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Topic:

Retailing. Technology Set to Reshape the Future of Retail Sector

Essay Instructions:


DIFFERENTIAL ADVANTAGES
Option # 1.
The purpose of this assignment is to give you an opportunity to get out and examine retailing strategy from an objective, professional, and non-consumer point of view.  
Choose a store to compare with “your store” that sells the same classifications of merchandise, e.g. Ann Taylor and Talbot’s.  Another alternative would be to choose two departments within different stores as long as they sell the same classifications, e.g. Juniors at Neiman Marcus and Juniors at Target.  You could even choose one department within a department store and one specialty store with the same merchandise classifications, e.g. Brooks Brothers and the men’s suit department at J. C. Penney.  The important thing is that these two stores/departments cater to two very different market segments.
Collect information on the two stores or departments by posing as a customer and interviewing a manager or buyer.  Do not be deceptive about your intent.  Most stores will be happy to help you.  If they are reticent to help, please thank them and find another store.  Some stores have policies against talking with the public about these kinds of things.  You will also find that in many small chain stores, the manager has little knowledge about corporate strategy.  So, plan ahead in case you have to go to more than one store.   In the formal interview, you should be sure to have the questions thought out in advance.  You may, of course, supplement your in-store visit with secondary research.
Option #2
INTERNET RETAILING/RETAIL WEBSITES
Example 1
Evaluate Web Sites.  
Go to the four retail web sites and shop for a product.  For example, if you were shopping for a pair of jeans, you might try to find similar jeans at four different retailers. You might view Victoria’s Secret, GAP, J. Crew, Levi because they all offer about the same quality and target similar markets.   Answer the following questions in detail:
1. Identify the retailers you chose and why.
2. How do you compare your experience shopping on the Internet to shopping in a local store for this type of product?
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the Internet shopping experience in general versus shopping at your favorite store?
4. Compare the retail offerings of the product you were shopping for:  
product quality
price
suggestive selling
website features 
design of website
ease of website use
closing of the sale
5. Which one of these sites would you use?  Why?
Option #3
TECHNOLOGY OPTION:
Retail as an industry is constantly changing.  Technology is often considered to be the most important factor fueling this change.  The purpose of this option is to determine what the future of retail may become as a result of advancements in technology.  The time period of this project should deal with the next 10-15 years.
Formal question to answer:
Investigate and discuss the role of technology with regard to the future direction of retailing as an industry.  Be specific as to what role technology will play and what effects it will have on both retail operations as well as potential customer shopping experience.  Give examples of retail organizations that are changing the method in which they are addressing both issues.  In other words, what specific strategies, programs, innovations are these retail organizations planning to adopt and what results do they expect. Discuss at least four different aspects of retailing that you believe will be most affected by technological innovation.  Give specific examples if possible.
RETAILERS IN JEOPRODY
Option #4
Choose two different retail organizations (they do not have to be competitors) that you believe are in serious peril of eventually going out of business.  Make sure that these are organizations that were at one time…  very successful.  You job is to discuss:
(1)   Contributing factors: What has gone wrong and why they are now experiencing difficulty
(2)   What is their short term as well as long term prognosis (3)    Are there any common issues that have contributed to their problems 
(4)    What recommendation(s) can you offer that will help these retailers to become successful again.
     (5)     Provide reasons for your recommendations

Essay Sample Content Preview:

Technology Set to Reshape the Future of Retail Sector
Author’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Technology Set to Reshape the Future of Retail Sector
1.0. Role of Technology with Regard to the Future Direction of Retailing as an Industry
Technology has played an important role in the reshaping of the retail industry over a period of time. Continuous tech advancement accompanied by rapid adoption holds indications that technology will continue to dominate the sector (Stephens, 2017). Impact of technology on two crucial aspects of the retail sector including retail operations and the customer shopping experience is elaborated as follows:
1.1. Effects of Technology on Retail Operations
While talking about retail operations, it is important to refer to the growing influence of 'automation'. Automated solutions are becoming increasingly available and robust. These solutions offer a wide range of vendor management services from human resource management to supply chain management (Stephens, 2017). As the adoption of these solutions increases in years to come, it will have a significant impact on the efficiency of operation management. Since automation refers to the delegation of responsibility to machines, it makes people redundant and thereby eliminates the expenses attributable to those people, such as salaries, training, and costs relating to recruitment (Basker, 2016). Similarly, a tech-based solution also results in increased efficiency by removing the costs that organizations may have to suffer due to human errors (Basker, 2016). Since retail organizations have multiple activities that involve repetition, they can enjoy the excellent reduction in their operational expenses through digitalization and automation.
It is also important to consider the emerging trends of IoT. According to recent estimates, the value of IoT in the retail sector is projected to grow above $94 billion by 2025 (Digiteum, 2019). These estimates are significant while seen in the backdrop of the benefits that IoT offers for supply chain management. By adopting IoT based solutions, the retailers will be able to better manage their response to the market needs. Latest technologies such as RFID will allow them to create a link among different checkpoints within their supply chain allowing them to learn the status of point in real-time (Caro & Sadr, 2019). For instance, the vendors will be able to learn about the demand trends from the data gathered from the sellers' end and will use the same to adjust their future orders. This will save them from both extremes including stock-outs and over-inventory. Similarly, it will also reduce the cost of inventory as the retailers will be able to adjust and readjust their decisions in real-time.
1.2. Effects of Technology on Potential Customer Shopping Experience
0175260000Technology has a vital interaction with the consumer shopping experience in the retail sector. New technologies are allowing retailers to increase the convenience and delight of shopping. For instance, trends of E-commerce are on the rise. The share of online shopping in the total volume of retail purchases has already grown to 14% and is projected to grow up to 22% by 2025 (Statistia, 2019). These findings are also illustr...
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