Business Analysis Report: Woolworths

Business Analysis Report
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Background Information
There are several supermarkets and grocery stores that have operated in Australia for many years including Woolworths. The industry thrives because of various key drivers such as real household disposable income, population, consumer sentiment index and increasing demand from cafes and restaurants within and outside the region (Redman, 2018). Nonetheless, it is vital to note that the Supermarkets and Grocery Stores industry is quite competitive. The businesses involved in the industry such as Woolworths and Cole strive to retail a wide range of food products and groceries that meet consumer needs, tastes and preferences. Considering factors such as increasing Australian population and high returns on investments, individuals and organizations have been influenced into venturing in the industry.
One notable competitor that is giving established outlets such as Woolworths’ sleepless nights is Amazon because of its low cost private label products. Through price reduction, Amazon has over the recent past managed to undercut the big supermarket chains in the region by nearly 50% on household commodities and as shown on figure 1 below (Redman, 2018). As such, it has been able to capture a substantial part of the market share. It has been quite impossible for other outlets like Woolworths to compete with Amazon in that regard because in some cases the latter offers prices that are low than their purchase prices.
Figure 1:
Woolworths which has operated in Australia for close to 100 years since the first store was opened in 1924 is one of the biggest casualties of the competition from Amazon. Woolworths has lost a significant portion of its market share to Amazon and that is despite efforts to compete on price (Redman, 2018). With business analysts forecasting even more competition over the next five years, it is imperative that Woolworths conducts a thorough analysis and evaluation of its internal and external issues and make the necessary adjustments that would make it stand out.
Issue One
To begin with, Woolworths is plagued by the issue of poor online customer service. There have been numerous customer complaints regarding Woolworths’ online shopping platform particularly when trying to purchase groceries. Consumers have shared that the website is not customer-centric and that they are unable to receive real-time feedback to their questions and enquiries. In the current business dynamics, consumers demand not only for more but also real-time engagement with the businesses they want to transact with since they have a wide range of options at their disposal. According to Camilleri (2019), “Customer-centric companies are as eager to understand their customers as they are to win their business -- and that holistic understanding tends to make everyone's jobs easier”. Through being customer-centric, Woolworths will not only address concerns as they arise but will also close more sales (Kim and Hawamdeh, 2008). In this regard, Woolworth should invest in revamping its website and incorporating functionalities that will ensure consumer concerns are addressed real-time.
Objectives
Based on th...