What Are The Biggest Challenges Facing Retailers In 2013? ~ TechKoW

What Are The Biggest Challenges Facing Retailers In 2013?

Posted by Bhavesh Joshi On Friday, March 15, 2013 0 comments

The retail industry has been faced with a number of pressures and challenges for many years. These are generally most keenly felt by middle managers and those who work ‘at the coalface’ on the shop floor and at the sharp end of the supply chain. One common feature of the whole industry is that decisions that are made in boardrooms are often seen to be unrealistic, and that the objectives of those at different levels don’t seem to go hand in hand.

That said, the challenges that the sector faces are ones that have to be tackled at all levels. We explored some of retail’s biggest pressures that will be felt strongly throughout the year.

Rise of the Giants

Unless you are fortunate enough to work in a supermarket or department store, it is likely that life at work consists of fighting on a daily basis to make enough money just to stay open. The continuing rise of e-commerce as a universally popular shopping solution means that smaller businesses and even larger yet less popular chain stores are always operating in the face of uncertainty.

These businesses need to do more to revolutionise the shopping experience for their customers, as the trend towards cost savings that many have followed in recent years will soon have cut as much as it can.

Squeezed Margins

Whether it is mandatory increases in a minimum wage level or extra charges that need to be paid in order to ensure the constant delivery of products, profit margins will continue to be squeezed in ways that will drive businesses to tough decisions.

Some will choose to raise prices, however in doing so will leave themselves open to criticism around being ‘out of touch’ and not catering to individuals and families who are already struggling for money. Unfortunately, businesses will often have no choice but to take this action, or risk failing themselves.

Unpopular By Association

You can find great shops wherever you go, however if you are in a store that happens to be on a street that has a number of empty units, then you will likely see your business suffer through no fault of your own.

Unfortunately, as certain towns and cities around the world start to develop no-go areas for various reasons, this lack of footfall will inevitably lead to many retailers closing down.

There is no question that, in terms of providing continuous growth and a profitable operation, retail is one of the toughest sectors in which to succeed. However, with a thorough level of planning and an appreciation of how one can act in the face of competition, it is possible for retail success stories, rather than failures, to be the big economic news story of 2013.

Robert is an online content writer across a variety of subjects, however has a specific interest in how point of sale and other systems influence retail operations. In addition, Robert's previous work has adapted a number of seo marketing frameworks to detect the relationship between marketing, technology, and business success.