behaviour of the customers is also influenced by offers and discounts that are being presented by companies. In this regard, it can be depicted that companies in the retail sector implement the approach of attracting the customers with the use of the social networks which are depicted as a primary source of executing e-commerce marketing. For example, Fopping.com, a small start-up firm has emerged with a particular scheme where it encourages the customers to get discounts on the products of business through sharing their potential purchases with the company in their social networks. The more a person can attract or make friends in the social network, the more will be the amount of discounts that he/she will get while buying products from the company. Since the company is quite new in the industry, it intends to attract the customers through its offers rather than its brand value which is quite less (Trendwatching, 2014; Childers & et. al., 2001). This is also one of the most common means of influencing the buying decision process of the customers. Hence, it is apparent that the retail sector has undergone rapid changes over the years along with alterations in the buying behaviour and decision making criteria of the customers in a considerable manner altogether. Product Adopter Categories These are the categories on the basis of which customers intend to try new products and services. A few of the criterion of product adopter include innovators, early majority, early adopters, laggards and late majority among others. The innovators are the people who prefer to take risks and use new products. The early adopters are the people who adopt products based on the opinion of others. The early majority are the people or the customers who select using new products based on what maximum number of people use. The late majority group are the people who follow the footsteps of the early majority. The laggards are the price sensitive customers who are quite conscious about their buying decisions making. The customers of the retail sector can be considered more relevant with the early majority who prefer to buy products based on what is popular in the market (Hawkins & et. al., 2007). Adoption Process The adoption process of the consumers in the retail sector includes the awareness of the products, developing interest towards the products, evolution of the products, trial of the products, retrial of the products along with adopting the products. In the first step, the customers develop awareness about the product. In the next step, consumers develop interest about acquiring the product. In the third step, the consumers evaluate the pros and cons of the products. Subsequently, they get involved in trying the product to get a comprehensive understanding about the same. In certain scenarios, customers involve in trying the products for several times before adopting or buying the same (Hawkins & et. al., 2007). These steps altogether form the adoption process of the customers with regard to buying products. Recommendations and Conclusion From the overall analysis, it is quite apparent that the retail sector of the world has changed rapidly owing to the advancement of technology and the advent of globalisation driven customer demands. Contextually, companies have the need to identify a set of the updated approaches to garner the attention of customers’ up to a considerable extent. In this regard, it will be recommended to companies in the retail sector that they will need to take maximum advantage of the social media while promoting their products and services in the retail sector. This is because of the aspect that the retail sector in the present day context is largely driven by technological advancements and customers also deemed to judge the companies by their approaches towards engaging them through interactive processes. Furthermore, companies especially the small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the retail sector will need to be more responsive towards shifting preferences of the customers in online shopping and frame their operational approaches accordingly. From the overall discussion, it can be comprehended that the business environment is changing rapidly in the recent years and companies have the need to operate in accordance with the same. In order to sustain for a longer duration in global business environment, companies have the need to mark their presence in the online retailing sector in order to ensure a better platform for selling their products. Hence, to conclude the discussion, it can be depicted that the contemporary retail sector is quite evolving and companies will need to be proactive accordingly in their approach in order to sustain profitably. References Books and Journals: Bromley, R. D. F. & Thomas, C. J., 2002. Retail Change: Contemporary Issues. Routledge. Childers, T. L. & et. al., 2001. Hedonic and Utilitarian Motivations for Online Retail Shopping Behaviour. Journal of Retailing, Vol. 77, pp. 511-535. Hawkins, D. I. & et. al., 2007. Consumer Behavior. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Koufaris, M., 2002. Applying the Technology Acceptance Model and the Flow Theory to Online Consumer Behaviour. Information System Research, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 205-223. Mooij, M. D. & Hofstede, G., 2002. Convergence and Divergence In Consumer Behaviour: Implications For International Retailing. Journal of Retailing, Vol. 78, pp. 61-69. Online Resources: The Times of India, 2008. Retail Revolution. Home. [Online] Available at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/Retail-Revolution/articleshow/3542176.cms [Accessed April 15, 2014]. Trendwatching, 2014. (R)etail (R)evolution Etail Is Retail Is Etail. Home. [Online] Available at: http://trendwatching.com/trends/etailevolution/ [Accessed April 15, 2014]. Read More