Retail marketing is a key aspect of the retail industry. Effective marketing is indispensably necessary for the current manufacturers because, with no retail store presence, businesses are unlikely to attain the high level of exposure or even proper product distribution offered. Succinctly, retailers help businesses through various marketing services such as direct product promotion to customers and offering consumers the opportunities to view and test the products. Since its inception, retail marketing has undergone a significant change, thereby attracting the attention of various research scholars within the marketing field. In the article “Retail Marketing: A Critical Analysis” by Ashish Pandey and Dr. Avjeet Kaur, the scholars present comprehensive research regarding the necessities as well as important building blocks of marketing. This study aimed to ascertain as well as analyze how the marketing formats have taken over this industry in India, different confronts and opportunities that underlie the country’s retail industry, successful strategies for organized stores, and different customer inclinations within the ASEAN economics.
The article begins with the authors highlighting the speedy surge in the novel retail formats in the last two decades. According to scholars, India’s retail sector is experiencing a full alteration in both growth and investment situations (Pandey & Kaur, 2020). The new and old market players have been practicing and experimenting with the novel retail formats. Explicitly, the current market structure is characterized by two major retail formats: hypermarkets and supermarkets. Most importantly, the research confirms that globalization has significantly changed the dimension of retailing as it constantly transforms and restructures the retail formats across the globe. It is an element that has provided a route for free movement of goods as well as services. Additionally, the scholars identify the government’s influence as a vital factor in allowing the foreign organized retails in the country, which has created stiff competition amid the new and the existing industry players. The article reports that India’s retail sector is rapidly grabbing the interests of numerous players and may expectedly surge at a constantly high rate in the coming years according to the study of the Global Retail Development Index 2015 (Pandey & Kaur, 2020). Pandey and Kaur (2020) assert that although India’s retail sector is in its introductory phase, it offers enormous prospects for the future. Besides, the retail industry thrives under the principle of cut-throat competition, which meaningfully offers the best products as well as services to the target consumers.
Most importantly, to provide a valid and reliable analysis of the topic, the authors conducted a literature review, which focused on key areas such as retail marketing and consumer retail behavior that have majorly attracted the interests of previous research. The significant changes presented in the study are reported to be as a result of the constantly changing demographics, business environments, and social development. Furthermore, the entry of the largest business giants such as Wall Mart and Carrefour, among others, has massively influenced the transition (Gahesha & Aithal, 2020). The rising consumer incomes have also expanded the retail industry. Pandey and Kaur (2020) argue that the most interesting aspect of modern shopping is that consumers no longer perceive it as the purchase of goods and services, but rather as social life. Therefore, the aforementioned factors are vital for using retail marketing. However, the biggest challenge within the Indian context is the dominance of unorganized retailers within the rural areas and the reluctant attitudes of the local consumers.
Moreover, organized retail outlets are critically important for marketers across all settings. Pandey and Kaur (2020) claim that understanding as well as analyzing the purchasing behavior of consumers is necessary. The rural markets are crucial for effective and sustainable retail marketing, and, hence, it is outlined in the article that local markets should be properly analyzed. Furthermore, numerous factors are deemed influential to buying tendencies, for instance, some clients prefer stores that offer them discounts, those with a variety of products, or rather those which are convenient to them (Bhatti & Rehman, 2020). Critically, the analysis performed by Pandey and Kaur is purely based on facts and information gathered through multiple sources. The literature review unveils significant findings regarding the global retail industry. Mexico, UK, The USA, Thailand, and China are considered the most productive economies as a result of the effective performance of their retail sectors (Pandey & Kaur, 2020). In the U.S., for instance, the industry has employed about 22 million individuals across its numerous outlets and generated a record of $3 trillion as revenue.
To sum up, the article carefully analyzes and offers a proper understanding of different elements and the building blocks of retail marketing. It can be resolved that there are numerous tools for both marketing and promotion used by retailers in India, including brand marketing, personal connections, credit services, advertising, premiums, and reasonable pricing, discounts, store ambiance, image branding, e-marketing, home delivery services, and rebates. As for the organized retailing, the most important tools are in-store ambiance and sustainable discounts, while for unorganized retailing, the best tools are convenient location, credit services, and active relationships. All tools play crucial roles in modern era business operations.
References
Bhatti, A., & Rehman, S. U. (2020). Perceived benefits and perceived risks effect on online shopping behavior with the mediating role of consumer purchase intention in Pakistan. International Journal of Management Studies, 26(1), 33-54. Web.
Gahesha, H.R., & Aithal, P. S. (2020). Organizing the unorganized lifestyle retailers in India: An integrated framework. International Journal of Applied Engineering and Management Letters (IJAEML), 4(1), 257-278.
Pandey, A., & Kaur, A. (2020). Retail marketing: A critical analysis. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 3(6). Web.