Retailers need innovative multi-channel strategy to stay competitive- Phillips Consulting

A new Phillips Consulting 2016 report has said that retailers who hope to play big in the online shopping platform era must continuously innovate its multichannel operational strategy.

The 60-page report which is the second edition of Online Shopping survey and presented to the public in Lagos states shows that the retail market is turbulent and the current economic difficulties present a host of challenges for industry players.

It also stressed that the future of online retail is promising, as long as retailers are willing to innovate, improve on operation.

Bayo Adesanya, Associate Partner, Business Advisory Services of Phillips Consulting said Nigerian retail market is still dominated by informal retail, but currently undergoing a transition to a more structured and modern environment, supported by consumers whose tastes are becoming increasingly refined, the report reveals.

The survey results show an increase in the number of shoppers, the frequency of their shopping, and their levels of satisfaction with the online shopping process. However, due to the country’s current economic crisis, a decline in shopping activities is currently being experienced; therefore, retailers need to take deliberate steps to attract and retain customers by playing on their strengths and mitigating their weaknesses.

This weakness, the reported noted, is being tackled by retailers by outsourcing their delivery and logistics processes to external partners, thereby allowing them to focus on the core business processes within their organisations. “While this has slightly improved the efficiency of the delivery processes, based on customer feedback, there are still gaps in the retailer/logistics partnerships that urgently need to be addressed,” the report stated.

The report further disclosed that proliferation of mobile phones and affordable smartphones in Nigeria is playing an important role in the improved adoption of online shopping.

Retailers must therefore ensure that their platforms are responsive to all types of mobile devices. Additionally, the development of easy-to-use mobile apps may prove beneficial, as this was revealed as the second most used mobile channel for shopping.

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