Retail Needs to Get it’s Groove Back
Is retail dead? This became the crux of the matter when I found myself invited to pitch in front of a leading retailer at the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) at Georgia Tech. It was an exciting opportunity that was dulled when the name of the retailer was revealed. They are losing market share to Amazon, the big elephant in every conference room discussing supply chain topics.
This retailer was on a downhill slide, shutting multiple store locations. There are two ways to look at this situation. I could figure that it was a waste of time doing this pitch. The other was to try to turn adversity into opportunity. You can guess which approach I chose.
Part of what led me to this decision was a distinct retail experience from my past. In those days, I saw a Kenneth Cole shoe at a local retailer. My salary was sparse, so I had to plan for the purchase, and wait for a sale. Finally, I got a coupon after about six months, and I was so excited I woke up early to go to the store. I tried it on and it was beautiful, a Kenneth Cole Simplicity in burgundy. I presented the shoes and my coupon to the clerk who told me that the coupon wasn’t valid for my purchase. I left the shoes behind at the store because:
- I felt betrayed by the fine print.
- It felt like a bad deal without the discount.
That was the last time I shopped with that retailer, even though I walked by the store a hundred times. For me it was shoes, but I’m sure we could point to a similar example for just about any electronic gadget or gizmo around.
My takeaway, though, was that all the talk of online killing retail may not be completely true. If retail is sick, it may be that they are not taking care of business. This adversity may be an opportunity to turn it around, come out bigger better and stronger.
Besides, if retail is dead, why are Apple stores filled with people all the time? In fact, just this summer, the company opened its 101st retail location in Taiwan. Plus, there’s no argument that Apple stores are simply cool, with a modern club vibe full of glass. I’ve spent some nice evenings with my daughter checking out the newest devices, listening to music, trying out games and more. People used to window shop in malls, and now they are doing that same thing at the Apple store, since technology is such an important part of our lives.
Apple welcomes customers to its first store in Taiwan in July. Photo courtesy: Apple
Our world is being transformed by technology, and retail isn’t any different. Technology is driving changes there as well. Retailers who hope on board this trend in smart ways, and incorporate technology into their stores, are the ones that are going to survive. Even Amazon is hopping on board, and opening futuristic stores that give customers a chance to get up close to technology and be engaged in cool ways.
Retail is changing in a big way—and this new breed of retailers has several elements:
- Retail: Selling products that solves consumers’ problems and lend a helping hand to solve their problem.
- Community: The brand engages customers, not just in the store but on social media, to build a community or tribe that makes the world a better place. Consider the Life is Good brand that has made a name and grown with this sort of effort.
- Consultation: Selling is changing. Consumers are well educated today and they know exactly what they want even before they walk into the store. They want help solving their problem. They want to find products and brands that deserve loyalty.
- Tools: Today’s retailers need the right tools to make the above happen:
- Media: Telling relevant stories to engage the consumer with a problem solving approach in channels relevant to the targeted consumer segment
- Technology: Highly targeted and personalized to solve individual pain points/problems. This might be social media, email, relevant apps, or analytics.
The retailers that don’t understand this are the ones that are going out of business.
Originally published at Smartgladiator.com on Feb 28, 2018.
Puga Sankara
Puga Sankara is the co-founder of Smart Gladiator LLC. Smart Gladiator designs, builds, and delivers market-leading mobile technology for retailers, distributors, and 3PL service providers. SG LoadProof is a patent pending Centralized Enterprise Photo/Video Document System on Cloud for Supply Chain. SG LP is built on the fact that photos & videos are vital docs as important as POs/SOs/Legal Contracts/Fulfillment Orders that reside in ERP/WMS/TMS systems, that serve as compelling, conclusive, unequivocal proof of crucial, critical, vital operations executed in Supply Chain within/across orgs when fulfilling customer orders as well as meeting contractual obligations between orgs as merchandise is transferred between different parties that partake in Supply Chain functions & operations. And these photos/videos data should not be stored in someone’s Smartphone or Email Inbox or in their personal/work Computer, but should be stored in a Centralized Enterprise system, where such data can be pushed into super-fast, stored securely, accessible to all stake holders (CFO/Sales Reps/Customer Support/AR/AP) in an org, as well as facilitates super-fast retrieval/sharing. LP is an Enterprise System of record for Photo/Video docs & is as important as an ERP which is an enterprise system of record for POs, SOs, Legal Contracts between parties etc. that have huge legal ramifications, also as important as a WMS (Warehouse Management System) that hold indispensable shipment & fulfillment data on orders. Like how Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat etc. have evolved into social media platforms/systems that enable individuals to showcase their beauty/pretty clothes/lovely cosmetics/hep coolness etc., LoadProof is an Enterprise system that holds similar photos/videos, but for a different reason, not for show off, but to serve as compelling, conclusive, unequivocal & indisputable system of record and proof that can be presented even in the court of law, when there is a dispute between parties while they execute many facets of the Supply Chain functions & operations. Puga is a supply chain technology professional with more than 25 years of experience in deploying capabilities in the logistics and supply chain domain. His prior roles involved managing complicated mission-critical programs driving revenue numbers, rolling out a multitude of capabilities involving more than a dozen systems, and managing a team of 30 to 50 personnel across multiple disciplines and departments in large corporations such as Hewlett Packard. He has deployed WMS for more than 30 distribution centers in his role as a senior manager with Manhattan Associates. He has also performed process analysis walk-throughs for more than 50 distribution centers for WMS process design and performance analysis review, optimizing processes for better productivity and visibility through the supply chain. Size of these DCs varied from 150,000 to 1.2 million SQFT. Puga Sankara has an MBA from Georgia Tech. He can be reached at [email protected] or visit the company at www.smartgladiator.com. Also follow him at www.pugasankara.com.
