Future of Retail: Designing the new shopping experience

FUTURE OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT

FUTURE OF DESIGNING THE NEW SHOPPING EXPERIENCE

PREPARED AND PRESENTED BY ANUSHA MITTAL, DRASHTI SHAH, JAISAL JAIN, MEHULA KOTHARI & PRACHITI KAMATH

TABLE OF CONTENTS 01

02

INDIAN RETAIL OVERVIEW

INDIAN RETAIL INDUSTRY PRE- COVID

DURING COVID SCENARIO

04

05

06

NEED FOR PHYSICAL STORE

SURVEY ANALYSIS

POST COVID SCENARIO

07 CASE STUDIES

08 RETAIL DESIGN IN A POSTPANDEMIC WORLD

03

09 PROJECT PROPOSAL

01 INDIAN RETAIL OVERVIEW

Retailers operate in a highly dynamic and competitive customer-driven market that requires constant adaptation to meet the changing expectations of consumers in order to keep them coming back. From Industrial Age department stores to today’s multichannel, ubiquitous environments, the retail industry continues to evolve dramatically.

But, despite how much the industry changes, retailers who remember that the ‘customer is king’ seem to persist. Now, let’s take a brief look at the past, present, and future focusing on three core areas of retail: the Shopping Experience, Marketing, and Payments.

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Photograph Credit: Prachi Khasgiwala, thearchitectsdiary.com-Moira Boutique

EVOLUTION OF RETAIL: A LOOK BACK AND A LOOK AHEAD

The evolution of retail has been blurring fast over the last ten years. Brands that were pillars of the industry have come and gone and nimble startups have become household names. Today’s retail marketers cannot be tied back to legacy best practices, but rather must evolve themselves to remain relevant and successful in this new era.

1990-2005

2005-2010

2010 ONWARD

Pure-play retailers realized the potential of the market

Substantial investment commitments by large Indian corporate

Cumulative FDI inflow

Manufacturers opened their own outlets

Retail 20: Retrospect, Reinvent, Rewrite.

Entry in food and general merchandise category

< 5–6 players with revenues over US$ 1 trillion by 2020

Pan-India expansion to top 100 cities

Large-scale entry of international brands

Repositioning by existing players

Rise in private label brands by retail players E-commerce has emerged as one of the major segments 100% FDI in single-brand retail under the automatic route

HISTORIC REACH

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TRADITIONAL REACH

Source: Technopak Advisors Pvt Ltd, BCG

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MODERN REACH

Even before consumers walk into the store, it’s critical to build trust in terms of safety, cleanliness and maintenance.

Whatever industry you are in, whatever business you are into, your customers and would-be customers will always be one of your most valuable stakeholders. How well you treat them will always have an impact on your business. So one simple piece of advice I could give businesses these days is to never treat your relationship with your customers as transactional but a long term relationship that needs to be sustained.

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“Customer is King” is an age-old business mantra accentuating the importance of customers (and would-be customers) in every business. Traditionally, this rule usually entails a company’s promise to provide good customer services to… well, the customers. But with the current evolution on work and business settings coupled with technological advancement, ‘customer is king’ means more than just good customer service.

RETAIL STORES IN INDIA: THEN TO NOW

Retail includes selling through different channels, so items purchased in store and those purchased online both apply.

The definition of retail is expansive enough that it includes the traveling merchants of antiquity all the way to sprawling shopping malls, big-box stores and eCommerce platforms.

The retail sector scenario in India is very dynamic and varied. With the phenomenal growth in this sector, India has become an attractive destination for the foreign players.

India has witnessed radical changes in the formats and retail marketing structure in the past few decade.

This rapid growth has shown the way to invasion of organized retailing in both urban and rural areas.

Traditionally, the very nature of Indian retail sector is fragmented and unorganized.

All these factors have led to a continuous change in consumer purchase behavior and marketing philosophies.

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Photograph Credit: Anju Modi Store

TYPES OF RETAIL STORES IN INDIA

MOM-AND-POP STORES

MONO/EXCLUSIVE BRANDED STORE

They are family-owned businesses catering to small sections; they are individually handled retail outlets

Exclusive showrooms owned or franchised out by a manufacturer

They sell local products and have single location stores.

Complete range available for a given brand, certified product quality

Kirana stores, Owner-manned general stores, Hand-cart hawkers, Pavement vendors

Zara, H&M, Nike, Adidas

MULTI-BRANDED RETAIL STORES

SUPERMARKETS AND HYPERMARKETS

Focus on particular product categories and carry most of the brands available

Self-service store located in close proximity to residency area

Customers have more choices as many brands are on display Central, Future Retail, Shopper Stop

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NOTE: IT - INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SOURCE: TECHSCI RESEARCH

The product mix comprises of food and grocery with a miniscule share of personal products, apparels and home furnishings Big Bazaar, Reliance Fresh, Easyday, Hypercity

TYPES OF RETAIL STORES IN INDIA

CASH & CARRY

DISCOUNT STORES

Retail outlet catering to only the business to business sector

They sell products at lower prices than most of the other retail stores.

They serve only registered customers with bulking buying

They sell several brands of one type of product available in a discount store.

METRO Cash & Carry

Brand Factory, Pantaloon, Vishal Megamart

CONVERGENCE RETAIL OUTLETS

E-RETAILERS

E-commerce companies with online presence opting for a physical store

It is an online shopping facility for buying and selling products and services; the facility is widely used for electronics, health, and wellness

One-stop-shop for customers; many product lines of different brands on display Nykaa, The Label Life, Amazon, LensKart

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NOTE: IT - INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SOURCE: TECHSCI RESEARCH

Highly convenient as it provides 24x7 access, saves time and ensures a secure transaction Myntra, Flipkart, Snapdeal

02 INDIAN RETAIL INDUSTRY PRE- COVID The Retail Industry in India has come forth as one of the most dynamic and fast-paced industries with several players entering the market.

The industry is gradually inching its way towards becoming the next boom industry.

India’s retail sector is witnessing accelerated growth, with retail development taking place not just in major cities and metros, but also in Tier-II and Tier-III cities. The purchasing power of Indian consumer is growing in categories like apparels, cosmetics, shoes, watches, beverages, food and even jewelry.

INDIA IS THE WORLD’S 5TH LARGEST GLOBAL DESATINATION IN THE RETAIL SPACE

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Photograph Credit: galeriemagazine.com

The Indian Retail Industry is the largest among all the industries, accounting for over 10 percent of the country’s GDP and around 8 percent of the employment.

Retail industry reached US$ 950 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach US$ 1.1 trillion by 2020, according to a report from Cushman & Wakefield, India is expected to become the world’s fastest-growing e-commerce market, driven by robust investment in the sector and a rapid increase in the number of internet users.

1,250

1,000

750

500

250

0

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

Graph 1: Market size over the past few years (US$ billion)

DELHI'S UPSCALE KHAN MARKET HAS BECOME THE WORLD'S 20TH MOST EXPENSIVE RETAIL LOCATION

The Retail industry has undergone a major change which has ushered a new revolution in shopping in India in the form of ‘Modern retailing’-bustling shopping centers, multistoried malls, and the huge complexes offering shopping, entertainment, and food all under one roof.

The modern retail market in India has grown from US$ 70.45 billion in 2016 to US$ 111.25 billion in 2019.

Market revenue generated by brick and mortar (B&M) retailers (offline retailers) from 2017 - 2020 constitutes a total of 93% in 2020 and projected to remain stable till 2022, whereas the online retail market revenue is increased from 3% in 2017 to 7% 2020 and will remain stable till 2022.

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Online Retail

Offline Retail

100%

75%

50%

25%

0%

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Graph 2: % of Market Revenue generation by Online and Offline stores

Photograph Credit: edition.cnn.com Graph 1 Source: BMI Research, Consumer Leads report by FICCI and Deloitte - October 2018 Graph 2 Source: Statista platform

CHALLENGES IN THE INDUSTRY PRE COVID

Although the retail industry in India is on a growing track not everyone has tasted success.

Due to various diversities in the state policies and local influences, it becomes a larger hindrance for the retail to expand rapidly.

International Standards

Even though India has well over 5 million retail outlets of different sizes and styles, it still has a long way to go before it can truly have a retail industry at par with international standards. This is where Indian companies and International brands have a huge role to play.

Inefficient supply chain management

Indian retailing is still dominated by the unorganized sector and there is still a lack of efficient supply chain management. India must concentrate on improving supply chain management, which in turn would bring down inventory cost, which can then be passed on to the consumer in the form of low pricing.

Real estate issues

The enormous growth of the retail industry has created a huge demand for real estate. Property developers are creating retail real estate at an aggressive pace.

With over 1,000 hypermarkets and 3,000 supermarkets projected to come up by 2011, India will need additional retail space of 700,000,000 sq ft (65,000,000 m2) as compared to today.

Human resource problems

Trained manpower shortage is a challenge facing the organized retail sector in India. Indian retailers have difficulty in finding trained people and also have to pay more in order to retain them. This again brings down the Indian retailers’ profit levels.

Frauds in Retail

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It is one of the primary challenges the companies would have to face. Frauds, including vendor frauds, thefts, shoplifting, and inaccuracy in supervision and administration are the challenges that are difficult to handle. This is so even after the use of security techniques, such as CCTVs and POS systems. As the size of the sector would increase, this would increase the number of thefts, frauds, and discrepancies in the system.

03 INDIAN RETAIL INDUSTRY DURING-COVID 2020 was all about hope. Right from the earlier start of the century, we’ve all been looking forward to 2020 not just because it sounded fancy or has had pop-culture mentioning but because it was seen as a significant milestone in a lot of ways. But somehow an intangible virus originated from one o f t h e l e a s t e x p e c t e d p l a c e s i n t h e w o r l d an d h a s b e e n causing havoc ever since. While we braced ourselves for another world war, changed our lifestyles to curb the impact of climate change and global warming, a small virus seeped in rattled things up badly.

The lockdown to prevent the spread of Coronavirus in the country has greatly affected the retail business. Most stores, except stores selling essential food & grocery, have been shut across the country.

The Clothing Manufacturers Association of India has said the current crisis has put a short brake on consumer spending.

The apparel industry has reported shrinkage by almost 40% from the starting of the lockdown period until now. This has affected the industry in major waysLower store footfalls resulting in loss of sales as well as promoter bandwidth Domestic prices could be negatively impacted if exporters dump their inventories in the domestic market leading to even reduced margins. This could lead to factory closures and people moving back to their hometowns and reduced consumption Domestic stores are facing an inventory build-up due to apparel sources for the upcoming summer season A daily wage worker who forms 80% of the workforce in garment factories is on roads or back in his hometown New store openings have stopped and shutdown of major stores The retail industry is estimated to take 9-12 months to recover amid the pandemic.

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Photograph Credit: zricks.com

04 post co-vid scenario COVID has changed human perspectives in the way people work, shop, and even live and businesses, especially those that affect a customer’s day to day life has seen the most extensive change. With retail being once such a business it is apparent that the pandemic has more effect on the vertical than any other. Now, as states begin to loosen select restrictions, both customers and retailers have found themselves adjusting to the new reality.

The retail industry has entered a new "abnormal," driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, we had no hesitation in walking into a retail store to make our purchases.

Casual visits to malls and shopping complexes were normal. The retail sector too had regular business and incoming cash flow if not flourishing. But post Covid-19, these are the changes evident.

What the pandemic has caused is a significant shift in the mindset of consumers. Gen Z and millennials aside, even generation x and their previous generations have now gotten a taste of on-demand services.

The convenience of E-commerce has been well experienced by people across the world so much to the extent that this could be the norm after the outbreak subsides.

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Photograph Credit: indianexpress.com, livemint.com, thehindu.com

RETAIL SECTOR OUTLOOK POST COVID WILL INDIA'S RETAIL SURVIVE POST THE PANDEMIC? Covid-19 has not just taken a toll on people contracting the virus. It has impacted businesses, livelihoods, and the way humans interact with one another – throwing up challenges that even those bestprepared could not have anticipated.

While the lockdowns helped contain the spread of the virus and bought time to scale up the medical infrastructure, the restrictions need to be lifted slowly to spur economic activity, which has taken a big hit.

People still need most of the products and services, and until there’s a cure, Businesses will have to adapt and adopt – to new regulations, ways of functioning that ensure the safety of their employees as well as consumers, and also spot new opportunities amid this pandemic.

01

Installing the sanitizer tunnel at the entrance and UV scanners.

02

Limiting the interaction between the customer and the sales associate and allows communication only while purchasing or when necessary.

03

Creating browsing counters for customers, where customers come in the store and browse the products on a tablet fixed to a counter, order the product, pay, and pick it up from the main counter.

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Eliminating handles and knobs Doors can be made to push open without touching handles or even open automatically

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Creating a separate entrance and exit for the customers. It will solve the circulation problem in the store and help in preventing long queues outside.

With this set-up, the process of sanitization becomes easier and compulsory during the entry and exit.

Eliminating impulse displays to keep checkout quick, simple, and sanitary.

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Photographs Credit: thehindu.com, theweek.com, english.jagran.com

05 NEED FOR A PHYSICAL STORE Everyone knows online shopping has never been easier or more accessible.

But despite the surge in e-commerce capabilities, mobile applications, and other technological advancements — including voice-activated shopping and the proliferation of Amazon Dash buttons — the majority of Indian consumers still want the tactile experiences offered by physical stores.

Consumers love the experience of shopping to which the physical store is still the central point of the shopping journey. Physical stores are becoming a powerful media channel, and very often the first point of contact between brands and consumers. As consumers become increasingly technologically entrenched, they'll crave for more and better physical retail experiences. And so brick-and-mortar spaces will offer retailers and brands the opportunity to draw the consumer into the brand story, deliver a remarkable and immersive brand and product experience, and ultimately galvanize their relationship with consumers. A relationship that can then live across multiple buying channels.

With the emergence of new and younger customer segments, such as Millennials, who have grown up in the digital age with access to everything at their fingertips with their smartphone, and have high expectations for service. They assume they will receive the same level of personalized recommendations they receive on Amazon when they visit a store.

PEOPLE DESIRE A MULTI-DIMENSIONAL OR MULTI-SENSE PURCHASE THAT LEVERAGES ALL THEIR SENSES

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Clipart Credit: temitopeadelekan.com

06 SURVEY ANALYSIS OBJECTIVE The main objective of the survey was to reflect upon the necessities of the consumers and study the retailer’s viewpoint throughout the pre-peri-post COVID scenario.

GOAL The goal of the survey was to form a mutual benefit scheme through which both the parties- the retailers and the consumer- can take the next step in the future of the retail industry.

A survey was conducted to understand the changing shopping patterns in the clothing industry.

A total of 166 responses were recorded.

RESULTS On comparing the statistics of this survey, we came up with the following:

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02

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Out of 166 respondents, 109 respondents resided in Mumbai. Thus, leading us to choose Mumbai as our focus city.

50% of respondents were employed, 17.5% were unemployed and 32.5% were students.

Shoppers want an enhanced, engaging, and personalized shopping experiencePeople are willing to accept and try out the concept of merging technology with traditional physical stores to produce a new environment which is highly experiential and immersive in nature.

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Shoppers will not completely stay with only shopping online in the near future86% of the respondents face quality and size issues while shopping online, 53% find dealing with the exchange and return policies a major hassle, 25% find difficulty in waiting for the delivery of the parcels, 21% of the respondents have considerable trust issues with online payments.

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The in-store shopping experience is irreplaceable 52% of respondents are in favor of going back to the stores and shopping offline. They want to shop in stores because it gives them the option of trying the garment before buying (80.7%), to touch and feel the material of the garment (75.9%), to have an in-person shopping satisfaction (47%), to stroll around and in the store (32.5%), to shop for garments at the last minute(28.3%), and to have an elaborate customer experience of a store (20.5%)

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06 CASE STUDIES H&M H&M is a global brand that presently operates in more than 60 countries. The unique element of its internationalization strategy is the use of diverse market entry modes. While its physical stores usually operate as directly owned subsidiaries, it also maintains an online presence in more than 30 countries allowing customers to receive their orders via franchisees.

H&M works on a business concept of 'fashion for all', which serves the customer with stylish clothes affordable price. The tie ups of H&M with big designers have helped them to establish themselves among the best fast fashion retailers where they provide the consumer with best designs from the popular designers at an affordable price.

ZARA Zara is among the top 100 best global brands in 2010 .It uses the unusual strategy of zero advertising and instead invests the revenue in opening new stores across the world. Zara is popular amongst old and young generations because it is affordable fashion. It is crystal clear that Zara is successfully living upto the standard of its two winning retail trends firstly, it is fashionable and secondly it is low in price thus resulting in a very effective mixture out of it.

Zara has 12 inventory turns per year compared to 3 – 4 per year for competitors.

Stores place orders twice a week and this drives factory scheduling. Such short term focused order cycles make forecasts very accurate, much more accurate than competitors who may order every two weeks or every month.

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Photograph Credit: thehindu.com

GAP Gap Inc. is an American multinational clothing and accessories retailer. The clothing company was established by Doris & Donald Fischer in 1969. In reference to Generation Gap they named the company “GAP”. Firstly they were selling jeans and casual T-shirts, then they expend their offer. They launched GapKids, and few years after BabyGap. Moreover theyacquiesced Banana Republic , and start to expense to Europe. In 1992 it was second largest selling apparel brand in the world.

FOREVER 21 Forever 21, Inc. is an American famous fashion retailer founder by Do Won Chang and Jin Sook Chang. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California and sells a wide range of beauty product, home goods, accessories, clothing for men, women, and kids. Began as Fashion 21 store in Highland Park, Los Angeles has grown into prominent clothing stores spread over 723 location around the globe. It has developed several clothing lines Love 21, Heritage and many more.

Due to trendy offerings and fashion conscious, Forever 21 has become the greatest source for the most current fashions at the greatest value. Forever 21 is growing fastly by acquiring new store environments with creative clothing designs and the necessary accessories for a powerful impression.

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Photograph Credit: thehindu.com

MANGO Mango Fashion is a very prestigious company operating in different countries across the globe. The company is dedicated to elements of design, marketing, and manufacturing clothing garments as well as accessories mainly women. The multinational company has remained successful in its kind of business because it has a competitive approach to business. It also promotes and effective business model thus making it a leader in the business. The business model has enormous advantages thereby making its kind of business profitable and the reason Mango Fashion is a leading company in its kind of business.

LEVI'S Levi Strauss & Co. has been innovating since 1873, the year they created and patented the world’s first blue jeans. And while that patent has long since expired, the commitment to innovation continues.

Throughout their long history Levi’s® has inspired change in the marketplace, the workplace and the world. Since the California Rush days, Levi’s® has grown into one of the world’s largest and bestknown brand name apparel companies.In the e-commerce environment, consumers expect to find – among many other features and services – a selection of their preferred payment methods in local currencies.

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Photograph Credit: thehindu.com

VERO MODA VERO MODA launched in 1987 to accomplish a need for good quality, ontrend clothing at affordable prices and today it is one of Europe’s largest clothing brands for young women. It is the brand of choice for the fashion-conscious, independent young woman who wants to dress well and pay less. Customer finds right clothes at the right price and the opportunity to follow fashion on her own terms.

VERO MODA offers high quality and inspiring clothing, developed from comprehensive trend research from the world’s leading trend forecasting agencies, trade fairs, global catwalk, and customer demand.

AEROPOSTALE Macy’s stores carried the brand name clothing line called Aeropostale. Their main focuses and the trend was on the younger generation, from ages 14-17 and 412 years old. Once the line became so popular they begin to manufacture larger sizes in clothing. It was not just young any more, older people could purchase Aeropostale clothing. They went from size four children thought sixteen in women and men and lager size in some states.

Aeropostale clothing can be purchased at their stores of trades.

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Photograph Credit: thehindu.com

SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS Affordable prices Trendy styles with rapid turn-around times 80% products manufactured in advance Large global network of suppliers

OPPORTUNITIES Emerging in Indian market due to economic stand point in terms of max market fashion buyers E-Commerce Collaboration with luxury designers Emerging organic clothing line

STRENGTHS Fast fashion cycle Strong supply and retail network Affordable pricing strategy Fast increasing sales Highest focus on customer service and customer

OPPORTUNITIES AI for for better customer experience Investment in marketing Expansion of retail channels

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WEAKNESS Medium effectiveness in predicting future demand Outsourcing High dependence on fashion trends Low quality due to economically priced clothing

THREATS Competition due to E-Commerce Social Media and involving trend increase consumer expectation Rising labour cost Risk of fluctuations in foreign exchange rates

WEAKNESS

Low presence in some fast growing markets Less aggressive about marketing and sales

THREATS

Competitive Threats Regulatory threats Rising costs of raw material

STRENGTHS Franchising opportunities New store openings Strong financial position Strong multi brand portfolio Global Brand recognition

OPPORTUNITIES Market for plus size Women’s Apparel.

Growing online retailing trends Growth opportunities for Gap kids

STRENGTHS Staying in trend Something new every day Affordable (Reasonable prices resulting in good sales) Association with young celebrities Strong online Presence

OPPORTUNITIES The growing need for youngsters to stick to trends Fashion changes Personalization clothing

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WEAKNESS Intense competition Decreased return on assets and equity Weak global presence Depending on outside vendors on its goods Depending on older consumers

THREATS Increased labor costs Rising production costs Rapid changing fashion trends Strong competition from Rival companies

WEAKNESS

Excessive focus on teens Limited number of stores Poor quality, Stores are messy Lacks creativity

THREATS

Economic Crisis Focus on recycling

STRENGTHS Strong brand presence Online campaigns Stores at prime locations Unique product line by Mango helps it differentiate from its competitors Fashion from Spain

OPPORTUNITIES Can grow in largely unsaturated retail markets, like India and Africa Could diversify further into many other product line in order to further bolster the brand as the complete lifestyle brand.

STRENGTHS Strong Portfolio of Brands Strong Global Presence Multiple distribution channels Connected with youth Strong Free Cash Flow Environment friendly Automation of activities

OPPORTUNITIES Improving Lifestyle in emerging nation Online Retailing New trends in the customer behavior Free cashflow

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WEAKNESS Pricing; as everything is designed and sourced from Spain Major revenues earned by the brand are from apparel and not from other product line.

Lacking competitive strength Weak brand image

THREATS Competition Brand segmentation Trade barriers Losing recognition Lacking originality,concept and affect.

WEAKNESS

Over dependence on few wholesale customers Duplicity of brand name Dependence on contract manufactures Improper financial planning

THREATS

Competition Increasing labor costs E-Commerce allowed new brands to enter New technologies

STRENGTHS Fashionable and trendy Affordable pricing Good quality Spacious stores Strong Brand image Brand awareness

OPPORTUNITIES

To broaden target audience More commodities

STRENGTHS Healthy sales compared to the store size Sells products at heavy discounts Immune to foreign currency fluctuations

OPPORTUNITIES

International expansion Growth in direct to consumer business

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WEAKNESS

Not enough promotions Repetition and can get monotonous Narrow Target audience (young women)

THREATS Competitor brands Global brands Brands with better promotional strategies Better offers and pricing strategies

WEAKNESS

Low proportion of fashion based products Women merchandize business is the weakest Direct to consumer channel is small

THREATS

Over dependence on a few vendors Delay in international expansion

COMPETITIVE MAPPING COMPARING THE TWO VARIABLES THAT THE CUSTOMER CONSIDERS MAKING A PURCHASE

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BRAND POSTITIONING MAPPING POSITIONING BRANDS WITH EACH OTHER TO ANALYSE THEM

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PERCEPTUAL MAPPING VISUALLY REPRESENTING THE PERCEPTIONS OF CUSTOMERS

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08 Retail design in a postpandemic world Traditional retail stores must amalgamate stores and online channels, offering experiential features and cutting-edge technology which provides an optimized customer experience.

RETAILER BENEFITS

Having a Unique Selling Point (USP)

Coming with a new business model

Customer Experience is more important than ever

Artificial Intelligence will gain power

SCENARIO MAP

Technology will open flood gates

CUSTOMER BENEFITS

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Using Augmented Reality as a tool of technology to enhance Physical Experience

Merging/ Co-existing Online & Offline technologies

Virtually trying outfits (E-trials)

OMNICHANNEL RETAIL NAVIGATING THE FUTURE OF SEAMLESS CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. Although retailers have always been the first to embrace technology, the pandemic has only emphasized the need for a more digital and customer intensive business model.

The shopping experience that once began and ended in a store is now a journey across many channels—online, mobile, in-store, and over the phone. Smartphones alone keep shoppers engaged with a brand anytime, anywhere, and will soon command the majority of online browsing activity. They also enable consumers to bridge the gap between the online world, and the offline world.

Originating in retail, the term "omnichannel" has been a buzzword for the last several years. It represents a strategy businesses are taking to connect the multiple, siloed sales channels they may have and fusing them into one, cohesive and consistent experience across the brand to meet the expectations shoppers demand.

Consumers browse for and buy products when they want and how they want. They also want flexible fulfillment options, whether it's an in-store pick-up, cash-and-carry, or ship to a destination. Customers have definitely gone digital but they still enjoy the tactile and social interaction when they engage a brand in-store.

The goals of omnichannel are: To be everywhere the target audience is.

To capture as much customer data as possible and merge it into one central location.

By doing so it allows the business to: Create a cohesive, seamless, personalized buying experience that makes interactions consistent, easy, and fun.

Better align the efforts to deliver the best customer service by giving the customers multiple ways to interact with the brand.

Retail today is in the midst of an exciting revolution in which power has shifted from the retailer to the consumer. With more ways to engage a brand, customers are in the driver's seat.

Providing an omnichannel experience delivers on their expectations of a seamless, consistent journey anytime, anywhere and anyway.

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Clipart Credit: thehindu.com

EMPATHY MAP: RETAILER A RETAILER'S SERVICE HELPS TO ENHANCE A PRODUCT'S IMAGE AND BRING A CHANGE IN THE EXPERIENCE OF THE RETAIL SECTOR.

Will the customers buy the product?

Will we able to provide a satisfactory experience?

Systematic & organized way to handle customers

No hassle of folding & putting back the clothes on the shelf

How hard will this concept be for us to handle?

Will be able to compete with the other brands?

Better crowd management

Customer is independent

QUESTIONS

THINKS

ACTIONS

FEELS

Checks the body temperature & provides gloves & sanitizer

Help the customers locate what they want

Initially it will be difficult to manage everything

What about the technical issues?

Help the customers adapt to this new experience

Making customer experience comfortable & reliable

How will we manage & keep social distancing?

How will we attract & convince customers to trust this concept?

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EMPATHY MAP: CUSTOMER EVEN BEFORE CONSUMERS WALK INTO THE STORE, IT’S CRITICAL TO BUILD TRUST IN TERMS OF SAFETY, CLEANLINESS AND MAINTENANCE.

Is this user friendly?

Is this child friendly?

Can a tech illiterate use this efficiently?

Is this technology safe to use?

Can I just surf around without buying anything?

Is the store safe to enter?

How much time is left?

QUESTIONS

THINKS

ACTIONS

FEELS

Will open the app to buy a preferred subscription pack.

Selects from the available time slots to go to the store.

Scans to add clothes to the cart which they can virtually try later.

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Can i get new membership?

Connects the app to the server.

Trying the clothes virtually on your own 360 avatar

Feeling restricted & constrained?

All the safety &security guidelines were taken care of, I felt safe.

The experience was very interacting?

My time didn't get wasted, as I booked a convenient time slot.

FUTURE OF RETAIL An experiential store can only be achieved with the incorporation of immersive technologies like Augmented Reality in the physical stores. Augmented reality uses the world around the customer. This technology allows users to play with merchants’ products and see it on themselves in real-time. The more customers interact with products, the better merchants can personalize the customer’s experience and make better suggestions for increased conversions. As a result, customers spend less time shopping in stores and operating efficiencies will become a key to offer a good experience while accelerating the shopping process.

‘Smart’ fitting rooms utilize virtual mirrors or motion sensors to interact with customers to offer product information, suggest complementary products, or notify an associate that a different size is needed. Therefore, it will reduce the time spent around the store and help customers to interact with store people therefore, improving customer service and will make it easier and faster to find the right product.

Virtual mirrors allow shoppers to easily envision themselves in a 360° view with different garments along with complementary products. These technologies coupled with a personal digital assistant can make recommendations based on customer information, purchase history, and current promotions within the store.

The ultimate goal of augmented reality is to create a convenient and natural immersion.

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09 Project proposal A unique business model gives a unique reputation, creating a buzz among consumers Technology is expensive and the retailers can obviously not pay for it completely. To create a multi-sensory in-store experience for the customers it’s important to consider how these experiences can be incorporated into the customer’s path as they walk through the store but they are also affordable to both the customer as well as the retailer. Therefore, a subscription model works wonderfully for both the customer and the retailer.

Subscription business operates on a recurring revenue model, which requires consumers to pay a regular fee — once a customer commits, they are a guaranteed source of income for at least a month, and usually longer. Because of this, the company can predict its revenue stream, allowing management to plan and invest accordingly. As a result, subscription services can invest heavily in growth and are quick to gain momentum.

This model will help the retailer in giving the consumer the experience of technological luxury in a more affordable financial fashion. The retailer will reap the benefits of predictable revenue coupled with customer insights that drive refinements in pricing, packaging, and product offerings.

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conclusion While retail is definitely going through challenging times, the transformation is exciting with new technologies and opportunities arising to enhance the customer journey. The time is now to innovate the customer experience by reimagining the retail stores for the new customer journey. The key to future scalability and flexibility is focusing on agility, with cloud-based unified commerce.

We are aiming to develop a space in which real and virtual worlds are merging to produce a new environment where physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real-time. With the emergence of new and younger customer segments, such as Millennial, who have grown up in the digital age with access to everything at their fingertips with their smartphone, and have high expectations for service.

Clothing stores of the future will have a different customer experience keeping the new set of guidelines in mind. The stores will have an enhanced feature of virtually trying outfits on yourself using large mirror-like screens which can be controlled by an App on your phone. This merging of technology/overlap of the physical and virtual world will make sure that you are safe and enjoy that whole customer journey while shopping.

This project will bring a drastic change in the retail industry by diminishing the line between tangible and intangible experiences.

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“EXPERIENCE-BASED STORES ENABLE BRANDS IN STORY-TELLING, WHICH IN TURN HELPS CUSTOMERS UNDERSTAND THE PRODUCT AS WELL AS CONNECT WITH IT. SHOPPERS WANT A SEAMLESS SHOPPING EXPERIENCE AND CATERING TO THIS EXPECTATION CAN INFLUENCE THEIR FINAL PURCHASE.” -AMRITH GOPINATH, BRAND MARKETING DIRECTOR, ADIDAS INDIA

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