Retail marketing assignment on Asian Pacific Region

Question

Task Description: Please provide an outline of a research project that you intend to use as the basis for your ?nal assessment task 3, full project proposal. You should brie?y write:

• Title of the project
• A brief statement of the problem that you would like to investigate; and research aim and objectives that can solve the problem you have identi?ed.
• A brief methodology: Provide details about what type of methodology you will choose such as quantitative or qualitative or mixed methodology.
• Clearly identify secondary data source(s) and data that require for your research; also identify the methods and tools that you will use to analyse the collected data.

This is an individual research task. As a Masters student, you are required to engage in research and demonstrate your understanding of the relevant body of works that have discussed recent developments in a discipline and/or area of professional practice. You are also required to demonstrate knowledge of research methods applicable to a real-life business research. We expect you to read and re?ect on at least ten recent refereed journal articles on your topic supported by any other evidence or information that can help identify the problem of your research and the methods of data collection and analysis.

Answer

Introduction:
Both the economies of India as well as Australia are booming in the retail industry. The retail sector is impacting all the business decisions which are taken in various other industries. In Australia, there are almost a total of 140,000 retail businesses which stands for almost a total of 4.1 percent of the overall GDP. It also has its 10.7 percent participation in the overall employment of the country (Bhatt, 2012). The overall contribution of the retail sector of india in the GDP is 13.4 percent in the year 2011. Both the organized as well as the unorganized retail industry of India accounts for almost a total of 6 million outlets and stores (Zikmund, D'Alessandro, Winzar, Lowe and Babin, 2017). In this retail marketing assignment there would be perform analysis of the retailing marketing of Australia in comparison with the retailing market of India. The various aspects on the basis of which the analysis will be performed comprises of understanding of the differences in the structure of retail market in both the countries. This retail marketing assignment will also include consideration of cultural aspects impacting retailing in both the countries. There will be done estimation of potential size and profitability of retail industry in both countries. The retail marketing assignment will also present understanding of the differences in the structure of retail market in both the countries and analysis of potential problems facing the retail industry in both the countries (Tyagi, Singh and Agarwal, n.d.).

Analysis of the retail markets of India and Australia
This retail marketing assignment will present the highlights about the retail industry of Australia as well as India and their comparison would also be performed comprising several aspects and factors. There are numerous publications, journals, articles and other academic sources which have been there as the research material based upon the Australian retail sector and Indian retail industry. Various key findings have been presented by several authors and researchers in their work.

Understanding the differences in the structure of retail market in Australia and India
Structure of retail market in India: Till the 1980, the retail sector of India established as Kiranas only. With the globalization and modernization of the retail industry, the organizations initiated pouring in the retail sector of India such as Grasim, Bombay Dyeing, etc. The structure of the retail market of India is widely distributed in the unorganized as well as the organized sector. And out of the two, the most predominant one is the unorganized sector. There are several divisions of India’s retail industry (Bhatt, 2012).

Unorganized Retail Sector: In India’s unorganized retail sector, there are included the hand art, local kiranas and the vendors which are on the pavement. The total percentage which accounts for the unorganized retail sector of India is 98 percent. There has been realized that the FDI in the retail sector of India leads to decrease in the employment rate in India unorganized retail sector and has been increased in the organized retail sector (Tyagi, Singh and Agarwal, n.d.).

Organized Retail Sector: In India’s organized retail sector division, all the trading is performed only by the retailers who have authorized licenses and are registered under the income tax and sales tax. The organized retail sector comprises of the retail chains and corporate backed hypermarkets. It also includes the privately-owned big business enterprises (Tyagi, Singh and Agarwal, n.d.).

Subcategories of Organized retail sector: The organized retail sector of India also has its subcategories which forms the structure of the retail industry. There are in store retailers under the organized retail sector of India. Such kind of retail format is also famous by its name of mortar and brick format. These stores are established in such a way that they are presented as the fixed-point sale outlets. These are made in order to lure the customers (Taylor, 2016). The instore retail operates from various diverse stores. The branded stores take place as the exquisite showrooms and there is present a specific brand and the product quality is certified by the government authorities.

The structure also includes the multi brand specialty stores which comprises of the various brands and the main purpose is to offer different choices to the customers from which they can select as per their need and demand (Tyagi, Singh and Agarwal, n.d.). The next form is departmental stores which comprises of numerous products and several brands that caters to the basic needs and requirements of the customers to their need for luxurious products. Next it comprises of the supermarkets which is recognized as the self-service retail stores. They offered products at very reasonable and affordable prices in the supermarket discount stores.

In another form i.e. in the Hyper Marts there is offered an extensive range of products from which the customers can select and these are also offered at low and discounted prices (Singh, 2014). The next is convenient stores which usually establish in the most prominent places of the region and are specifically established to be in the reach of the customers but these do not work of operate during the stringent working hours. The next form in the retail structure is shopping malls which are the storehouse and comprises of enormous variety of retails shops which are established near to each other (Bhatt, 2012).

Retail formats: There are basically two categories under which the retail format is based upon i.e. the modern form and the traditional form. The traditional form comprises of the multiple brand stores, kiosks, street markets and the kiranas. The modern format comprises of specialty chains, departmental stores, hypermarkets and supermarkets (Tyagi, Singh and Agarwal, n.d.).

Forecourt Retailing and Trade parks: The trade parks and forecourt retailing are the two main aspects while discussing the structure of retail market of India. The trade parks are recognized as the business complexes which support the global of international trade. The international companies have their direct access to few of the most supreme exporters of India. For the buyers who prefer international products, it is just like a boon as because of this they are not required to travel so far for entering into specific international business deals (Tyagi, Singh and Agarwal, n.d.). With the help of this, the exporters increase their visibility and also reap several other benefits. For fetching the attention of the customers, there are also designed studios, libraries and several other attractive things. In the forecourt retailing, the primary product which is offered is fuel but some companies also offer few other products too for enhancing their revenues (Bhatt, 2012).

Structure of retail market in Australia: There are approximately 140,000 retail sector businesses in the regions of Australia which accounts for 10.7 percent in the employment of Australia and 4.1 percent in the Australian GDP. There is a huge diversity in the retail industry in terms of nature of products and goods, region, competition, format and size. In the retailing market, there has been a sudden change in the trends and trading conditions (Flannigan, 2011). In Australia, the growth of the retail sales has been decreased in the past decade. There is a huge diversity in the retail industry in terms of nature of products and goods, region, competition, format and size.

In the retailing market, there has been a sudden change in the trends and trading conditions which is becoming challenging for the industry to handle (Tyagi, Singh and Agarwal, n.d.). In the past decade, there has been observed that the increase in the retail income has been down as the consumers are more interested in increasing their incomes and though they have increased spending power but are directed towards the non-retail offerings more (Flannigan, 2011). Due to this the retail sector has faced several demanding situations. In the globalized and modern economy, the online retailing as well as the revolutionary global outlets are in trend. It has intensified the market competition both at domestic as well as global front. Australia has been found lagging behind when it comes to online retailing (Chapman, Tonts and Plummer, 2014).

Analysis of potential problems facing the retail industry in both the countries
Problems Faced by Indian Retailers: There are a number of challenges which has been faced by India in present retail marketing. Among all the various issues and challenges, the most significant challenge is the stiff market competition. The unorganized sector of the retail sector threatens the Indian retail market (Price, 2016).

Real estate and infrastructure:The second major challenge faced by the Indian retailers is shortage of the efficient quality real estate and infrastructure. The country lacks behind because of the unavailability of good infrastructure which leads to shortage of establishments of sound retailers (Tyagi, Singh and Agarwal, n.d.).

Opposition to FDI: The next major challenge for the country is the opposition towards the foreign direct investments from the small traders and retailers. Because of the threat of losing market share, the small traders do not permit increased FDIs and thus it resulted in obstructed growth of the Indian retail market at global front (Bhatt, 2012).

Shortage of space: Shortage of the retail space is also a significant challenge for the retailers as the retail organizations are facing increasing issue of shortage of space in the downtown and central locations. And because of the restricted spaces, there are less chances of development of the retail sector of India (Tyagi, Singh and Agarwal, n.d.).

Problems Faced by Australian Retailers
Increased costs : There are a number of challenges which has been faced by Australia in present retail marketing. Among all the various issues and challenges, the most significant challenge is the per day cost for business operations. The problems such as increase in the prices of energy as well as an increase in the retail rent are the biggest challenges which are pressurizing the Australian retailers (Tyagi, Singh and Agarwal, n.d.). It is making highly difficult for the companies to stay competitive as one of the biggest challenges is entrance of the global players in the domestic market. In the last twelve months, the increased operational cost is the biggest issue faced by the Australian retailers. The several amendments made in the industrial workplace laws is creating big issues for the retailing organizations to sustain in the market (Chapman, Tonts and Plummer, 2014).

No loyal customers: The second biggest challenge for the Australian retail sector is that there are no loyal customers left. Instead of believing on the retainment of the customers and offering loyalty schemes, the price and discounts work. There are several new experiences which are catching the attention of the customers and the consumers are no more loyal to the brands (Taylor, 2016).

Collection of customer data: The next challenge in the row is the failure to understand the shopping pattern of the customers as well as to collect data of the customers which can offer this information to the retailers. There is failure of the cost of the Point of Sale transactions and therefore the retailers are unable to fetch the insightful data. If the retailers have adequate data then it results in increased sales and promising results (Singh, 2014).

Intense Competition: Amazon is being called as the fiercest competitor for the Australian retail sector in the present time. There has been a sudden decrease in the sales of the retail organizations of Australia due to the presence of Amazon as the company made several records in fetching the sales. Amazon is posing several challenges for the Australian retailers to bring innovation and efficiency in their operations. The technological innovation adopted by Amazon is a great threat to the survival of hundreds of Australian retailers (Chapman, Tonts and Plummer, 2014).

International Players: There has been a sudden increase in the number of international and global players in the retail market. The Australian retail market is also facing a similar issue as with the rise in the number of players, there is an increase in the market competition and thus, the Australian retailers are striving hard to sustain themselves in such an intensified market competition (Price, 2016).

Consideration of cultural aspects impacting retailing in Australia and India
Cultural aspects impacting retailing in India
A big no to Brand loyalty: In present scenario, India is facing several issues because of the cultural aspects which is affecting the retail sector of India. Earlier people used to stick on one brand for years and years. But in the current scenario, consumers do not possess the sense of brand loyalty and instead of using the old brand they opt for new ones (Tyagi, Singh and Agarwal, n.d.). There are several cultural aspects which change the decisions of the consumers such as they want to experience new brands, purchase on the basis of recommendation and reviews and also consider the various deals associated with the purchase (Dimitrova, Rosenbloom and Andras, 2016).

E-commerce reviews
Earlier when the customer wanted to purchase a product they used to consult with friends of family members but in present time social media is one of the most powered tools which impact the decision making and purchase decision of the consumers (Tyagi, Singh and Agarwal, n.d.). Now consumers check and believe on the reviews rather than the advertisements of promotions made by the company. As a result of this, the customers when enter in the retail stores already possess a lot info about the product and the brand as well as about the performance and quality of the products (Bhatt, 2012).

Reviews and comparison through Smartphones
One of the major cultural aspect that came into consideration is taking use of smartphones while shopping offline. The consumers kept on checking the prices, reviews and other details of the products online while purchasing the product at physical stores. Thus, it increases the chances of comparing the prices and features at both online and offline platforms. This also decreases the sale of the retailers if the price quoted by the retailers are higher than the one shown in online purchase (Dimitrova, Rosenbloom and Andras, 2016).

Cultural aspects impacting retailing in Australia
Unique Brick and Mortar sales: In present scenario, there are several online deals and various choices available to the customer. In that case, there is a need of a unique and compelling reason to get the customer in the retail establishment. Therefore, it is one of the cultural aspects that now the customers want some unique and special aspect associated with the purchase i.e. the additional benefit then only they would go for physical retail buying (Dimitrova, Rosenbloom and Andras, 2016).

Digital Influencers: When any new product is launched then it develops a buzz. But it becomes a specific challenge to convert that excitement into core sales. All the retailers are required to first create a buzz either through social media, digital activations, word of mouth of any other influencer programs to fetch the attention of masses and then convert it into real sales (Chapman, Tonts and Plummer, 2014).

Advocacy transforms: In the present scenario, there is a need that the retailer must work upon the advocacy of their brand and products. In present scenario, the customers are so much culturally influenced that the higher is the advocacy for the brand of the product is the higher is the chances for its purchases are. Therefore, it is essential that the companies must perform brand advocacy as it will help them in fetching the customers by the means of influencing the behavior of the consumers through visual images, words, etc. (Dimitrova, Rosenbloom and Andras, 2016).

Estimation of potential size and profitability of retail industry in both countries
India

(Source: IBEF, 2018)

India has gained a recognized and remarkable position in the international retail rankings as the nation possess moderate political risk, lower level of economic risk and higher level of market potential. The country is expected to be one of the third largest consumer economy that have chances to reach US$ 400 billion by the year 2025 in the consumption rate as per one of the studies of Boston Consulting Group. In the Global Retail Development Index 2017, India has been ranked first for increasing the consumer spending and rising the total spend of middle class. In the year 2017, the retail market of India has marked the investments of a total of US$800 million by the PE (Private Equity) firms. DIPP i.e. Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion have permitted and approved the FDIs of Merlin Entertainments India, Kohler India Corporation and Mountain Trail Food under the single brand retail industry (Bhatt, 2012).

Australia

(Source: Technavio,2018)

The retail market of Australia is growing moderately and it is estimated that it will grow by 3 percent till 2020. Australia has become one of the key target markets for the global players because of high quality infrastructure and increased spending power. The retail market is showing positive growth signs in the last few years and notably had become one of the top competitive retail markets at international front. But the advanced technology and internet connectivity has facilitated the buyer to go for online purchase and it is estimated that more than 80 percent of the individuals of Australia take use of their smartphones for online buying and searching and thus the physical retail market share is decreasing.

Conclusion and Recommendations
From the various researches, academic publications, journals and forecasts, it has been concluded that there will an increase of 15 to 20 percent in the global retail of India in approximately the subsequent five years as per the economic conditions of the nation, rapid urbanization, the growing population and the spending power of the buyers (Tyagi, Singh and Agarwal, n.d.). There is a huge potential in the retail market of India and with the increase internet accessibility and use of advanced technology there would be a more developed retail market. In respect with the retail market of Australia, it has been concluded in this retail marketing assignment that the growth of the retail sales has been decreased in the past decade. It has been observed in this retail marketing assignment in the retailing market, there has been a sudden change in the trends and trading conditions which is becoming challenging for the industry to handle. In the globalized and modern economy, the online retailing as well as the revolutionary global outlets are in trend. It has intensified the market competition both at domestic as well as global front. It has been observed in this retail marketing assignment Australia has been found lagging behind when it comes to online retailing. It has also been concluded in this retail marketing assignment that there has been a sudden increase in the online transaction of buying and retailing. But still there are growing opportunities for the Indian retail market. Retail marketing assignments are being prepared by our marketing assignment help experts from top universities which let us to provide you a reliable college assignment help service. ?

References
Bhatt, J.K., 2012. Retail Industry in India. v3 Journal of ManageMent, p.69.

Chapman, R., Tonts, M. and Plummer, P., 2014. Resource development, local adjustment, and regional policy: Resolving the problem of rapid growth in the Pilbara, Western Australia. Journal of Rural and Community Development, 9(1).

Dimitrova, B.V., Rosenbloom, B. and Andras, T.L., 2016. The impact of national cultural values on retail structure: Evidence from the World Values Survey. International Marketing Review, 33(6), pp.894-920.

Flannigan, N., 2011. Economic Structure and Performance of the Australian Retail Industry. Productivity Commission Draft Report.

Price, R., 2016. Controlling routine front line service workers: an Australian retail supermarket case. Work, employment and society, 30(6), pp.915-931.

Singh, K., 2014. Retail sector in India: Present scenario, emerging opportunities and challenges. Journal of Business and Management, 16(4), pp.72-81.

Taylor, E., 2016. Mobile payment technologies in retail: a review of potential benefits and risks. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 44(2), pp.159-177.

Tyagi, M.S., Singh, G. and Agarwal, M.T., COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF RETAIL SECTOR OF INDIA AND AUSTRALIA.

Zikmund, W.G., D'Alessandro, S., Winzar, H., Lowe, B. and Babin, B., 2017. Marketing Research: Asia-Pacific Edition. Cengage AU.

IBEF, 2018. Retail Industry in India. Accessed on: 24th September, 2018. Accessed from: https://www.ibef.org/industry/retail-india.aspx

Technavio, 2018. Retail Market in Australia 2016-2020. Accessed on: 24th September, 2018. Accessed from: https://www.technavio.com/report/australia-general-retail-goods-and-services-retail-market-australia-2016-2020?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIg6rNsI7W3QIVxBwrCh3Gww9JEAMYASAAEgJv7_D_BwE