SO SURREAL

Technology after being the hero of the operations department has already started showing up in the front-end operations. As a terminology, real-time retailing is still not used often among experts, but the next decade will see a turnaround in the way front-end retailing is being done. Consumers have been the least recipient of technology at the time of shopping and one can only wonder how ‘real-time retailing’ will change the face of a store, from front-end sales staff to mobile phones and gadgets.

Real-time retailing

In terms of functionality, real-time retailing means personalised offers to shoppers instantly, whether they are online or in store and real-time information about customers and operations to employees exactly when and where they need it. It brings out the perfect recipe to respond to events as and when they happen eventually enabling the retailer to increase efficiency, revenue and profitability.

There was always a deal or discount running at Domino’s but there was hardly any charm among consumers for the same. Lately, they have started keeping a track of the history of purchases, software analyses consumers’ choices and at the time of order the software pops up the suitable discount offer for that particular customer. Everything happens in real time, and the customer goes back smiling, ensuring loyalty and eventually increasing the profitability.

The impact of technology on the retail industry has started showing results. “We have delivered 5 per cent incremental sales to Pizza Hut using this technology,” claims Aneesh Reddy, Founder and Director, Capillary Technology. The biggest benefit our members enjoy is that rewards are now instant! Earlier, it took up to 15 days to credit points to a loyalty account, now it is done the moment the purchase is made. Capillary’s !nTouch allows us to gratify our customer instantly through SMS updates, m-vouchers etc. the moment a transaction is done” said Rachna Aggarwal, CEO, Indus League.

The stakeholders

As per the clientele, there is the difference in the need for technology implementation. When Binu Jacob, Founder, Fieldmax, was asked about the sector that would be the first to engage into real-time retailing, he said, “FMCG, F&B and pharma sectors will be the major user of the application of real-time retail solutions. The simple reason for this is that there is a need for personalised attention as the diversity in case of buying behaviour is huge. The need of the hour is personalised attention, that is why, these sectors will be the first one to implement real-time retailing techniques.”

The need and usage of real-time retail solutions change with locations. A classified description of the same in tier-1 tier 2 and tier 3 cities is given below:

Tier 1: It will include retailers that typically play across multiple formats, such as the Future Group, Reliance, Tatas and Aditya Birla Group. These retailers have invested in best breed of retail ERPs from suppliers, such as SAP, Oracle and JDA.

Tier 2: It will include regional players, such as Viveks, Vishal Megamart and branded food retailers. Typically, these players tend to be more conservative and invest in local systems or smaller solutions from global players, such as MS Dynamix and Retail Pro.

Tier 3:  It will include single store players, some of them are making their first steps towards incorporating IT in their stores.

Products and their reviews

Fieldmax, which is an mobile-based application, works as a one-stop shop with which sales and distribution executives, can capture orders, record new enquiries, collect payments, lodge complaints, appraise competitor information, give field sales status updates to managers and be pro-active in brand building activities, all in real time. The amount to be spent for this application depends on the magnitude of your business, but on an average, development and installation costs around `50 lakh.

“Since implementing Capillary’s solutions, our loyalty program, Maya Club and its campaigns have generated additional revenues (25 per cent on average) in each store. Our repeat customer visits have also increased to 26 per cent from 15 per cent in this period. Moreover, we have noticed a sizable increase in the average basket size from 1.7 to 2.4 in this duration,” says Vinay Sharma, Chief Operating Officer, Gitanjali Lifestyle.

The way ahead

Retailers have seen this as a marketing investment and considerable budget is being allocated for the successful implementation of the products and to engage customers. Amol Dhillon, VP Strategy and Planning, Woodland, says, “Our marketing initiatives have started involving more and more social media and mobile phone activations. The impact of real-time offers has proved to be more efficient than the mass media marketing techniques.”

The future of Indian retail lies in the way they implement their real-time luring techniques. Sooner or later these applications will be the interface between the end consumers and brands. Cutting out expenditure on other marketing initiatives will also result in better margins to the retailers and suitable offers to the consumers. Does it not look like a Hindi movie’s happy ending? Yes it does.