1. Retail Industry
Industry Overview
Definition
The retail industry is a sector of the economy that is comprised of individuals and companies
engaged in the selling of finished products to end user consumers. The retail industry division
includes units mainly engaged in the purchase and on selling, commission based buying, and
commission based selling of goods without significant transformation to the general public.
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a
department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mall, in small or individual lots for direct
consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery.
Purchasers may be individuals or businesses. In commerce, a "retailer" buys goods or
products in large quantities from manufacturers or directly or through a wholesaler, and then
sells smaller quantities to the end-user. Retail establishments are often called shops or stores.
Retailers are at the end of the supply chain. Manufacturing marketers see the process of
retailing as a necessary part of their overall distribution strategy. The term "retailer" is also
applied where a service provider services the needs of a large number of individuals, such as
a public utility, like electric power. All businesses that sell goods and services to consumers
fall under the umbrella of retailing.
Types of retail outlets
A marketplace is a location where goods and services are exchanged. The traditional market
square is a city square where traders set up stalls and buyers browse the merchandise. This
kind of market is very old, and countless such markets are still in operation around the whole
world.
In some parts of the world, the retail business is still dominated by small family-run stores,
but this market is increasingly being taken over by large retail chains.
Retail is usually classified by type of products as follows:
1. Food products
2. Hard goods or durable goods ("hardline retailers") - appliances, electronics, furniture,
sporting goods, etc. Goods that do not quickly wear out and provide utility over time.
3. Soft goods or consumables - clothing, apparel, and other fabrics. Goods that are
consumed after one use or have a limited period (typically under three years) in which
you may use them.
There are the following types of retailers by marketing strategy:

2. 1. Department stores - very large stores offering a huge assortment of "soft" and "hard
goods; often bear a resemblance to a collection of specialty stores. A retailer of such
store carries variety of categories and has broad assortment at average price. They
offer considerable customer service.
2. Discount stores - tend to offer a wide array of products and services, but they compete
mainly on price offers extensive assortment of merchandise at affordable and cut-rate
prices. Normally retailers sell less fashion-oriented brands.
3. Warehouse stores - warehouses that offer low-cost, often high-quantity goods piled on
pallets or steel shelves; warehouse clubs charge a membership fee;
4. Variety stores - these offer extremely low-cost goods, with limited selection;
5. Demographic - retailers that aim at one particular segment (e.g., high-end retailers
focusing on wealthy individuals).
6. Mom-And-Pop : is a retail outlet that is owned and operated by individuals. The range
of products are very selective and few in numbers. These stores are seen in local
community often are family-run businesses. The square feet area of the store depends
on the store holder.
7. Specialty stores: A typical speciality store gives attention to a particular category and
provides high level of service to the customers. A pet store that specializes in selling
dog food would be regarded as a specialty store. However, branded stores also come
under this format. For example if a customer visits a Reebok or Gap store then they
find just Reebok and Gap products in the respective stores.
8. General store - a rural store that supplies the main needs for the local community;
9. Convenience stores: is essentially found in residential areas. They provide limited
amount of merchandise at more than average prices with a speedy checkout. This
store is ideal for emergency and immediate purchases.
10. Hypermarkets: provides variety and huge volumes of exclusive merchandise at low
margins. The operating cost is comparatively less than other retail formats.
11. Supermarkets: is a self service store consisting mainly of grocery and limited products
on non food items. They may adopt a Hi-Lo or an EDLP strategy for pricing. The
supermarkets can be anywhere between 20,000 and 40,000 square feet (3,700 m2).
Example: SPAR supermarket.
12. Malls: has a range of retail shops at a single outlet. They endow with products, food
and entertainment under a roof.
13. Category killers or Category Specialist: By supplying wide assortment in a single
category for lower prices a retailer can "kill" that category for other retailers. For few
categories, such as electronics, the products are displayed at the centre of the store and
sales person will be available to address customer queries and give suggestions when
required. Other retail format stores are forced to reduce the prices if a category
specialist retail store is present in the vicinity.
14. E-tailers: The customer can shop and order through internet and the merchandise are
dropped at the customer's doorstep. Here the retailers use drop shipping technique.
They accept the payment for the product but the customer receives the product
directly from the manufacturer or a wholesaler. This format is ideal for customers
who do not want to travel to retail stores and are interested in home shopping.

3. However it is important for the customer to be wary about defective products and non
secure credit card transaction. Example: Amazon, Pennyful and Ebay.
15. Vending Machines: This is an automated piece of equipment wherein customers can
drop in the money in machine and acquire the products.
Some stores take a no frills approach, while others are "mid-range" or "high end", depending
on what income level they target.
Other types of retail store include:
1. Automated Retail stores are self service, robotic kiosks located in airports, malls and
grocery stores. The stores accept credit cards and are usually open 24/7. Examples
include ZoomShops and Redbox.
2. Big-box stores encompass larger department, discount, general merchandise, and
warehouse stores.
3. Convenience store - a small store often with extended hours, stocking everyday or
roadside items;
4. General store - a store which sells most goods needed, typically in a rural area;
5. Retailers can opt for a format as each provides different retail mix to its customers
based on their customer demographics, lifestyle and purchase behaviour. A good
format will lend a hand to display products well and entice the target customers to
spawn sales
Overview on level of uptake of technology in Retail Industry
Sixty per cent of Australian consumers want to use technology at some part of their
retail process, according to a study conducted by IBM.
IBM’s 2012 Smarter Consumer Study revealed that out of this 60 per cent of
consumers, 17 per cent want to use three or more technologies – such as websites,
social networking, televisions, etc. – in that process.
In specific, he said that the survey showed that 90 per cent of Australian consumers
wanted to use social networking as part of the shopping process. “It should come as
no surprise to retailers that digital technologies and the Web are impacting the
industry in a major way. However in Australia, the physical presence of a retailer is
still very important, so it’s not about eradicating bricks and mortar in favour of
online,” he said.
http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/419887/technology_will_reshape_retail_industry_ibm/#
closeme

4. In recent years retail industries have been constantly seeking to adopt new emerging
technologies for their business process to be more effective, efficient and automated.
For this the emerging technologies like wireless technologies, mobile technologies,
web based technology, e-commerce technology etc are being used in very effectively
and rapidly by the retail industry for better productivity, work automation, better
business process etc. Retail Industry sector have been constantly seeking to adopt new
emerging technologies and also upgrade their existing technologies as per the demand
from the technology oriented society and as the development of new technologies.
The extensive use of emerging technologies by the retail industries is significant for
the following organizational perspectives of this industry.
 Competitive advantage
 Return on investment (ROI)
 Customer convenience
 Demand from suppliers and/or customers
 Streamlining of operations.
Mobile Technology (Mobile Applications)
Definition:
Technology that is “untethered” from traditional devices such as computers. Typically
used on mobile phones, PDA's and other similar devices. Mobile technology is a
collective term used to describe the various types of cellular communication
technology. Since the start of this millennium, a standard mobile device has gone
from being no more than a simple two-way pager to being a mobile phone, GPS
navigation device, an embedded web browser and instant messaging client, and a
handheld game console. Mobile technologies are a subset of wireless technologies as
they operate under 3G, 4G networking. The devices that fall under mobile technology
can be used to store, modify, view, and transfer a wide range of file formats such as
Word documents, PDFs, HTML, and any number of device-specific formats. These
same devices can be used to store, access, modify, and remote-connect to databases
ranging from SQL Server to Oracle. They can also fit in your pocket and typically run
on rechargeable batteries. So they have a significant role in organizations.
Mobile technology in itself is not sufficient enough technology for organizations;
these technologies are extended with more functionality by installing mobile
applications on them. Mobile applications are similar to computer applications for
input, processing and output of data (information) but these are installed in mobile
devices rather than computers meaning these applications use mobile technology and
mobile network as their operating medium.

5. There are different forms of mobile applications such as:
• Communications apps
Email on mobiles
Instant messengers
Voice over IP on mobiles
Video on demand
Social networking sites
• Productivity
Web banking
Retail sites
Notifications (flight delays, etc.)
• Mobile-based Information Systems
Inventory control systems
Supply chain
Shipping & receiving systems
Customer Relationship Management
• Content Management
Educational content
TV on demand
Web browsing
Retail Industry has adopted this mobile technology for their everyday business purpose in
different forms. These technologies have been highly and extensively adopted in the retail
industry for various purposes such as communication medium, from an organizational
productivity point of view, as an Information system using mobile devices and the mobile
networks in contrary to traditional computers and computer networks which are bounded by
availability and locations and lastly as a medium for content management purposes for the
information related to retail industries. Such as people involved in the retail industry simply
can contact with each other or with the consumers with the mobile devices and the mobile
technology this is just a general example. Retail Industry uses mobile communication apps
such as email on mobile phones to send email to each other and its consumers, people can use
instant messengers to communicate, and VOIP in mobiles such as Skype can be used to
communicate this is an example of mobile application. These days peoples are so much into
social networking sites so that retail industry are using this trend to reach extensively to its
consumers by opening business profile in social networking sites like Face book and
advertising itself in the market. On the other hand mobile productivity applications such as
mobile banking are used extensively by the retail industry to make banking transactions.
Retail Industry is catering to advertise itself via retail mobile sites to reach their consumers.
Retail Industry is using mobile based information systems for the processing of their business
information and storing them, supply chain management, customer relation management,

6. these can be done by the mobile marketing. The simple form of mobile marketing can be
taken as using the short messaging system (SMS) a feature of mobile technology, simply to
send text messages in the consumers mobile phones which are product advertisement
oriented. Mobile technology can also be used for web browsing which is an essential for the
peoples involved in retail industry.