Welcome to our 5th part of the “Retail Week Series”. Today we strive to shed light on the Major Pain Points faced by Retailers and dealing them effectively will be our Solutions. The article is immensely helpful to all retailers, eCommerce firms, technology players and budding entrepreneurs for running a successful Retail business. So, let’s go through it one by one.
India’s Retail Pain Points and Its Solutions Revealed
1. wwww.etailingindiaexpo.com
India’s Retail Pain Points and Its Solutions Revealed
Welcome to our 5th part of the “Retail Week Series”. Today we strive to shed light on the Major Pain
Points faced by Retailers and dealing them effectively will be our Solutions. The article is immensely
helpful toall retailers,eCommerce firms, technology players and budding entrepreneurs for running a
successful Retail business. So, let’s go through it one by one.
We Collect Data now But don’t do anything
Many retailers have put some sort of CRM platform in place to collect the data their customers give
them;names,emails,phonenumbers,purchase history,etc.Itwasclear that thisinformationwasgoing
to be useful, however, many retailers never figured out what to do with it. Soon those daily, weekly,
monthly records turned into huge heap of data to figure out.
Solution:
Let them use Big Data analytics to make sense and draw insights from it. Integration of CRM with
analytics enables retailers to see actionable insights that come out the other in easy to read reports.
2. wwww.etailingindiaexpo.com
Retailerscanmeetcustomers’expectationsbymakingstrategicinvestments in technology, engaging in
data analysis and carefully managing their various digital channels.
We want to connect our online and offline marketing campaigns
Anotherpainpointthathas become a trendisdisconnectionbetweenretailer’soffline andonline touch-
points.Plentyof customershave probablyinteractedwithyourbusiness onyourbrick-and-mortarshop.
However,you are still missing your online presence in case you don’t have one. Also, those who have
multiple online channels such as mobile, social, web in-store, it can be difficult to recognize those
several interactions from one person.
Solution:
Firstthingfirst,those whodon’thave an online shop please go and make one. You have to be aware of
the infinite opportunities present on the web. Again for Omnichannel players, connecting the dots is
important for marketing to become much easier. Instead of sending same promotional content to all
customers,retailerscannowpowerthemselvestosendfewerrelevantofferstosegments of customers
that resonate better with each individual. When a customer feels a business truly understands their
needs, they become much more loyal to that business.
3. wwww.etailingindiaexpo.com
We want to know our customers better
A seemingly simple but important question is how you know your customers better.
Solution:
The challenge hascouple of differentvariablesto it; data collection, data analytics, actionable insights,
and follow through.
The firststepis collectingpermissible datafromyourcustomersat everytouch point, this means asking
certainquestionsonsurveys,addingfieldstoyourloyaltyprogramsignup form, and observing patterns
inbehavior on different platforms. Next you need to have the ability to analyze, scrub and harmonize
this data and pull out actionable insights. These are the hard parts, which you need to work hard to
excel at. Once this is done, follow through is the key. Making changes, based on these insights will
improve the customer experience.
4. wwww.etailingindiaexpo.com
We have orders but cash transactions delays SCM
Postdemonetization,retailershave faced the brunt just like any citizen of our country due to shortage
of cash. There had been a substantial drop in business for retailers as the supply chain process took
longertime thanusual.Truckersandvendors/distributorswhere notable topaymoneyrequiredduring
transportation. This had a direct impact on the business of retailers.
Solution:
A UPI-basedpaymentsolutioncansolve manyof the paymentissue withsimple and effective payment
procedure.OnlinemarketplacesandRetailerscan make logistics handlers utilize the payment solution
by tying them up with the help of developers.
Similarly,OnlineRetailerscanextendcredittoitsdistributorssothattheywill dothe same to theirretail
partners, in an attempt to deal with the liquidity crunch. Thus going cashless is the key for smoother
business to happen.
We want to know the best way to present our brand on multiple-channels
Oftenyourfirstimpressionturnsyourlastone.It’simportanttorememberthatthe success of any sales
strategyhingesasmuch onexecutionasonthe strategyitself.Sohow dowe leverage the multi-channel
retail?
Solution:
Differentiate- Conveying a value proposition at first glance is essential for merchants to stick out in a
competitive field.
5. wwww.etailingindiaexpo.com
Brand consistency- All channels need to have consistent graphics and messaging to increase brand
recognition.
Streamlined operations- Synchronization of multichannel retailing is essential in managing sales,
processing orders, and fulfilling customer purchases — across multiple channels.
We are traditional retailers and losing out customers because of eCommerce firms
Many retailers have bitten the dust due to old methods of trading. One big example was during
demonetization itself. Since, they don’t have the capability or necessary infrastructure for online
presence; they miss out on the drifting online customers.
Solution:
Theyshouldexplore the deal of sellingtheir products online through any major eCommerce platforms.
Etailerssuchas Flipkart,Amazon,SnapdealandPaytmtoname a few have thousands of sellers on their
platform. Sellers also get an opportunity to put their products for international customers. Also, they
receive easy-repayment loans from their etailers to stock products.
Conclusion
Market presentsbothgreat opportunities as well as some unique challenges for Retailers. Technology
inclusion and smart selling can make them sustain and expand their business.