Assignment 1-Group 8

Impact of technology on the Retail Sector
Retail relates to the sale of goods and services to consumers. Transactions take place through
various channels of distribution across an ever-growing range of industries, such as food,
motor vehicles, apparel, and electronics. Retail markets and shops from a network of physical
retail stores which consumers visit to purchase goods and services. While physical or in-store
retail is the dominant channel in this market, forms of non-store retailing are becoming more
and more popular. Online retailing or e-commerce markets are carving out a share of the
retail sector in many global markets. Desktop and mobile commerce are examples of
business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce. Many retailers operate an omni-channel model,
which aims to integrate offline and online channels. The global retail market had sales of
approximately 24 trillion U.S. dollars in 2018.
The United States is the largest retail market in the world, with sales of over five trillion U.S.
dollars. Physical stores account for most sales in this market. Mass merchandisers are the
largest contributors to this industry. The U.S. is home to some of the world’s biggest grocery
and general merchandise retailers in Walmart, Costco, and Kroger.
Retail in Europe follows a similar pattern with mass merchandisers Carrefour and Tesco two
of the leading European retailers. German retailers Schwarz Gruppe (Lidl) and Aldi who both
operate cut-price discount store models are other leading retailers from the region.
Asia is home to some of the biggest retail markets in the world in China, Japan, and India.
Seven & I Holdings, owner of Seven-Eleven, and JD.com are two of the largest retailers
coming from this region. Online sales channels appear to be quite popular in Asian markets.
Online sales accounted for almost a quarter of all retail sales in China in 2017.
A snapshot of the size of the global retail industry is given below:

The Indian retail industry is the fifth largest in the world, accounting for about 10% of the
country’s GDP. US, Germany, HK and Europe are the only economies whose retail sector is
larger compared to India’s.
The retail industry in India comprises two major sectors- organised and unorganised whose
relative market sizes are given below:
Since the last decade and a half, the retail industry has undergone a paradigm shift in how it
operates. The driving force behind this change is technological advancements and it’s
adoption by the retail sector. A few examples are given below:
Efficiency of operations:
The introduction of technology has made easier for the people working in the retail sector.
For instance, in the previous era, it was necessary for the cashiers to manually enter the codes
for the different items being purchased while billing, making the process a tedious one.
However, with invention of bar code scanners were introduced in the stores, the above need
has been done away with.
Effective stocking of Merchandise:
There are various software tools available that are used in retail sector that help in deriving to
important conclusion on stocks and merchandise. Items purchased or returned suggest
information about performance of the merchandise and the collection per say in particular
season. In this way technology helps in analysing the performance of collection, planning for
next season and avoids situations of stock out helps spot merchandise or products timely
markdowns and higher inventory turns.
Better Communication:
Communication is a daily state of affair and most crucial, happening irrespective internally or
externally is supported by technology at the best. The information needs of the retailer largely
depend on the size and the spread of the organization. Technology has help retail explore
options to communicate in different variants to customers or manufactures or internally. With
an increase in the number of stores and /or an increase in the number of products sold in the
store, gathering of information becomes crucial Technology plays a vital role in gathering
this information and making it available to the right set of persons.
Consumers have also been able to enjoy benefits of technology.

Here comes the real use of technology, i.e. the consumer can order the product from a wide
range on mediums i.e. mobile, SMS, internet etc. while sitting at the home. It helps in
knowing the number of days in which the product would be delivered, the place at which the
product is at a particular time. If product is not as per expectations it can be returned without
any questions. The payment mode has also got up-gradation in term of cash on delivery,
online transfer, mobile payment, card payment and secure payment gateways provided by the
banks in collaboration with the companies and various vendors
The world is currently dealing with a threat of a global pandemic of Covid-19. Different
countries have gone under lockdown and a host of other norms have been put in place such as
social distancing and the proper sanitisation of hands frequently.
The restrictions have also had a huge impact on the retail industry. Supply Chain was heavily
disrupted. Stores also had to deal with reduced footfall and significantly lower sales.
However, the demand for essential goods remained the same. So, the customers had to shift
to e-commerce platforms to meet their requirements. In fact, it has been seen that on account
of the pandemic there has been a steady increase
This situation highlights the need for the retail sector to invest in creating an omnichannel for
its customers since it has been found that customers no longer distinguish between online and
physical channels but expect a seamless experience combining the best of both.
Such a system will ensure that the sector is better equipped to deal with the uncertainties like
the current scenario.
Technology will continue to play a significant role in ensuring traditional retail units are able
to upgrade to an omni channel network. Covid-19 has made it clear that the sector needs to
evolve.

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Impact of technology on the Retail Sector

A snapshot of the size of the global retail industry is given below:

Consumers have also been able to enjoy benefits of technology.

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