Technology The Key To Improving Independent Store Performance Consistency
Major shortfalls of independent retailers especially in today’s market place are the inconsistency in standards and the inability to compete effectively. This statement is obviously generalist, but with the likes of grocery retailers, it’s the weakest link that affects the whole chain. And let’s face it, some grocers manage great stores that are presented well and stand up to competition, and others simply don’t cut the mustard and wither under pressure when a well organised chain comes to town.
There are many different models independent chains operate to, and it’s fair to say they all have their benefits. But it’s when there is a comparison available to the customer, the scrutiny of the model becomes magnified and the holes not only become visible, but they undermine the effectiveness of the model, and ultimately the retail group.
Historically, for many independents, the opportunity to create leverage came about through an amalgamation of a group of stores to form a buying group. For decades this was more than enough to be not only a competitive retailer but also a dominant one.
Not so today. Corporate retailers are making their presence felt and felt very effectively. They do this via consistency in standards, consistency in price point, highly effective marketing, and at a quieter level, using smarter technology. All of this can be tethered to one term – “technology re-investment”.
It’s the re-investment in technology that quietly engenders an edge, especially now that information is vital, both to the customer and to the retailer.
Looking at the technology that supermarkets are putting into their stores today, you can see that it’s definitely not cheap, but it’s being installed at a rapid rate of knots. And it generally doesn’t get you through the checkout any quicker either. But it is achieving a number of benefits some of which benefit the customer, and much of which improves the store operation for the retailer. And here in lies the key about re-investment.
Anything that improves the operation of the store usually results in one of the following; lower operating costs or better revenue generation.
So when a corporate invests in technology, especially to the point of buying the technology company, its fairly certain the motive is operational improvement at store level. And when this happens its likely to result in some pretty useful outcomes for any associated independent chain.
To be sure, a development of this nature leads to standards being set, and in its own right this will assist with operating competitively. But standards will also ensure all technology vendors lift their game, and this ultimately assists an independent chain compete with the corporate retailers.
For anyone operating an independent store today, re-investment of this nature should be a minimum expectation, both at store level and, more importantly at the head office level.
And for a technology provider at the centre of of numerous technology re-investment strategies look no further than Scanning Systems Australia.
