Retail
Chronicles
Monthly Newsletter | Volume 6 | Issue 11 | December 2021
CONTENTS 03
MAKING THE MOST OF HOLIDAY SEASON – CORPORATE GIFTING Corporate Gifting is a culture widely followed across the world within an organization by using gifts in the form of physical items, edibles, sweets, or a gift card or coupons, or tickets.
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HOLIDAY OFFERS - PLANNING & STRATEGIES Different cultures around the world have varied traditions for celebrating the holiday season. This opportunity is capitalized very well by the retailers around the world by giving various holiday offers and sales.
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E-COMMERCE HOLIDAY SPENDING Highlights wonderful insights on consumer behaviour while shopping for festivals and other holidays while describing the aspects of consumer preference while shopping for the same festivals.
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OMNICHANNEL HOLIDAY SEASON
18
PODCASTS
19
TRIVIA QUIZ
The holiday season is the most lucrative and much-awaited season for retailers, shopkeepers, and e-commerce platforms worldwide.
WRITERS Aayush Ghildiyal | Harsh Gupta | Akshita Kulshreshtha | Raghav Khandelwal |
JUNIOR DESIGN TEAM Abhishek Jain | Hrishikant Mane | Mansi Vora | Ruttwick Bowlekar | Yash Bhojwani | Yuti Talati |
SENIOR DESIGN TEAM Nilesh Agarwal | Prachi Sharma | Prashant Sihag | Shivani Kunkolienkar | Sneha Patel |
EDITOR Riya Shah
MAKING THE MOST OF HOLIDAY SEASON – CORPORATE GIFTING
Akshita Kulshreshtha - MBA RM Retail Chronicles | Page 03
December, 2021
Psychology behind Corporate Gifts Gifts have a strong effect on the psychological well being of any person. A lot of us have personally experienced this phenomenon wherein we have received a gift and it has made us feel loved, wanted, and blessed. According to a study, this effect is called Endowment effect, which creates a sense of ownership towards an item that translates to the psychology of a person. A similar effect is seen when employees are gifted by their organization during various special occasions.
The major thing that corporate gifting brings along is “Company Swag”. It is a term used for the goodies (Pens, bags, bottles, hoodies, etc.) that a company gifts to its employees and its clients or prospective clients. Other than this, companies go for high end gifts that stand out. These could be some things that everyone wants like Bluetooth Speakers or Exquisite Chocolates. All these gifts are more often than not branded with the name of the company that gifts them. This helps generating a name for the company and letting the brand stand out. If you see a person being gifted quality Bluetooth Speakers, their friends and family are sure to ask the source of the gift.
Corporate gifting applies to not only the employees but also to the clients and even prospective clients. When it comes to prospective clients, gifting enables them to take decisions faster, and helps the organization to build an emotional connection with the prospect. When gifting to clients, it gives clients the belief that their business is valued, and it encourages them to strengthen their relationship with the firm. Retail Chronicles | Page 04
December, 2021
Retail Companies and Corporate Gifting Corporate Gifting is a very important aspect of the retail industry. All the above gifts have to be sourced in bulk for any company. Further, it needs to be ensured that the same kind of gifts are sent to people, to ensure that company name stays intact with the clients, as well as employees. Retail Industry plays a big role in getting the corporate gifts designed and finalized for their clients and employees. Because each of these gifts are sent by some or the other retail organization. In 2019, the global gift retail market was valued at a whopping $62 billion.
Retail Chronicles | Page 05
Further, the gift-wrapping products industry was valued at $15.1 billion in 2018. The holiday season is always fruitful for the retail Industry. With the culture of corporate gifting slowly rising to new heights, it becomes even more exciting to see how the retail industry gains from this. Today, companies believe in sharing all kinds of gifts with their associates, and thus, all segments of the retail industry benefit from this. Going forward, it is to be seen, how the boom in gifting industry and corporate gifting culture impacts the retail industry.
December, 2021
HOLIDAY OFFERS PLANNING & STRATEGIES
Aayush Ghildiyal - MBA RM Retail Chronicles | Page 06
December, 2021
Different cultures around the world have varied traditions for celebrating the holiday season, but shopping is one thing which is common in all. This opportunity is capitalized very well by the retailers around the world by giving various holiday offers and sales to get the attention of holiday shoppers. When we imagine the holiday season, we envision shoppers' lines up at the mall for Black Friday sales or rushing to the stores before December 25th, but the pandemic has forcefully brought about a change in consumer buying behaviour. Customers now seek to shop with minimum human interaction, and omnichannel has been a game-changer for retailers as well as consumers. So, retailers around the world need to change their strategies for the holiday season.
Digital Strategy: Retailers need to ensure that their digital strategies remain agile to meet customers where and when they feel comfortable. This means that being discernible online is very important to retailers. To help make the product noticeable, retailers can display it in the free product listing of Google Shopping. Enterprises also need to prepare for more online traffic by optimizing their websites for speed and ease of use.
Prior To shopping in-store, customers generally plan ahead and research online. The in-store shopping experience typically begins long before shoppers arrive at the store. This is even more relatable today, as availability and convenience are priorities. Retail Chronicles | Page 07
December, 2021
In addition, searches for "available nearby" have increased by more than 100% worldwide since last year, emphasizing the importance of accurate inventory information. Even when the customer arrives at the store, they will seek safer and digitized ways for shopping.
knowing these price-sensitive customers likely wouldn't have purchased unless the guarantee was offered.
Four Strategies for Retailers to benefit from the holiday season: Providing a Price Guarantee: Knowing exactly when to buy is confusing, as there is a vacation discount of about two months. Early November (if discounts can tempt consumers to buy early), Black Friday / Cyber M onday (historically low prices), weeks in December (stores further to generate additional sales) Can offer discounts), or immediately after holidays (clearance sale)? In many cases, it's not the price itself · blocking customers; it's the fear of buying now and then seeing a drop in prices later in the season. To mitigate this fear, retailers should strongly encourage price guarantees. This adjusts for the low prices of retailers and their competitors that may occur later in the season. The good news for retailers is that price guarantees give all buyers psychological security, but they still do some work (for example, monitoring prices and asking retailers about the same). So, if retailers have to pay out on the guarantee, they can take comfort in Retail Chronicles | Page 08
Use tiered discounts: such as a 10% discount on purchases over Rs 5000 and an increase in overall discounts to reach higher thresholds (for example, 15% for over Rs 7500, 20% if exceeded Rs 10000). Encourage customers to spend more on their budget with dealers. Customers can make more purchases to increase their overall discount ("Adding Rs 1000 gives you an additional 5% off all purchases"). Equally important is that high discount rates can lead customers to buy additional products ("there are so many discounts that it makes sense to buy right away").
December, 2021
Offer Flash Sales: Flash sales are aimed at the most budget-sensitive customers. Only those who really care about the price will be willing to constantly monitor their email (or retailer's website) and make an immediate purchase in a short period. Instead of accumulating additional discounts (for example, 20% off everything for the next two hours), Flash trading should focus on certain popular products. Flat-rate discounts allow customers to expect similar offers "available on all products" in the future. In contrast, product-specific transactions create a buying urge ("I don't know if this exact product transaction will exist in the future"). Instead of participating in price competition, you can use a little tact to better meet your customers' needs, encourage more purchases, and target customers who need discounts to "click purchases" to sell.
A Timely Marketing Strategy: in 2020 people started shopping for the holidays earlier than the previous years. So, retailers need to begin their holiday marketing campaigns much earlier than earlier. In particular, appealing to the customer's emotions and creating festive ads are necessary for the Indian Market.
The holiday season is about festivities and marks the end of the year. People worldwide look to end their year with a big celebration, buying new things and gifting valuable things to their loved ones. Retailers should capitalize on this opportunity and keep in mind that consumers.
Retail Chronicles | Page 09
December, 2021
E-COMMERCE HOLIDAY SPENDING
Raghav Khandelwal - MBA RM Retail Chronicles | Page 10
December, 2021
Introduction The holiday season, said to be the most beautiful time of the year, is the season in which sales in heavy volume happen, especially in the retail sector. It is one of the busiest times for the retailers in their complete operating cycle. The market size, consumer behaviour, buying patterns, expectations and preferences, etc change during this season. Hence, we as a retailer need to understand the environment to utilise it with full potential.
Some of the critical trends statistics and insights have been provided descriptively in the article to understand better how shoppers select and purchase goods and services during the holiday season. Retail Chronicles | Page 11
Omnichannel Retailing In the holiday season, it has been seen that consumers spend more than what they have spent throughout the year. According to a report by Cardlytics, the consumers who engage in both offline and online shopping spend more than double during the Holiday Period. The inference is applicable for retailers offering omnichannel interfaces.
Additionally, the study states that the share of omnichannel shoppers is only 10% of the total customer base. Hence, there is a vast untapped potential for the retailers. Through implementing an omnichannel interface, retailers can have immense benefits, and at the same time, it will improve the customer experience. December, 2021
Easy checkouts
The utilisation of Click & Collect
According to Global Shopper Survey 2019 by iVend Retail, respondents were asked about the critical aspects of retail shopping that they prefer the most. The responses were given as : Quick & Easy Checkout (83%) Earning reward or loyalty (59%) Free or Easy Returns (57%)
points
Quick and easy checkout is the most preferred by consumers in the holiday season, and with a significant margin even beating 'loyalty points'. Additionally, the respondents were also asked about what they hate the most, which come out to be 'navigating crowd and queue'. Hence, retailers in this holiday season are using a flexible payment platform accompanied by innovative checkout options.
Retail Chronicles | Page 12
One of the most exciting trends in this holiday season is using a click and collect facility. According to a report by Adobe Analytics, the Click & Collect has grown in the 2018 holiday season. And in a report by Salesforce, it has been said that the retailers who provide this facility will see more than 28% increase in revenue in the coming five years. Additionally, the report by Salesforce states that retailers having this facility will attract 48% more e-commerce shoppers, especially before essential holidays, namely Christmas. Hence, retailers should adopt this strategy for realising its actual benefits in the festive season.
Capturing the last-moment sales According to a report by Google, it was found that nearly 70% of the shoppers delay shipping till the first week before Christmas. And, if they find out that the shipping dates are getting too close, they will attempt to shop from offline stores. But that's not it. The consumers belonging to this segment will find stores through the navigation and find the top-recommended stores—also, the search for 'where to buy' rises during these times. Hence, retailers should provide information such as inventory levels, top picks, etc., in order to secure last-minute purchases. December, 2021
makes the whole process more accessible and generates much-needed consumer delight and loyalty.
Easy Returns Having a hassle-free return policy is one of the essential features that an ecommerce retailer should offer to their customers. Returns become very important, especially in the end-of-year holidays when unwanted items sent as gifts get back to retailers. According to the American National Retail Federation, it states that approximately 11-13% of all holiday items purchased gets returned every year. As a retailer, it is essential to understand the pain point. Consumers often find the process of returning as a time-taking and complex task in retail shopping. So, offering services like Click & Return
Retail Chronicles | Page 13
The Road Ahead The key trends and statistics in the world of retailing concerning the holiday season. The retailers are evolving, and new trends are emerging day by day. We can see & understand the importance of the holiday season for the retailers. Considering these trends, the retail market is changing, and the significance of holiday shopping has reached a new level.
December, 2021
OMNICHANNEL HOLIDAY SEASON
Harsh Gupta - MBA IB Retail Chronicles | Page 14
December, 2021
Every year, the holiday season is the most lucrative and much-awaited season for retailers, shopkeepers, and e-commerce platforms worldwide. These holiday seasons can be anything like Diwali, Christmas, Navratri, Holi, Thanksgiving, Gurupurab, Eid, etc. During these times, the streets and shops are busier, entertaining a large crowd, the shopkeepers increase labor, inventory and distribution are prepared, and many more things are done. In short, it is the busiest time of the year for each platform. These seasons contribute the maximum percentage of the annual sales of businesses. Due to this, the holiday season is crucial, complex, and challenging for today's omnichannel retailing. During these seasons, the choices for the customer increases. So it becomes vital for the retailers to make their operations and supply chain as efficient and smooth as possible. Retailers aim to make the customers' shopping experience convenient, personalized, and flawless. Let us discuss some of the strategies for the retailers during these seasons to maximize productivity, sales, profit, customer satisfaction, etc. Retail Chronicles | Page 15
• Fast order management During the holiday, the choices of the product and platform to buy are more, and the time is less. So if a product is not available at a shop at that particular moment, then chances are higher that the customer will move to another retail shop or platform. Eighty percent of the customers are likely to move to another similar brand or product when they want it is not in stock or back-ordered.
Thus there is no way that retailers can ignore the inventory management part. Additionally, inventory distortion adds up to $1.1 trillion in worldwide revenue every year, according to May 2015 "Retailers and the Ghost Economy," a report by the IHL Group. December, 2021
Thus, real-time inventory, intelligent order management, and accurate inventory availability become crucial. It is creating an endless aisle. Today's omnichannel world makes inventory accuracy hypercritical. Without actual inventory availability, retailers can't promise their customers products with an order management system that provides real-time visibility and intelligent order routing. The non-accurate inventory can result in order cancellation. The retailers' inventory problem solution can be an intelligent, rules-based routing plan for effective omnichannel fulfillment. This can enable the retailers to confidently promise the customers the product's availability at the right time and place as per the customer requirement. A firm order management system can help avoid unnecessary shipments and lose customers.
Apart from that, speed and convenience are the keys to retaining customers and increasing sales, especially in the age of ecommerce platforms like Amazon prime, Flipkart, Paytm, Myntra, etc. These are raising the bar for the retail industries. The customer expects minimal shipping and service charges and guaranteed delivery date. A survey of 500 customers conducted by the CFI Group reveals that 95% of customers Retail Chronicles | Page 16
expect free shipping, and only 67% of respondents are willing to spend more to qualify for the product. So, it becomes crucial for the retailers to tighten up their fulfillment rules and logistics to gain customer trust and loyalty. The careful calculations are essential to ensure low fulfillment costs and high profitability. • Importance of brick and mortar stores
Stores are a strategic weapon against Amazon and other competitors because the ship-from store creates an endless aisle via chain-wide inventory available for online customers. Store fulfillment can also remove split shipments for products not available in DCs. Apart from that, the inshop pickup is convenient for the customers who want the product in minimal time and without the shipping charges.
Thus increase in offline presence becomes the strategic move for the retailers. This can enable them to increase inventory and revenue, increase foot traffic, and much more. According to RIS' "2016 Shopper Insight 360 Study," the additional purchases are made by 58% of customers who pick up a web order in a brick and mortar store December, 2021
However, using the brick and mortar stores requires precise planning. It isn't accessible to manage inventory in stores compared to in warehouses. Some extra cost also needs to be borne by the retailers. This cost can be in the form of store designing in line with the messaging of the e-commerce platform, training of the staff, inventory management cost, and much more. Here, careful planning to develop store processes, incentives, service priorities, and employee responsibility is required. Creating automated rules is also necessary to determine when best to use DC fulfillment or store fulfillment, which store to use, etc. The analysis process should include forecasting consumer demand, in-store fulfillment requirements such as storage, boxes, space, labels, etc., maintaining safety stock levels, labor requirements, training, and cost. With this level of planning, store fulfillment can be a win-win for both the retailer and consumer.
The EMV chip and credit card technology is intended to prevent such types of fraud, but the majority of the retailers don't have this technology. So, retailers should opt for this technology to reduce their losses due to fraud. Apart from that, more tools and technologies are required to prevent scams on online and offline platforms. One of the tools could be a combination of data, machine learning, and human intervention before the orders are processed for the shipment, all while maintaining fast processing of the payments. One option for retailers that have internal resources stretched to the limit during this time is an outsourced payment and fraud solution that uses data science and machine learning to identify and mitigate drivers of loss. These solutions can diagnose risk drivers, flag them and score risks early in the sales cycle to minimize business impact.
• Management of fraud and unethical activities During the holiday season, the demand is more. Hence, the customers' footfall is more, average checkout time is less, thus the risk of fraud increases. According to the "2017 LexisNexis True Cost of Fraud Study," it is possible that up to one-third of monthly transactions are fraudulent. Approximately 43% of fraud attempts are made each month for eCommerce transactions alone. . A study by Javelin found that eCommerce merchants in 2017 are losing 8% of their revenues to fraud, equivalent to $8 million for each merchant generating $100 million in annual sales Retail Chronicles | Page 17
To conclude, the priority of each and every business is to leverage the potential of the holiday season for their profits to the maximum. However, the opportunities come with some cost, complexity, and challenges. Thus it becomes extremenly important for the businesses to work on those challenges to get the maximum out of this opportunity. December, 2021
PODCAST
MAKING THE MOST OF HOLIDAY SEASON -CORPORATE GIFTING -AKSHITA KULSHRESHTHA
E-COMMERCE HOLIDAY SPENDING
-RAGHAV KHANDELWAL
Retail Chronicles | Page 18
HOLIDAY OFFERS - PLANNING & STRATEGIES
-AAYUSH GHILDIYAL
OMNICHANNEL HOLIDAY SEASON
-HARSH GUPTA
December, 2021
TRIVIA
QUIZ
Retail Chronicles | Page 19
December, 2021
Q1. According to a report by IHL Group, how much inventory distortion adds up to the revenue worldwide every year ? a) Less than 10 Billion USD b) Nearly 1 Billion USD c) Nearly 1 Trillion USD d) More than 10 Trillion USD Z tuh solution Q2. All of these are the strategies which can be followed by retailers to prevent frauds, except..? a) EMV chip and credit card technology b) Combination of human intervention, Data and machine learning c) Applying 100% cash on delivery for very purchase d) Outsourced payment and fraud solution
Q5. Why should Retailers concentrate on having a digital strategy before the Holiday Season? a) Because of rising E-commerce. b) Because Consumers plan and research online. c) Because people are not willing to buy from a store. d) Because it is Necessary in today’s digital world Q6. On what day of the week does the internet’s version of Black Friday fall on? a) Monday b) Tuesday c) Friday d) Saturday
Q3. What unites Different cultures around the world when it comes to celebrating the Holiday Season? a) Games b) Shopping c) Parties d) Praying
Q7. Why is the busiest shopping day of the year called as Black Friday? a) The crowds blot out in the sun b) Lawrence Black ( the CEO of Macy’s) named his sale like this in 1970s c) Retailers start to show a profit d) None of these
Q4. Which of the following cannot be called company swag? a) Personalized gift by a secret santa b) Bluetooth speakers branded under company name c) Set of pen and diary branded under company name d) Water bottle and hoodie branded under company name
Q8. What was the value of the gifting industry in 2019? a) $19 billion b) $29 billion c) $62 billion d) $10 billion
Retail Chronicles | Page 20
December, 2021
REFERENCES https://www.radial.com/sites/default/files/TopOmnichannel-Strategies-2017.pdf https://multichannelmerchant.com/blog/omnichannelholidays-not-optional-for-retailers/ https://www.investopedia.com/terms https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication? articleId=doajarticles::924428c0c6b70cdaa4b9d9a77559d9e9 https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2018/0 8/02/yes-franchising-has-its-freedoms/?sh=70f192a23382
/retaillabsimsr @Retail_Lab @Retail_Lab