Rohit Dadwal
India?s retail sector is abuzz with action following government?s recent decision to loosen market restrictions in hopes of luring more foreign investment and expertise. The retail sector will grow to $1.3 trillion by 2020, according to a white paper recently released by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci). However, this opportunity will only be realised if Indian retailers move away from a strictly brick-and-mortar model of operation, and tap into the valuable opportunities of integrated multichannel retailing.
With economic growth percolating to more remote population centres, including smaller cities, consumption will become decentralised. Retailers will need to do more than simply open more stores in major cities in India, which in itself is a costly exercise. This tactic has been tried in the past, with only limited success, and this time around, the need to extend the reach of retail is more imperative than ever. The white paper points out some interesting facts, including increasing internet penetration and a high preference for mobile devices for internet access. While this is far from universal, the trend seems to be for mobile devices to become an essential part of the retail experience.
Savvy consumers are more likely to use mobile devices rather than PCs as their shopping tools, and are quick to consult their mobile phones to compare prices, read reviews, or get more information on potential purchases. They have discovered a range of functions in their mobile devices that can help them, from access to product information to mobile coupons and social shopping. Feature-rich mobile apps can also make shopping more fun, interactive and convenient.
Retailers can reach out to these savvy consumers by moving some portion of their business online. Some goods lend themselves quite easily to online shopping: books/ebooks, for example, can be purchased online and sent straight to devices, for almost immediate consumption. Music, also, is being changed by the ease of purchasing digital music.
But mobile devices are more than just an access point for online shopping, and it is entirely possible that some innovative retailer will use mobile marketing to move retail into some new direction. To take an example from another country: Homeplus is a chain of supermarkets run by Tesco in South Korea. In an effort to raise the profile of Homeplus, Tesco took the step of buying out ad panels in subway stations and replacing them with full-sized photographic reproductions of supermarket shelves. These two-dimensional shelves had all the necessary information for basic shopping and each product was accompanied by a QR code. Commuters waiting could scan the QR codes of their desired purchases into a specially designed mobile app, which would charge them and arrange for home delivery.
It might be too early to call this revolutionary, but it does transform waiting time into something useful, and shift the drudgery of shopping for essentials in time and location into a more convenient experience for the shopper.
More traditional retailers can also utilise technology to enhance the shopping experience: QR codes on in-store displays can lead customers to more information or related items, mobile finance may change the way that payment is carried out, location-based services may alert consumers to nearby shops and offer discounts, and increased levels of connectivity may help merchants understand and engage with their customer base. Indian retailers looking to the future must at least consider which of these will accelerate their business or help bring their products (virtually and actually) into the hands of consumers who might otherwise not step into a store.
While new schemes and services may change the face of retail, consumers can already take advantage of simple mobile marketing implementations, including sending SMS messages to receive discount coupons for free samples in return. This reflects the generally positive consumer response to mobile technology, and their willingness to interact with their personal devices.
Rather than fearing change, Indian retailers should consider ways to match the lifestyles of today?s consumer, and utilise the various channels: online, digital, and mobile as ways to add value that other businesses cannot. The Indian customer is also changing, and has come to expect levels of information, engagement and convenience that traditional retail may not necessarily provide. Having embraced the potential of mobile marketing, however, retail can become a more attractive experience, and one that offers an immediacy and personal touch available nowhere else.
The writer is MD, Mobile Marketing Association, Asia Pacific
