Abstract: Promotion is a key element in the retail business. Thus, analysis of promotions to quantify their effectiveness in terms of Revenue and/or Margin is an essential activity in the retail industry. However, measuring the sales/revenue uplift is based on estimations, as the actual sales/revenue without the promotion is not present. Further, the presence of Halo and Cannibalization in a multiple parallel promotions’ scenario complicates the problem. Calculating Baseline by considering inter-brand/competitor items or using Halo and Cannibalization's impact on Revenue calculations by considering Baseline as an interpretation of items’ unit sales in neighboring nonpromotional weeks individually may not capture the overall Revenue uplift in the case of multiple parallel promotions. Hence, this paper proposes a Machine Learning based method for calculating the Revenue uplift by considering the Halo and Cannibalization impact on the Baseline and the Revenue. In the first section of the proposed methodology, Baseline of an item is calculated by incorporating the impact of the promotions on its related items. In the later section, the Revenue of an item is calculated by considering both Halo and Cannibalization impacts. Hence, this methodology enables correct calculation of the overall Revenue uplift due a given promotion.
Abstract: The UK is leading in online retail and mobile
adoption. However, there is a dearth of information relating to mobile
apparel retail, and developing an understanding about consumer
browsing and purchase behaviour in m-retail channel would provide
apparel marketers, mobile website and app developers with the
necessary understanding of consumers’ needs. Despite the rapid
growth of mobile retail businesses, no published study has examined
shopping behaviour on fashion mobile apps and websites. A mixed method approach helped to understand why fashion
consumers prefer websites on smartphones, when diverse mobile
apps are also available. The following research methods were
employed: survey, eye-tracking experiments, observation, and
interview with retrospective think aloud. The mobile gaze tracking
device by SensoMotoric Instruments was used to understand
frustrations in navigation and other issues facing consumers in
mobile channel. This method helped to validate and compliment
other traditional user-testing approaches in order to optimize user
experience and enhance the development of mobile retail channel.
The study involved eight participants - females aged 18 to 35 years
old, who are existing mobile shoppers. The participants used the
Topshop mobile app and website on a smart phone to complete a task
according to a specified scenario leading to a purchase. The
comparative study was based on: duration and time spent at different
stages of the shopping journey, number of steps involved and product
pages visited, search approaches used, layout and visual clues, as
well as consumer perceptions and expectations. The results from the data analysis show significant differences in
consumer behaviour when using a mobile app or website on a smart
phone. Moreover, two types of problems were identified, namely
technical issues and human errors. Having a mobile app does not
guarantee success in satisfying mobile fashion consumers. The
differences in the layout and visual clues seem to influence the
overall shopping experience on a smart phone. The layout of search
results on the website was different from the mobile app. Therefore,
participants, in most cases, behaved differently on different
platforms. The number of product pages visited on the mobile app
was triple the number visited on the website due to a limited visibility
of products in the search results. Although, the data on traffic trends
held by retailers to date, including retail sector breakdowns for visits
and views, data on device splits and duration, might seem a valuable
source of information, it cannot explain why consumers visit many
product pages, stay longer on the website or mobile app, or abandon
the basket. A comprehensive list of pros and cons was developed by
highlighting issues for website and mobile app, and recommendations
provided. The findings suggest that fashion retailers need to be aware of
actual consumers’ behaviour on the mobile channel and their expectations in order to offer a seamless shopping experience. Added
to which is the challenge of retaining existing and acquiring new
customers. There seem to be differences in the way fashion
consumers search and shop on mobile, which need to be explored in
further studies.
Abstract: The success of any retail business is predisposed by its
swift response and its knack in understanding the constraints and the
requirements of customers. In this paper a conceptual design model
of an automated customer-friendly supermarket has been proposed.
In this model a 10-sided, space benefited, regular polygon shaped
gravity shelves have been designed for goods storage and effective
customer-specific algorithms have been built-in for quick automatic
delivery of the randomly listed goods. The algorithm is developed
with two main objectives, viz., delivery time and priority. For
meeting these objectives the randomly listed items are reorganized
according to the critical-path of the robotic arm specific to the
identified shop and its layout and the items are categorized according
to the demand, shape, size, similarity and nature of the product for an
efficient pick-up, packing and delivery process. We conjectured that
the proposed automated supermarket model reduces business
operating costs with much customer satisfaction warranting a winwin
situation.
Abstract: This paper reviewed the relationships between the Knowledge Management (KM) activities and its perceived benefits in the knowledge based organisations. KM activities include: knowledge identification, knowledge acquisition, knowledge application, knowledge sharing, knowledge creation and knowledge preservation. And the perceived benefits of KM are fast customer responsiveness, operation excellence and high innovative intensity. Based on the above review, a conceptual framework for KM implementation in retail business organisations has been proposed. Finally the paper forwarded some limitations of the framework and based on which, directions for future research had been suggested.