Background Music, A tool to boost sales in organised retail

Music is a passion today. People like to listen to their favourite numbers. Music creates a healthy environment in the store. A better music will help in keeping the customer for a longer time in the store. It also keeps the staff fresh and gears them for the sales. These employees may have a work schedule of 12 hours a day.
Departmental stores were the first in India which started the trend of playing background music. The new retail formats which are up coming up and with stores being visited by the youth to a larger extent, stores started playing music because variety is what liked by the youth in anything they experience. The selection of music should be in sync with the type of store and the instrument used to play the music need to be properly installed and operated. Playing music at the right volume has been found to lower down the movement of customers going out from the stores which results in the increased sales. According to the survey conducted by coco-cola when the background music in shopping malls is decreased from 108 to 60 beats per
Minute, customers tend to move with their trolley slower and sales increase by as much as 38%. Background music thus has been found to influence the amount of time and money spent, both real and perceived, at the store by customers. It establishes an emotional attachment with a particular store.
Another important thing is to be considered is that the background music should complement with the store format and ambience as well as the brands sold over there. Music is a passion for every one hence appropriate music is played in a right way.
Do’s and Don’t in the case of music in stores
Playing music through proper medium such as through satellite or computer rather than playing through radio as commercials can break the mood. Selecting the right music system and number of speakers to be used in the store.
Multiple speakers should be places in the store at soffit height, as this will create surround sound quality. Selection of songs should be done in accordance with business being run. Music should be played at low volume.
If background music and TV are being played simultaneously, then try to mute TV. In sport stores and fitness centres, if TV and background music being played together, then prefer switching over to sports channel. Try to play background music at low but audible level so that customers can interact with each other and staff easily. Never play high pitched music in a crowded store as it increases the movement of customers facing to rush. have a good collection of songs and play through proper system without any cracking sounds.
The Retail stores that sell merchandise related to infants and kids generally play music like jingles and poetry. This makes kids feel comfortable and it also please their parents. Classical music and jazz are often played in apparel stores. A premium boutique dealing in ethnic and designer wears catering to the premium customer should play classical music with reinforces its upscale image. And in the case of restaurants classical and jazz music will provide a king size feeling. In the case of pubs and bars live music events, organised disco or karoke nights. The kind of music played in fitness centres is called foreground music as it played at higher volume, how ever at lesser volume compared to discos. So the latest national and international music can be played. This will encourage people to burn their extra calories.
Playing the right kind of music at the stores helps the retailers to establish an emotional connect with the customers and position the brand. The music is an integral part of shopping experience. The challenge for every retailer is to have just the right music mix so that it engages rather than annoys the customer. The music played in a store is a part of brand positioning, and it should be left to chance .If one wants to connect with customers on an emotional level, there is nothing more powerful than the right music.

Christy Sebastian
christychayan@gmail.com
PH:+91 9447373449

Guerrilla Marketing

Guerrilla marketing is an unconventional system of promotions, running
on a very low budget, by relying on time, energy and imagination
instead of big marketing budgets. Typically, guerrilla marketing is
unexpected and unconventional, where consumers are targeted where they
would not be expecting, which can make the idea that's being marketed
memorable, generate buzz, and even spread virally. The term was coined
and defined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his 1984 book Guerrilla
Marketing. The term has since entered the popular vocabulary to also
describe aggressive, unconventional marketing methods generically.

Levinson says that when implementing guerrilla marketing tactics,
small size is actually an advantage instead of a disadvantage. Small
businesses and entrepreneurs are able to obtain publicity more easily
than large companies; they are closer to their customers and
considerably more agile.

Levinson identifies the following principles as the foundation of
guerrilla marketing:

1.Guerrilla Marketing is specifically geared for the small business and
entrepreneur.
2. It should be based on human psychology instead of experience,
judgment, and guesswork.
3. Instead of money, the primary investments of marketing should be time,
energy, and imagination.
4. The primary statistic to measure your business is the amount of
profits, not sales.
5. The marketer should also concentrate on how many new relationships are
made each month.
6. Create a standard of excellence with an acute focus instead of trying
to diversify by offering too many diverse products and services.
7. Instead of concentrating on getting new customers, aim for more
referrals, more transactions with existing customers, and larger
transactions.
8. Forget about the competition and concentrate more on cooperating with
other businesses.
9. Guerrilla Marketers should always use a combination of marketing
methods for a campaign.
10. Use current technology as a tool to empower your business.

Retail giant Future group’s Big Bazaar is a keen adapter of Guerrilla marketing, if we closely monitor their ads they are directly targeting Shoppers Stop and Westside. Shoppers Stop advertises using the slogan “Make a smart choice” and Big Bazaar advertises using a slogan “Change your lifestyle, Make a smart choice” and “Keep West-aside”
Thus we see that guerrilla marketing is one of the most cost effective ways to communicate to the target consumers.

Suraj Kumar
0091-9895568194

A study on Shelf space management

Relevance of Shelf space management
Impact of retail boom in India shows its reflection in Kerala also .Many of the global as well as domestic retail giants such as Lulu ,Reliance, Spencers , Big Bazar, More etc are trying to enhance their footprint by setting up new format of retail shops in Kerala. The market potentiality of Kerala market is one of the reasons for this. When these organised players are trying to strengthen their position, the existing retail players in both the organised and unorganised sectors in Kerala are struggling to gain competitive advantages. SupplyCo, which is going to face an immense competition from the retail giants, as it is a major retail player in the public sector in Kerala.
The State-owned Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation, popularly known as Supplyco, is readying itself to face the competition in retail market in the State. Supplyco, the biggest retail chain in India in the public sector with more than 2,700 retail outlets in Kerala, has chalked out strategies to attract new customers and retain the existing consumers. The new initiatives adopted by the company equipped to meet the competition from those retail giants are as follows:
 Computerised and networked all the depots and retail outlets.
 Stretch retailing (door delivery system).
 E-retailing.
 The privilege card facility.
 Modernisation of human resources to face the challenges.
 Managing the shelf space etc.
Among these initiatives, by realising the importance of shelf space in the organised retail, a study is conducted on the shelf space management of retail outlets of SupplyCo , as it represents the whole organised retail outlets in the public sector in Kerala. The main objective of the study is to check whether the shelf space management strategy of SupplyCo is competent to other major retailers in Kerala.
The shelf is the location where any product meets the consumer, whereas the shelf is also the final inventory location in the retail supply chain. Actually the shelves of a retail outlet is like a ‘silent sales man’, that is, it is in such a way that inspiring the customer to take product from the shelf and finally purchase it. Shelf space management is also called as category management. It can be defined as a retailer-supplier process of managing categories as SBU (Strategic business units), producing enhanced results by focusing on delivering consumer value.. It would be developed as a strategy for retailers to successfully compete in each retail category for the shopper’s loyalty and money. It recognises the interrelatedness of products in the category and focuses on improving performance of whole product category rather than the performance of individual brands.
By observing the shelf space allocation strategy followed the retail outlets of SupplyCo, it is being found that the shelf space management is not that much competent to in the following ways:
 There are no display staffs for displaying the products on the shelves attractively.
 Some products are having not that much movement (static) from their respective shelves. This leads to some brands in certain product category are accumulating in the shelves which in turn creating problems in supply chain management of the organisation.
 They are not following a systematic way of arranging the product in the shelves of outlets.
 Sales achieved per square feet for a category is comparatively low with that of retail giants in private sector.
 One of the main problems is that few of the product categories are utilising more space in the shelf but keeping low sales. This will adversely affect the overall sales of the retail outlet.
 Shelves are not attractive in nature. The retail shelves are having the duty of silent sales man, which encouraging the prospective customers into actual customers. For this purpose the shelves should designed to be attractive.
 The interrelated factor that affects the shelf space, the interior store design, is not attractive and competing.
 SupplyCo is having some private labels but not attractively packaged. If it is so, it would enhance the sales.
Recommendations regarding the improvement of shelf space management for the retail outlets of SupplyCo in order to gain a competitive advantage over the other retail giants in Kerala are the following:
 The shelf space allocation strategy become more effective and attractive only by appointing display staffs in the outlets.
 Making sure the right space is allocated for the right product is a key part of a store’s productivity.
 Attempt to improve the handling of their private label product development and also presenting it also in a manner (including advertising) similar to a national or an international brand. Private labels of SupplyCo should have to pack in attractive packages, which help to increase the sales.
 Ensure enough space for the smooth movement of shopping cart in between the shelves in the outlets. While shopping this would be convenient to the customers.
 Try to allocate more shelf space to FMCG products that contribute more sales per square feet.
 Apply JDA Software’s Space & Category Management solutions, which use advanced category management technology to create a bridge between the supplier and retailer. This allows valuable insight into each other’s business, so that shelves are carefully planned in line with a particular retailer’s sales goals.
 An area in a store that receives the most traffic can be used to sell the higher demand items or promote the seasonal products such as produce.
The allocation of scarce shelf space among competing products is a central problem in retailing. Shelf space allocation affects store profitability. Retailers are increasingly looking regarding how to stock shelves for maximum profitability, while improving the shopping experience for their customers. Understanding shelf space availability, along with consumer demand, allows retailers to develop a replenishment strategy to avoid excess inventory and plan for a rise in the purchasing of a product based on season or promotions. Hence by keeping all the aforesaid matters regarding shelf space management, SupplyCo could make a competitive advantage over the other retail giants in Kerala.

Posted by: RENJITH BABU.M
renjithbm@rediff.com

“DO OR DIE” BY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Introduction to Indian Retail Industry:
According to AT Kearney's annual Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), India holds a top most position for the most attractive market for retail investment across the globe and according to industry estimates the industry is estimated to grow from the US$ 330 billion in 2007 to US$ 427 billion by 2010 and US$ 637 billion by 2015. Simultaneously, modern retail is likely to increase its share in the total retail market to 22 per cent by 2010.
India has one of the largest numbers of retail outlets in the world. Of the 12 million retail outlets present in the country, nearly 5 million sell food and related products. Organised retail has increased its share from 5 per cent of total retail sales in 2006 to 8 per cent in 2007. The fastest growing segments have been the wholesale cash and carry stores (150 per cent) followed by supermarkets (100 per cent) and hypermarkets (75-80 per cent). Further, it estimates the organised segment to account for 25 per cent of the total sales by 2011.
The major reasons for this growth is due to large number of young population in the country (around 70% are below the age of 35) , Change in income profiles, Due to high spending and consuming power and increase in working women population etc.
IT – “The Backbone of Retail”
Information Technology plays a very important role for the development of retail in the country. IT helps the retailer as well as vendors and suppliers to work effectively and efficiently for their developments. It is estimated that over $2.5 billion will be spent on IT in the Indian retail sector by 2010. This will include the cost of acquiring new assets as well as looking after existing infrastructure. Over 40% of this will be spent on software and services,”
IT Innovation is happening not just at the backend, but also at the customer facing end. It’s taking place all over, right from where the customer enters a store to the point where he leaves. This essentially covers the whole process of buying of products, right from selecting to decision making and paying at the checkout counter. There are lot of applications and packages are available for helping Retail industry, I am going to discuss only the major applications and packages in detail.
List of Applications:
• Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) – For Tracking items
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software – For building customer loyalty
• Inventory management system – To reduce Shrinkage
• Supply chain management – For Profit maximizing
• Merchandise Management System (MMS) – For Effective merchandise planning
• CCTV systems – To control shoplifters and to count walk in
• E-Retailing – Future Retailing
• M-Retailing – Save your time

Main Advantage of IT use in Retail:
• Used for Demand Forecasting
• Easy knowing of Customer preference and their needs
• Reduces risk and cost
• Operational efficiency through better management of supply chain, inventory and store
• Improved productivity through automation, e.g. use of POS
• Enhanced customer experience through use of kiosks, mobile POS, digital signage
• Transparency in business process
• Increased ROI
• Easy tracking of inventory and leakage
• Allows performance management across locations, categories, etc.
List of IT -Retail solutions Providers in India:
• Wipro, Infosys and Microsoft for RFID systems
• Sify for ERP, Inventory management
• Qual soft for POS, Warehousing Management, Purchase Order Management, Inventory Management
• Zenith for CRM, SCM and MMS
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)

RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification. It is not a new concept. RFID is a system that uses radio waves to transmit an object's identity. There are several methods of identifying objects using RFID, but the most common is to store an ID or serial number that identifies a specific product along with other information, on a tag, which is a small microchip attached to an antenna. The antenna enables the chip to transmit whatever identification information it contains to a reader. The reader converts the radio waves from the RFID tag into digital information that software systems can use for processing.
Typically, when a reader reads a tag, it passes three things to a host computer system: the tag ID, the reader's own ID, and the time the tag was read. By knowing which readers are in which locations, companies can know where a product is, as well as what it is, and by tracking the tag data by time, they can know everywhere it's been. Radio Frequency Identification in the retail industry has solved major problems related to customer services. With the help of RFID it becomes easy for the sales staff to locate a particular item in the store and check its availability in less time.
RFID in Retail helps in the following ways:
• Improve security against shoplifting
• Automate product movement, identification and authentication
• Increase speed and efficiency throughout the retail process with fewer errors
• Improve efficiencies for billing, reporting and end of day settlement
• Gain greater control over costly inventory management
• Increases customers loyalty and level of services
• Provide real-time connectivity between production floor and retail floor, thus reduce minimum stock level requirement
• Increase overall labour productivity and decrease overall labour cost
The future of RFID is very bright in retail sector, as right from inventory management to product manufacturing, this system provides a more efficient and advanced retail experience to both the customer and the seller.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software
Customer Relationship Management Software also known as CRM is software that allows a company to manage their relationships with their customers by capturing, analysing, and storage of customer, partner, vendor details and also internal process information.
The key functionality of a CRM system is divided into 3 basic modules these are Marketing, Service and Sales and the 3 aspects of the system are Operational, Collaborative and Analytical (See figure1.0).
The marketing module deals with providing functionality of short term execution of marketing related activities and long term planning within a company.
The service module focuses on how effective the system is of managing customer service which is planned or unplanned. The some of the functions of the Service module are Service Order Management, Resource Planning and Scheduling, Service Level Agreement Management and Planned Services management.
The sales module focuses helping the sales team of the company to manage and execute the pre-sales process, making it more organized. The sales team in most companies are responsible for capturing any leads or opportunities, capturing customer interaction, the CRM helps them process this data and monitor it in the future.

Inventory Management System

A powerful inventory management system is the base of the every good retailer. Let’s see in what way this system helps to the retailer in detail.

More Accurate Inventory

With an inventory management system, you can get minors to major’s reports on what you have in stock, on order, and in transit. Retail software with an inventory management system eliminates the guesswork from running your retail business.


Timelier Ordering

Inventory management systems can be set up to automatically notify you when it's time to order more inventory, such as when stock falls below a prearranged level. By always having your hottest items in stock, you'll be sure to not miss sales due to out-of-stock items. It will even generate purchase orders automatically

Identify What's Hot (And What's Not)

An inventory management system tracks which items are selling and which are not. By identifying your less moving items, you can adjust their position, pricing, or other issues earlier. You can also see which items are often purchased in pairs, so you can group them consequently in the store.

Future innovations in Retail:

Smart card Billing:

This is not a new technology for America. The main objective of this technology is to reduce the billing time .In which, each customer will be provided smart card by the respective retail store during customer purchases the goods .The customer just have to insert the smart card in their shopping trolley. This trolley will detect the customer profile which will be controlled by central server of the store.

While customer taking goods and putting into trolley the computer will identify the type, No of items and price of the good and this data will sent to billing counter. If, the customer again taken out goods from trolley the data will again calculate. So, the majority of billing is done by trolley just customer has to put goods in that. While the customer reaching the billing counters the bill will be generated and customer has to pay only money. So, the customer as well as retailer ultimately saves the time.

Conclusion
This are the various applications are used in Indian retailing. Today world is very competitive everyone is running to reach their targets. Since the government policies regarding retailing are liberal, so lot of foreign players like Wal-mart, Tesco, and Carrefour are already planned to enter into our country and many player are decided to come since India is a favourable destination for retail. These players will be well advanced in Technologies. So, this is the major threat for existing organised and unorganised players in the country.
India players like Pantaloons, Spencer’s, Shoppers stop are already adopted various technologies to compete with new players. So, my kind advice to existing and new players in both organised and unorganised has to implement Information Technology in their business to avoid loss and risk.

R.Muthukrishnan
muthupearl10@gmail.com