Page 120 - DMGT551_RETAIL_BUSINESS_ENVIRONMENT

Unit 6: Retail Planning and Environment

Essentially, the store has no competitive advantage that sets it apart from other retailers. Retailers Notes
should list all weaknesses, then make improvements as needed.

Opportunities

Another step in a retail SWOT analysis is identifying key opportunities in the market. There are
a myriad of opportunities a retailer may discover through both its sales force and market
research. Opportunities can include an unfilled consumer need, according to quickmba.com, an
online business reference site. For example, a small web design company may see an opportunity
to add consulting services, if it has customers that desire it. Or a retail company may have the
opportunity to purchase a smaller retailer to increase market share.

Threats

A retailer can identify certain threats through a SWOT analysis. Threats can include a decrease in
consumer demand, a recession, price wars among key competitors, or even an increase in
competition. Even a change in shopping habits can be a major threat to a retailer. For example,
when people starting migrating to the suburbs in the 1950s and 1960s, downtown retailers,
which represented the traditional way of shopping, were affected.

Using SWOT

Retailers should not just identify their strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats, they must
also use their lists to develop various marketing strategies. This is best accomplished by matching
an internal variable, like strengths, to an external variable, like opportunities. For example, the
owner of a chain of gift shops may have a strong marketing team—a strength—so she may see
the opportunity to increase sales and profits through the Internet.

Significance

The significance of this kind of analysis is that it assists a retailer recognize its retail market
through an analysis of its consumer base. Principally, it looks to fill market gaps and predict
various kinds of threats. Market gaps are those holes in a confined market where demand is
stronger than supply.

Function

These sorts of analyses look to technically make out how to serve a client base more efficiently.
It tries to recognize definite strengths (such as a good reputation) and build upon them. It also
tries to make out certain weaknesses (such as a high rate of turnover among employees and
staff) and execute policies that would eradicate these problems. For SWOT to work appropriately,
it must be objective, base itself around customer surveys and act as an honest indicator of a
firm’s ability to arrive at its customers.

6.5 Retail Mix

The retail mix is the blend of various retail activities that in totally present the whole concept of
retailing. The retail marketing and retail positioning strategies are put into effect by this retail
mix, the set of controllable elements that a retailer can use to satisfy customer’s needs and to
influence their buying behaviour and compete effectively in the target market. Utmost care is
required on the part of retail manager to select the various elements for a perfect retail mix.

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