Page 135 - DMGT551_RETAIL_BUSINESS_ENVIRONMENT

Retail Business Environment

Notes
Example: The entry of Amazon.com into the book retailing market gave traditional
retailers like Waters tones and Ottakars new competition, not only in the form of a new company,
but also a whole new way of shopping.
Subsequently, store-based retailers have put more effort into creating a pleasant store
environment, conducive to browsing and sampling a book over a cup of coffee, something that
internet retailers are unable to offer. Book retailers might therefore be able to group their
customers according to the ways they like to shop for books, and address their needs accordingly.
Some of the most radical changes in consumers in developed economies like Europe and the
USA are those that emanate from the changes in society itself; the changing nature of a
population’s age profile, the changes in the numbers and type of activity of the working
population, and the way in which lifestyles themselves are changing. The resulting manifestations
of alterations in shopping behaviour and product preference are of interest to the retailer, as
they may require some adaptation to the retailer’s business in order to maintain an adequate
customer flow.

Caselet The Large Retail

s the average Indian consumer retail-ready or is retail readying the Indian consumer?
Either way, changing shopping habits in the country are giving global retail giants the
Iperfect setting for their Indian entries.

Take a look at this: the average ticket value (transaction value of goods sold) of the Indian
consumer in large retail formats like Lifestyle, Shopper’s Stop and even malls has doubled
in the last two years.
Lifestyle International stores across the country clock an average of ` 1,500-1,600 ticket
value per consumer, and during festive seasons such as Christmas and Diwali, spending
goes up by 40 per cent averaging around ` 2,000 ticket value per consumer, says Mr Sankar
Suryanarayan, Vice-President, Marketing, Lifestyle International. He is expecting a footfall
of 1.5 million at 11 Lifestyle stores across the country during the next one month.
Mr Gibson G. Vedamani, CEO, Retailers Association of India, said that average spend in
large formats hovered around ` 800-900 two years ago when the country was in the first
stages of the retail boom.

“It has doubled now. Even supermarkets have doubled their ticket value. From ` 250-300
a couple of years ago, they are now seeing an average family billing worth ` 600,” he said
terming this “a good ticket size.”

While demand and potential for more formats will grow, the country’s supply chain is yet
to match the requirement, according to Mr Govind Shrikhande, CEO, Shopper’s Stop.
Lack of enough merchandise and variety is still restricting the Indian shopper, but there
has also been an increase of cash memos by about 20 per cent.
This growth is also accompanied by a significant change in the billing value of non-
apparel products such as cell phones, watches and personal care products.
Source: thehindubusinessline.com

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