Retail in Multi Channel World by Mr. Kumar Rajagopalan

Retail in Multichannel World

Mr. Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India, spoke on Retailing in Multiple Channel World on the 17th of March 2014.

The session began with an introduction on retail and how retail products have become an essential part of our day to day life. Every day from the time we get up till we go to sleep, a retail product is a part of it. Ranging from toothpastes to our instant foods, everything is a part of retail product.

Mr. Kumar spoke in detail about Multichannel retailing. Multichannel retailing is the use of a variety of channels in a customer's shopping experience including research before a purchase.  Such channels include retail stores, online stores, mobile stores, mobile app stores, telephone sales and any other method of transacting with a customer. Transacting includes browsing, buying, returning as well as pre and post sale service.

At present, there are a few products that are purchased through television. But the newer and most advancing is the Mobile retailing sector. Companies are competing on the internet with new applications in which customers can buy the products online on the go with the help of a few clicks. Companies like Amazon and Flipkart make use of these applications to help connect better with their customers.

The two channels used are Offline and Online retailing. Offline retailing pertains to customers walking into the nearest retail store and purchasing the product whereas online retailing relates to customers purchasing through the internet. Both of these have their advantages and disadvantages.

Offline Retailing is where the customer gets a feel of the product. The delivery is instant as the product is purchased in the store. It is now extensively used by many well-known companies to promote their products as the online retailing has become highly competitive.

Online Retailing is where the consumer places the order online through various sites. The disadvantage is that the consumer cannot physically choose the product. Also the time of delivery depends on the location of the consumer. Price of the product purchased via online retailing is lower as compared to offline retailing as companies try to attract customers towards online purchasing.

The future of retailing is slowly changing to augmented reality where the customer can understand the appearance of the product. Many companies have already started using augmented reality which helps in saving space and also helps in connecting better with the consumers.

Guru-gyan

The buying process includes 3 things 1. Influencer, 2.  Buyer and 3. Payer. Influencers are those who actually push you to go ahead and buy the product. They actually compel you to buy the product.

The Buyer is the person who asks for the product. The buyer is also largely influenced by the Influencer to buy the product.

The payer is the person who pays for the product. The payer is influenced by the Buyer to get him/her the product that they desire.

The session ended with the speaker answering the queries posed by the students.