Partner Article

How retailers can survive this festive season

British Retail Consortium figures announced this week highlight that trading has been weaker than expected in December, increasing the likelihood of retailers introducing discounts prior to Christmas.

Several leading retailers have already started slashing their prices in the run up to the big day, including Gap and Tesco.

Retailers are always desperate for increased sales in the lead up to Christmas – it can make or break their year. However, retailers must ensure that they can deliver on their promises to customers profitably – an increase in sales doesn’t always mean an increase in profitability. Otherwise they could suffer a painful hangover from Christmas over-indulgence.

Customers expect more from retailers than they have ever done before – shoppers can afford to be selfish. Product availability, high quality service and convenient fulfilment options across all sales channels is what shoppers expect, especially at Christmas.

To be really successful this festive season, multi-channel retailers need to be able to execute on the promises they make. Giving consumers what they want at a time and place that is convenient to them, and being able to do all of this profitably is critical. Only a small number of retailers have been able to master the art of delivering these services while still making a profit on their sales – the majority will wilt under the Christmas lights.

One way retailers are looking to gain that competitive advantage and enhance sales this Christmas is to introduce cutting-edge, in-store technology to help fulfill orders and provide customer excellence. This week, John Lewis’ Oxford Street store has introduced to three of its top UK stores transactional tablets. These tablets will enable customers to check on stock availability and make purchases without having to queue.

With in-store technology likely to feature heavily in 2014, retailers need to connect their front end systems with their back end fulfilment operations to ensure a seamless experience for the consumer. Tablet computers, linked to supply chain management systems will enable shop assistants to interact with customers, take payment and then orchestrate fulfilment with full visibility of where stock is, allowing the order to be fulfilled as quickly as possible whilst maximizing margins for the retailer.

With many retailers already deploying in-store technologies, it is likely this will be an ongoing theme for retailers in 2014, especially with the impact that Google Glass is expected to have on the industry in the coming year. For retailers to succeed, and to capitalize on these opportunities profitably, retailers must ensure their store and web operations are fully supported by a highly agile and responsive supply chain that can deliver on the brand promise.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Craig Sears Black .