7 Ways to Drive Foot Traffic at Retail Stores

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In a cut-throat competitive retail market, the margins for errors are non-existent. If you exist and thrive in retail landscape then there is always a definite reason resonating behind it. If your retail store doesn’t get the desired foot traffic then there is something terribly wrong in your actions, unlike others who are succeeding. The retail stores doing well are finding unique and creative ways to enthral the masses. And an increase in foot traffic is directly proportional to sales. So how can you succeed in doing that? Here are the 7 ways to drive foot traffic to your retail stores:

1. Safety & Security– Safety and security are a prime concern for any shopper. If you indeed provide them these feelings then shoppers thronging at your store is distinctly realistic.
2. Organized & Clean– Any dishevelled aisle in any store generates a negative emotion inside them. And you end up losing them forever. So keep your store organized, clean and hygienic.
3. Customer Service– All your staff should be people friendly, approachable and should always carry a smile on their faces. The other way around doesn’t work anywhere.
4. Follow up– Follow up your existing customers with exciting offers, wish them on their birthdays, anniversaries etc.
5. Never leave any shelf empty– This is very critical and you must always keep your store updated with latest technologies like predictive analytics to avoid stock outs or empty shelves.
6. Consistent Sales & Discounts– The consistent sales, discounts and offers excite and elate any customer. So offer them your best and stay assured , foot traffic is bound to increase in your store.
7. Drive Emotions– Human beings are driven emotionally. And any store must make their customers feel like they belong here.

4 Benefits of Cloud Storage for any Retailer

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The endeavour of storing data has undergone myriad changes over the years. From punching cards of yesteryears to the cloud-based storage of data in today’s time, ways of storage have undergone drastic changes. CISCO forecasts that global cloud traffic will more than quadruple by the end of 2019, from 2.1 to 8.6 zettabytes (ZB), outpacing the growth of total global data center traffic, which is forecast to triple during the same time frame (from 3.4 to 10.4 ZB). And the amount of data possessed by brick and mortar retail stores worldwide is huge. So if you are tired of migrating files between your phones, tabs, and laptops then going for cloud storage certainly have advantages. Here are few things that retailers can benefit from cloud storage:

1. Reduced IT costs– The data is secured by servers and monitored by professionals, thereby eliminating the cost incurred in software security.
2. Instant Sync & Backup Features– The fear of losing data creates a panicky situation for retailers. But data on cloud storage prevents any kind of outage you might face otherwise. Plus, the instant sync and backup features automatically store data across devices.
3. Elevated Transparency– Retailers can upload and share data with the team they want to interact with. Hence, it increases efficiency along with collaboration with elevated transparency.
4. Easy File Sharing– The data you want to share is easily accessible to the one you want to share with, on cloud.

However, if you’re using Retigence’s predictive analytics then you need not worry; you can reap the aforesaid benefits all at the same time as it runs on cloud (SAP HANA).

Online Retail is Overhyped!

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The end of the holiday seasons is like the last lap for any small, medium and big sized retailers.Thereafter, reduced footfalls bring back incessant yawns. This is pretty worrisome for any retailer. And you can not afford to ignore the fact that your physical stores get harmed by the loss of sales to online channels However, there are no hard and fast rules on what to be done next. In fact, the fear of losing out to online store is only short lived and overhyped, as far as I think, based on an informed guess.  Alright, let me present you few facts. Look at the American retail market, aptly considered the most mature retail market across the globe. Over there, online channels are opening physical stores to make their presence felt. And this trend is gaining momentum.

In fact, all the globally renowned behemoths of online retail are in a hurry for opening brick and mortar stores. And they have already opened hundreds of them across the United States and the plans are for opening more. In fact, the online retail clutter is helping offline stores to get better in their offered services to customers. To make dent in the online clutter, avoid stock outs in store by leveraging your inventory management via predictive analytics. Any case of stock outs in physical store results in the loss of customer, as it makes the customer go for online shopping; where availability of the item in question leads to immediate purchase.

However, the recent times have witnessed tectonic shifts in the retail landscape. Trends are reversing and look promising enough for ensured sustainability of brick and mortar stores.  There are many things that can’t go online like venue entertainment, apparels, luxury items, groceries, shoes, beauty and fitness. And the thrill of instant gratification is simply unmatched when it comes to brick and mortar stores. So stop fearing and instead, concentrate on making your retail store better than ever by embracing technologies.

Switch to Accountability Rather than Deniability

Let us debunk the myth of difficulty in being a transparent, clean and ethical supply chain. The pretence that it is unrealistic to maintain a clean supply chain is blasphemy. As a supply chain executive, you are given a choice to switch to accountability or continue with deniability. If there is a conflict between business values and practices than forget getting peace of mind. Trading your morals for marginal benefits will definitely have a grave impact on your long-term goals. And a healthy and transparent supply chain is going to set the cash registers ringing.

However, in the majority of companies, the supply chain is usually ignored till the dirt surfaces. It is a blunt reality that monetary imperatives often win out over ethical responsibilities. As far as the problems are concerned, technology can salvage the supply chain.

So far we have witnessed how technology has brought transparency in all spheres of our life. Computerization automatically led to transparency in every sector including retail as well. With the advent of new technologies, visibility and tracking of inventory have become a reality.

Visibility and tracking in real-time are core concerns of inventory management. So being adaptive to technology can certainly prosper the thought of having ethical and transparent supply chain. The reason being the margin of errors gets narrowed down.

Nevertheless, the big firms have a really complex supply chain network involving many suppliers. The sheer size is huge and difficult to manage manually by ‘old pen and paper technique’ or by making thousands of excel sheets. The amount of data requires real-time and speedier actions to track inventory and manage it in better and transparent way. In recent times, predictive analytics offers the convenience of tracking your inventory in real-time and on a regular basis. Retigence's StockWise provides you the solution to stock wisely. So be accountable for your supply chain.

Who Checks Out Faster…Men or Women?

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Men stare at space while women check multiple outfits. Isn’t that a sweeping statement or maybe a cliché? Men have been stereotyped and on the other hand, women are the epitome of having an insatiable desire to shop. Any man’s expressions look like waiting till eternity for her woman to finally make up her mind. The flickering of fluorescent lights in the shopping mall continues to hypnotize the man. So do men hate shopping?

Contrary to popular opinion, many men are perfectly happy to hit the stores. It is the process of shopping that they hate. The generalization that men and shops do not gel well together is a cliché. There is a subtle difference that retailers need to understand. Biologically, men buy for their needs while women shop for their wants. Women are naturally programmed to be a gatherer whereas; men behave like a hunter since primitive times. And this 21st century is no different. So any man’s job is to target the exact thing rather than wandering aimlessly to look at various options available. Men are far more decisive when it comes to shopping.

However, women shop on behalf of their kids, husband, in-laws, friends, professional associates and even for their friend’s kid, to name just a few. Their tendency to constantly evaluate their purchases and the impact it will have onthe people they care for is visible to everyone. So it is a must for retailers to understand their absent influencers as well.  By doing so, retailers can overcome the hidden barriers to the sale.

Diversity in the shopping behavior of both the genders need to be addressed before forming any notion about them. Nowadays, both the genders are staying single and settle down later in life. So don’t risk your sale by forming stereotypes about them.

Don’t Risk Sending Those Shoppers to Your Competitors

Choice doesn’t make us happier but instead accomplishes the contrary by making us uncertain. Yeah, I am talking about the plethora of choices that flashes in front of us as soon as we enter the aisle of any retail store. Aisle of any store is potentially a place where we can get a panic attack. Most of the times, culling our favourite products in the store puts us into a dilemma.

From a retailers’ perspective, inventory trimming is perfectly fine if it is done thinking as a customer rather than as a profit generator. What to keep and what not to keep should be directly calculated via daily records of sales. Delisting or enlisting any product should be done keeping customers in mind. It must satisfy the customers. First and foremost, cull down the products that are not big sellers and add products selling like hot cakes. Keep optimal SKUs for products in high demand and with higher profit margin.

Don’t rely on convoluted supply chain. So start thinking like a customer. How would you react and act, had you been in their shoes? Start monitoring inventory levels by the help of technology. Mitigate risk by taking decisions based on demand forecasting. Quantify the data available to optimize inventory level. Shelves are the place where products sell; warehouses just take care of buffer inventories. Perform daily check as ‘old pen and paper approach’ won’t work anymore. Let bygones be bygones, start afresh and take technological help to witness optimized inventory levels.

Impact of Globalization on Supply Chain

In the last three decades, Supply Chain Management has faced challenges that were never thought of before. This era of hyper-competitiveness has dethroned many concepts in practice. Supply Chain nowadays is immensely important not only for the company but the economy of any country. Driven by overwhelming market forces, globalization has in fact raised concerns towards gaping loopholes in the supply chain across the globe. The globalization hasn’t made supply chain management easier on contrary. It has dramatically changed how any firm operates while pouncing on their shares in the global marketplace amidst relentless competitive environment. With the onset of globalization, managing supply chain has become even more difficult and complex.

However, when the inventory management is automated then it becomes easier to identify, quantify, prioritize and mitigate risk for better decision making. The recent technological manoeuvres have made automation of inventory management a reality. The dawn of the era promises efficient and effective inventory management.

Still, you can guess the complexity of supply chain when you read about any company’s global web of offshoring, manufacturing and designing destinations. And all of them lay thousands of kilometres apart from each other. That’s where managing it becomes complex and hectic without any scope for errors. Nevertheless, predictive analytics and big data on cloud have helped firms to knock down their inventory problems and given them an eclectic view of management. Indeed, Globalization has significantly changed the supply chain forever and for better.