Billions of dollars have been spent on trying to replicate the merchandising model of the general store.
With a small business in the old country, it was easy to determine supply and demand while managing strong customer relationships. That is what drove success, and what also later drove companies crazy. It became increasingly difficult to replicate this model as chains and franchised stores gained popularity.
Today, everyone seems to be talking about the same thing in 2013: Finally, there are simple ways to better manage retail execution. Seamless retail management and execution may come to fruition with advancements in mobile field reporting.
For instance, we recently posted a blog on mistakes in measuring retail execution and the ways in which companies can modify their behavior to gain more insight and more accuracy. On the very same day, RetailWire published a similar piece entitled, RSR Research: 2013 – The Year of Measured Retail. We already have technologies in place and it is up to retailers and retail brands to make the necessary technology upgrades. As RetailWire wrote:
“No more store black box: What retailers really need is the store equivalent of online analytics, and some will get it in 2013 whether through video analytics or some kind of mobile phone tracking technology. Having this kind of information will be game-changing. Retailers have long-held assumptions about the role of store associates, about traffic, about conversion rates, and all of these assumptions will now be able to be questioned, examined, and proven right or wrong, thanks to store tracking technologies. At a time when the store is on the ropes, retailers are in a position where they might be far more open to examining their long-held assumptions about stores — a perfect storm of opportunity.”
While the topic is hot and seems elementary by nature, there is still some resistance to empowering employees with mobile and enabling the “mobile revolution”. Ignoring the simple need to gather pertinent, validated, and real-time data is one of the biggest mistakes in measuring retail today.
