Retailing has undergone a huge transformation over the
years. From Baby boomers to Gen X to Gen Y buyers, everyone has seen a change
in buying behaviour, and the mass appeals, tastes and choices of these buyers
are evolving every second, thanks to the global culture transformation.
What seems to work as a store format, a couple of years ago
have seen paradigm shifts in terms of competition as newer non-store formats
are constantly probing the retail consumer. Even according to Kotler's Black
Box Model, the environmental stimuli keeps influencing the buyer to probe into
different products and look for different, unexpected value additions which
would not only satisfy, but also delight the retail buyer and provide him with
an experience.
So what does the retail consumer do? He is suddenly
bombarded with so many choices. A person wanting to shop, to enjoy the entire
shopping experience would demand a little extra from the mall or store he shops
from. On the other hand the consumer, who wants maximum value at least possible
prices, would prefer a wider assortment of goods and a wide plethora of choices
to suit his everyday needs.
A retail consumer may even want to sit back and relax at
home and do all the shopping for the months groceries. A working professional
does not have the time to buy a digital camera, so he orders it through the
internet.
Research shows that a retail consumer is willing to pay
twenty five dollars extra, if he is extremely satisfied with the shopping
experience. Hence retailing giants strive hard to give that extra delight to
consumers by providing innovative yet delightful experiences to the consumers.
For example, according to a research conducted by Calif-based regional mall
REIT Macerich, to identify what attracts more consumers, the study showed that
fountains can play an important role in increasing sales.
Fountains create an atmosphere which is attractive and
invites more consumers to enjoy the entire experience of shopping. There is
also a huge fountain outside Las Vegas Bellagio casino which is synchronized
with musical tunes and attracts hundreds of shopper's every day.
Most retailers now understand this, and are striving hard to
create a complete 'Shopping Destination' by adding innovative features like these
to create a differentiating factor among other retailers.
Additional tips to budding retailers as well as established
retailing giants:
- Consumer delight is everything. Focus on consumer by
providing him with value products at a convenient and well designed retail
store.
- Mass customization is the way of the future.
Organizations like Dell, Levis Strauss have showed an example of how
effective it is to provide customized offerings to its consumers.
- Focus on differentiating with other competitors by providing
a complete shopping experience.
- Use innovative techniques and store formats like pop-up
retail, to target consumers who lead hectic lives and need an outlet for
high-speed retail.
Retailing has been largely dominated by category killers
like Wal-Mart, Home-Depot, Starbucks, however with changing consumer buying
trends and using innovative retailing practices, small independent retailers
can still survive in the marketplace, by differentiating their offerings and
providing a unique experience to consumers.
Lawrence Gilbert shares more on Marketing Insight at his homepage:
http://marketing-insight-blog.blogspot.com/
Source:
ezinearticles.com
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