Analysis Of Retail Market In Australia: Discount And Departmental Retail Stores

How department stores and discount stores are evolving. This report should cover the historical development of department stores and discount stores in any country of choice. Obviously you would start by defining both of these types of retail institutions and then describe what merchandise they carry and how they market to distinct types or market segments of retail customers. You may like to discuss mergers, diversification and downsizing in your assignment, as well as cost containment and value- driven retailing being driving forces behind the evolution of these institutions into the retail outlets of tomorrow. Do you think retailing will be different in 5 years’ time, or in 10 years’ time? Why – what do you think will make these types of store different? Do you think there will be other types of stores that will open up in different markets? Use examples wherever possible to substantiate your opinions in the report. In your answer you also need to refer to the wheel of retailing concept, and the retail life cycle. You will also discuss ways in which shops assemble their merchandise for consumers, such as scrambled merchandising.

Assessment Criteria:

• Report structure, format, presentation and layout
• Application of knowledge and course concepts
• Critical analysis and research demonstrated in country retailing trends
• Overall conclusion and strength of arguments/ recommendations
• Research quality and referencing

Overview of the retail market in Australia

The report assists in the entire analysis and identification of the progression and growth of the entire retail market in the Australian market. The two types of retail stores which will be discussed in the respective assignment is relating to discount and departmental discount stores which are located in the Australian market. The different kinds of merchandise along with different strategies will be analysed which will be essential in growth of the retail market along with maintaining relationships with the different customers in the market as well.

Discount Retail Stores is the ones which provides and sell various kinds of products and services to the different customers at a discounted rate in the market in comparison to the other retail stores in the market. Furthermore, the discount stores are also quite similar in nature like departmental stores in the market which provides the customers all products and services at a price which is discounted in nature (Amin 2017).

For instance- Target and Big W are the two discounted supermarkets in the Australian economy in which this these companies tries to offer the customers with variety of products and services as the main focus of the discounted stores is to satisfy and gain strong customer base in the economy and this will help them in increasing their overall revenues and productivity in the entire market as well.

Departmental Retail Stores is the other retail kind in which the different kinds of products are made available to the different customers in the market under the same roof. The customers can purchase the similar kinds of products at a discounted price and this helps the departmental stores to gain competitive advantage in the entire market effectively.

For instance- Woolworths is one such example of Australian market in which there are different kinds of products along with clothing and health and wellness beauty care products which are available to customers under one roof and this is helpful for the company to become successful in being more successful in comparison to the other competitors.

According to Amin (2017), there are various approaches which are being applied in the departmental retailing in the Australian market includes that there are different kinds of departments in the entire market which will help the customers in receiving the different kinds of products under one roof. The customers can receive the similar products like they will get in other market under same roof. This is the main speciality of the departmental stores and the evolvement has been introduced and this has been adopted by various companies such as Kmart and Big W both locally along with globally.

Discount Retail Stores in Australia

On the other hand, Pinto et al. (2018), has commented and hypothesised that in the Australian economy there are more than 88% of the population who are the major users of the smartphones and these customers try to view and review the various products in the market with the help of the online review process which will be effective in nature. Goworek, McGoldrick and McGoldrick (2015) has opined that there are various supermarkets which are popular in providing discounted products such as Woolworths which has adopted the system of self-service which helps the company in gaining more customer presence in the entire market which will be effective in managing the different activities efficiently under one roof.

In case of department retailing, this can be analysed in the economy of Australia that there are various kinds of different merchandise which have been implemented. In case of Woolworths, this has been seen and identified that the company tries selling various products and services to the different customers under one roof. In departmental retailing, this has been noticed that there are few other offerings which are made available by the company on their websites and this is gained through social media channels as well (Grewal 2018).

The evolution of retailing came into presence in the year 1963 wherein this was noticed that Woolworths was the first store wherein this was treated as the discounted store. Previously, the individuals who were informed about the various discounts and offers which were helpful in managing the different kinds of productivity effectively. However, in the present scenario, this has been noticed that the different kinds of technological advancements which helped the companies in becoming popular (Singh et al. 2018).

On the other hand, this has been noticed that there are various approaches which have been analysed and implemented by the discounted stores such as Target and Big W which are efficient in providing similar products at lower prices than the other competitors. Woolworths provide the products to the customers at an affordable rate, however there are no such separate departments such as food courts for those who will be purchasing the items from the store (Yong-xiang and Han 2018).

There are various kinds of offerings provided by the discounted stores in the entire Australian market which is inclusive of the different kinds of offers and discounts on different products and there are offers and gift vouchers which are being applied in the discounted stores in the Australian retail sector (Pole 2015). Due to the innovation in the economy, there are various types of changes in the Discounted Retailing economy such as inclusion of the different discounted offers provided to customers and this is linked with departmental stores.  

Departmental Retail Stores in Australia

The technological advancements play a major role in the retailing sector in the Australian economy. There are different kinds of surveys which has been generated and prepared in which this has been identified that more than 88% of the individuals are using cell phones in the economy and this will help the company in gaining competitive advantage in the entire economy as well (Paul, Bhuimali and Chatterjee 2016). Furthermore, this has been noticed that there are few shoppers who tries to view the various offers and discounts offered by the different retail companies in the Australian economy.

For instance- In case of Woolworths and Kmart, this has been seen that Woolworths has implemented the self-check out service system for the different customers in various stores in Australian market and this helps them in gaining competitive advantage. However, there was an issue in which this was noticed that there was a fraud after installation of self-service check out system as there was huge issues relating to robbery and theft and breach of security as well.

On the other hand, Kmart and Target tried to merge, however the mission was not successful in their approach as there was different kinds of issues cropped up relating to the failure of the pricing strategy which was adopted by the companies (Varley and Rafiq 2014). On the other hand, there are various kinds of positioning strategies which is required to be adopted by the retail stores as this helps them in managing their popularity in the entire competitive market. The different aspects which are required to be taken into consideration are as follows:

• The positioning strategy of the different other competitors in the market is the first strategy which is essential as this will help in understanding their moves and they can perform better in an appropriate manner (Shin et al. 2017)
• Secondly, the demographic and geographic variables are required to be analysed and identified which will help the company in reserving their position in the competitive market effectively (Kasemsap 2018).
• Lastly, identification of the various sites or location which will be appropriate for the set up of the business is essential as this will assist in managing their position in the entire competitive market as well (Sullivan et al. 2015).

These are the two main approaches which are being used in the retail market in Australian retail sector. This has been noticed that containment of the cost in essential which is being used in selling of the different goods and services in successfully meeting the different demands of the customers effectively (Fernie and Sparks 2014). Woolworths is one such companies in which this has been seen that the company is more focused in providing value to the customers by offering them with different offers and discounts as this will help the company in increasing their brand image in an effective manner.

There are different kinds of tastes and preferences of the customers in the retail market in Australian economy. There are various innovative procedures which are being taken by Woolworths, Kmart and Big W supermarkets which are the discount stores as well situated in Australia (Chertykovtsev et al. 2015). There are different kinds of innovative procedures which are being taken into consideration as to identify the tastes and preferences of the customers in the market specially in a geographic location as well. There are various kinds of shoppers which is inclusive of:

• In Home Shoppers
• Online Shoppers
• Out Home Shoppers

Strategies for departmental retailing in Australia

In the future, there will be different kinds of challenges which will be faced by the retail companies in the Australian economy. There are various innovations such as digitization of the technology which will be essential in managing the demands of customers and provides the products at an innovative manner as well. Furthermore, in the next 5-10 years, this can be noticed that process of digitization is essential which is important to be adopted by Woolworths or Kmart in Australian retail sector as this will improve the level of efficiency and provide discounts to the different customers in an efficient manner as well. The process of digitization will help in changing process of the different experience of the customers and this improves the overall productivity and profitability of the organization.

Conclusion 

Therefore, this can be concluded that the retailing is one of the huge concepts in which there are various kinds of retail stores. The main discussion was done on both departmental and discounted stores which are based in Australia and the evolution of the retailing has been taken into consideration as well. Moreover, this has been noticed that in the 5-8 years, there are various kinds of retailing changes which can be done in the market which will improve the overall structure of the firms efficiently. Furthermore, this has been noticed that in the year 2020, this will be difficult for the retailers to manage the different kinds of demands of the customers and this can be handled by the proper innovation and digitization as well.

References

Amin, M.H., 2017. Harnessing Information Systems & Technology with Supply Chain Management for Performance Excellence in Retail Sector. Journal of Business and Social Review in Emerging Economies, 3(2), pp.179-184.

Chertykovtsev, V.K., Grigoryants, I.A., Chebykina, M.V., Shatalova, T.N. and Bobkova, E.Y., 2015. Principles and mechanisms of retail management in conditions of instability of the external environment. Yelm, WA: Science Book Publishing House.

Fernie, J. and Sparks, L., 2014. Logistics and retail management: emerging issues and new challenges in the retail supply chain. Kogan page publishers.

Goworek, H., McGoldrick, P.J. and McGoldrick, P.J., 2015. Retail marketing management: Principles and practice. Harlow, UK: Pearson.

Grewal, D., 2018. Retail Marketing Management: The 5 Es of Retailing Today. SAGE.

Kasemsap, K., 2018. Retail management and electronic retailing. In Supply chain management strategies and risk assessment in retail environments (pp. 139-158). IGI Global.

Paul, P.K., Bhuimali, A. and Chatterjee, D., 2016. Retail Informatics: Basics and Emerging Scenario with Special Reference to Design and Development of Proposed MSc-Information Science (Retail Informatics) in Indian Scenario. International Journal of Information Dissemination & Technology, 6(2).

Pinto, G., Ribeiro, H., Alves, S.R. and Veloso, C.M., 2018. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION, PRODUCT AND SERVICE QUALITY IN RETAIL MANAGEMENT: THE CASE OF A FAST FOOD CHAIN. In Economic and Social Development (Book of Proceedings), 28th International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social (p. 483).

Pole, K., 2015. Introduction to retail marketing management.

Shin, J.K., Moon, M., Oh, M.O. and Kim, J.H., 2017, July. EFFECTS OF ECO-FRIENDLY VMD ON GREEN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR IN FASHION RETAIL MANAGEMENT. In 2017 Global Fashion Management Conference at Vienna (pp. 369-370).

Singh, H., 2018. Applications of Intelligent Video Analytics in the Field of Retail Management: A Study. In Supply Chain Management Strategies and Risk Assessment in Retail Environments (pp. 42-59). IGI Global.

Sullivan, K.D., Thomas, E., Martin, K.S. and Lyle, J.S., 2015. Techniques for managing retail services. U.S. Patent Application 14/317,462.

Varley, R. and Rafiq, M., 2014. Principles of retailing. Palgrave macmillan.

Yong-xiang, F.E.N.G. and Han, Y.A.N.G., 2018. Research and Application of Data Mining Technology in Drug Retail Management System. Computer Knowledge and Technology, 5, p.003.