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Comparing online shopping vs traditional
Online shopping vs. ordinary shopping
Comparing online shopping vs traditional
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INDUSTRY TRENDS & ANALYSIS The retail industry grew by an annual average of 6 percent in the past eight years. However the recent economic environment has hindered growth. As a result, retailers have to fight fiercely for market share through better quality products, brand name and prices. Thus the industry has become more competitive and promotional. Woolworths however has largely been insulated from this due to its target market being the higher income groups with these groups being more driven by quality and convenience. The Mega-Shift Online One of the major trends in the industry worldwide is online shopping. Online shopping is a form of electronic trade whereby consumers use the internet to buy products that they require, these products are then delivered to their doorstep. During 2013, the number of online users expanded by 17%, to 14 million users, with greater and faster growth expected. Furthermore, this group of online users correlates very closely with the medium- to high-income sector of the population, which appears to have a strong pent-up demand for online services. Online shopping, in developed countries like Australia, is already very prominent and to disruptive to regular brick and mortar retailers, where in Australia around 7% of all sales are done through online retailers. This mega-shift in retail has resulted in retailers moving towards a more omni directional sales environment. Only two food retailers, Pick ‘n Pay and Woolworths, have launched limited online shopping websites, aimed at the higher end of the market. Currently, online retail sales in South Africa represents 0,4% of total retail sales for Woolworths but it grew 40% over the past year. For consumers who can access the internet one huge pro... ... middle of paper ... ...s and growth decelerates. Companies are focused on improving supply chains, while also working out how to generate more revenue per square metre of retail space. At Woolworths there is a close focus on improving profitability, in part through buying back former franchises to improve quality control of in-store operations and merchandising. Investments are being made in centralised distribution and advanced IT systems. Buying Loyalty Most retailers have introduced loyalty card systems, whereby customers can collect points by buying their goods and therefore qualify for discounts and other rewards. Woolworths’ and Pick ’n Pay’s systems are the most of advanced of the retailers, particularly as they serve the middle and upper class, who are well educated on saving and loyalty systems. These trends dominate and will continue to dominate the market in the years to come.
With careful consideration given to the weightings of the benefits and disadvantages of each of the three alternative solutions, it could perhaps be inferred that the most dependable course of action is for Woolworths Holdings Limited to acquire the new ownership of the David Jones department store chain. As compared to Myer, Woolworths is currently positioned more favourable both financially and in terms of image and has more aspirations to offer David Jones. At its current state, David Jones may not be capable of fending off international competition without the support of a successful and experienced company like Woolworths. Given that Woolworths continues to operate with the attitude of preserving David Jones’s iconic Australian heritage, it is likely that together, the two would be able to successfully strive for dominance in the department store market.
Coles is a business in the retail industry and prides itself with it's founding philosophy “The customers themselves really decide what goods we shall stock in our store” Coles (1928). Coles employs over 100,000 individuals in outlets such as Coles & BiLo supermarkets, First Choice Liquor, Liquorland, Vintage Cellars and Coles Express. Today Coles operates in over 2000 stores nationwide under Wesfarmers Limited who successfully acquired Coles in 2007. Wesfarmers Limited is the largest private employer in Australia and also one of Australia's largest public companies with a shareholder base of approximately 500,000. Coles has recently celebrated 100 years of growth, success and innovation with the first store opening in 1914. Statistics from the Coles Annual Report 2014 reveal the opening of 80 new format stores, 12.3% increase in profits of food & liquor, 4.7% increase in sales of food & liquor and boasts 20 quarters of industry outperformance. Coles has also analysed a sample basket to be 5.2% cheaper than 2009 despite rising inflation. Coles currently places as Australia's second largest supermarket chain in Australia holding a 33.5% share of the $82 billion grocery sector. Recent ventures by this thriving business include investments into “superstores”, partnership
On the other end of the spectrum Woolworths prides itself on ‘value for money’ therefore its pricing structure is very dynamic and can vary from store to store and economic determinants. Woolworths recognises the need to participate in ‘price’ to stay competitive and employ the strategy of ‘KVI’. ‘Woolworths will conduct weekly basket checks against the price of its competitors ensuring that prices remain competitive on items that are relevant to that week or month and to flag products that erode value over time’ (3.2.13 KHAN. S, 2011) & (3.2.8 KHAN. S,
Key Issues The growing popularity of online retailing is attracting competition from traditional and online multi-retailers such as Wal-Mart and Amazon, which are gaining considerable market shares in many of the product segments included in the specialty retail sector. Currently, the majority of revenue is generated by store sales, but online sales from the stores’ websites are increasing. With the US dollar getting weaker, international sales from these US based websites are increasing too. This creates a significant positive outlook for the large incumbent players but also acts as a significant barrier of entry for new players.
Wal-Mart’s competitive environment is quite unique. Although Wal-Mart’s primary competition comes from general merchandise retailers, warehouse clubs and supermarket retailers also present competitive pressure. The discount retail industry is substantial in size and is constantly experiencing growth and change. The top competitors compete both nationally and internationally. There is extensive competition on pricing, location, store size, layout and environment, merchandise mix, technology and innovation, and overall image. The market is definitely characterized by economies of scale. Top retailers vertically integrate many functions, such as purchasing, manufacturing, advertising, and shipping. Large scale functions such as these give the top competitors a significant cost advantage over small-scale competition.
Amazon.com operates in the Online Retail Industry. The sector is one of the fastest growing globally and is outperforming the ordinary retail marketplace. It was created after 1995 and it was only the Internet that made it possible for such an industry not only to be established but to become one of the most flourishing sectors in the business environment. What is interesting is that Amazon.com, together with eBay is the pioneer in the field. Both companies were launched in 1995 and are still extremely successful. The creation of e-mail in 1996 had a huge impact on the development of online retail by introducing a fast and easy way to communicate with customers. For this two-year period Internet usage doubled annually, thus, allowing for the expansion of the industry. Google is launched a year later, in 1998, only to become the most used search engine in the world and an essential partner for the online retailers by helping them tailor their websites to customer’s personal preferences and by advertising. After that, more and more people see the opportunity in the growing industry and enter it. By 2001 there are more than 513 million Internet users globally, which calls for action in terms of creating regulations and laws to protect the users and personal property. In 2003, Apple launches iTunes, and provides a platform for low-cost digital downloads. Another major change is the appearance of social media from 2004, which is one of the biggest influencer on the state of the industry. With the launch of iPhone in 2007, this trend strengthens as people get to enjoy the Internet anywhere they want to. From then on, technological advancements have made it extremely easy and fun to shop online, making it ...
The purpose of this memo is to show the affects of how Albertson’s is trying to implement many strategies in order to try, and compete with its powerhouse competitor Wal-Mart. This memo will contain information on steps Albertson’s is taking to gain back some of the market share that Wal-Mart has swallowed up. It will also describe Albertson’s planned innovations that will be what determines their success. Lastly it will discuss how through IT as well as a successful implementation of satisfying consumers demands, will possibly allow them to compete with the ever so powerful Wal-Mart.
As a company, Wesfarmers have its main strength in its huge size, capital, financial management, diversification, retail supermarket section, employee retention (7 CEO in 100 years) and top employee selection. The Weakness is immobility, high expectation of shareholders concerning growth, ROE, EPS and capital return, less growth opportunity in Australia, zero experience on overseas expansion, less personal label products, weak departmental stores, adverse economic and political situation. Opportunities for Wesfarmers are huge also – focusing on niche marketing, overseas expansion, good investment opportunities in future sustainable products and venture capital, investment in its other sections alongside home ware supply and retail supermarket. But for Wesfarmers threats are many too. First, new but strong competitors Aldi, rejuvenated Woolworths, board without previous retail experience, poor NPV projects choose by managers as they have a lot of money to waste, wrong acquisition, possible disasters in overseas
Bibliography: Lawson, A. (2013). Analysis: Is Asda’s five-year strategy the right one?. [Online] Retail-week.com. Available at: http://www.retail-week.com/sectors/food/analysis-is-asdas-five-year-strategy-the-right-one/5054989.article [Accessed 23 Jan.
The food and staples retailing is an increasingly competitive industry. The market giants (competitors) are Coles (owned by Wesfarmers) which has 741 stores across Australia and plans to add 70 m...
Based on these concerns, retailers in the international marketplace have their work cut out for them. But through proper education of consumers, and the ever-expanding growth of the infrastructure in many countries, the future seems to be leaning heavily towards using the Internet for many needs.
Woolworths is one of the biggest retail group in Australia. Its motto is to provide fresh food to customer with in an affordable price. The company procures goods from the manufactures and also produces few products from their manufacturing plant. With its corporate office in Sydney it operates all the distribution channels, petrol sites and support centres. It has a trusted food, liquor and general merchandise brands.
The major players of retailing industry include Coles , Franklins and 7-Eleven. Obviously, Coles and Franklins are the major competitors of 7-Eleven. Coles is a full service supermarket operating 431 stores throughout Australia, its offers
Woolworths is a large retail business selling a wide range of products including clothing, food, and general merchandise in South Africa and Country Road in Australia. The company was founded in 1931 by Max Sonnenberg assisted by his sons Richard and Fred Kossuth. The purchasing structure is centralized having two main distribution centres, one located in Cape Town (Montague Gardens) and the other in the Midrand between Johannesburg and Pretoria. All Woolworths’ purchases go through these two main distribution centres. The company takes responsibility for the entire lifecycle of their products including the reduction of direct environmental impacts which requires it to take custodianship of the supply chain and at the same time to convince customers and suppliers in the network to reduce their environmental impact (Annual Report, 2010).
The Internet is rapidly becoming widespread and widely used as a tool for globalization across the world. As the Internet became more easily accessible by most people in the world, the web is bringing significant implications and changes to the way we live, including the way we shop. There is a rapid growth with e-commerce and moving businesses onto the web and retail success is no longer about stores and shopping centers. In developed countries, about two thirds of the population have access to the Internet making the option of online shopping is easily accessible to most people (Valerio). With the ease of shopping in your own home there are many benefits of doing your shopping online. Consumers can easily compare prices online, there is a larger range of products on the web, you can save time by having your shopping delivered right to your doorstep and it also overcomes physical barriers. Over the last decade online shopping has challenged and replaced the traditional means of physically going into shops as the digital world has provided customers with further convenience, flexibility and comfort from shopping from your own home.