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The dark art of retail

Joanne Carew
By Joanne Carew, ITWeb Cape-based contributor.
Cape Town, 04 Feb 2015

The store is changing. The customer is changing. Merchants need to change too.

During his keynote address on the second day of the eCommerce Africa Confex in Cape Town this morning, Colin Fleming, e-commerce executive at Massmart, discussed why it is important for online retailers to disrupt the traditional format.

The primary real estate for retail in the 1900s was located in areas where trains and trams made their stops. At the time, selecting the right location for your department store was the key to success, said Fleming.

But the basis of retail competition has changed. "The physical store no longer adds value for the purchase of certain types of products," he noted.

Fleming outlined five touch points merchants need to be keeping in mind when engaging with their customers. These include product, convenience, service, price and communication. But he stressed there is a trade-off between each of these elements. "If you want great service and convenience, you probably won't get it at a modest price. If you want competitive pricing, you probably won't have as much variety."

Fleming believes the dawn of the mobile shopping experience has raised the bar on every one of these elements.

Customers can now purchase products beyond those available on a physical store shelf, they can do so at their convenience using their mobile devices, he stated. In terms of service, the consumer is able to access a multitude of information about the product and easily access comparisons between different products ? and can do so while selecting the right product at a price point they can afford.

Because consumers are always connected, they now demand better service and expect to be able to communicate with the retailer using the channel of their choice should they have a gripe or query, he continued.

The new dimensions of retail require that merchants rethink their value proposition and strive to offer consumers as many of these elements as possible, Fleming pointed out in closing.

The future will see us fusing physical and digital, and not attempting to build one on top of the other.

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