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Keywords
Retail Marketing Mix, Retail formats, Hypermarkets, Specialty Stores, Department Stores.
Abstract
Purpose of study - The purpose of this research is to compare the different retail formats and study them in the light of the various elements of the Retail Marketing-Mix. Specialty Stores, Hypermarkets, Convenience Stores and Department Stores are examined on the attributes of Quality, Length of Assortment, In-store services, Price, Location, Floor Space, Promotion, Loyalty Programs, Personnel Management, Ambiance and Operational Excellence to determine the importance of different elements of Retail Marketing-Mix for different formats.
Design/methodology/approach - The data was collected using self-administered questionnaires from various retailers belonging to different category of retailers (n = 90). The data was later compared by the means of statistical analysis using SPSS 21.
Major Results - A summary of results reveal that each store attribute holds different importance for different formats. All the strategy dimensions are of High Importance for Department stores. Whereas, for Hypermarkets and Specialty Stores, they are either Highly or Moderately Important.
Managerial Implications - The study throws light on the strategic preferences of different retailers for different dimensions. The results from this study are very insightful for retailers planning to foray into the lucrative Indian retail marketplace. Though the hypothesis for various parameters were well supported from the existing literature, the results were quite different from the scenario studied. Hence this research is unique to the Indian retail context.
Originality Value - This is an original research work that includes a comparative analysis of different retail formats in a single study. Past studies are scarce on the subject and mostly focussed on retail food industry. What makes this study more unique is its special contextual reference to the Indian retail sector.
Limitations - The paper is limited in its approach in terms of the sample size. There is a large scope for conducting the main study with a larger sample size and a broader geographical coverage.
1. Introduction
Retailers represent the culmination of the marketing process and the contact point between consumers and manufactured products. Retailing involves those companies that are engaged in procuring products from the manufacturers and reselling the same goods to the consumers. While buying has always been the highest priority for retailers, the retailers now follow...