Get ready for a digital shopping experience, as the retail industry is keenly changing its stripes to stand against online behemoths.
Twenty Four Seven Convenience Stores — led by Samir Modi, the youngest son of industrialist Krishan Kumar Modi — are among the first few to take the lead. Under company’s latest brand revamp exercise, the stores, all in 'round-the-clock' format, will install gizmos imported from 30 different countries, mainly Germany.
For Instance: You can take a bunch of useless plastic bottles from your home at the company’s outlet, put them in recycling machine and get a cash coupon.
“Customer can use that cash coupon on our outlet any day. We are deploying recycling machines at every outlet,” said Modi.
The move could increase footfalls at the store. “Now the challenge is to create an extra-ordinary shopping environment inside the store which will ensure that no customer would exit the store empty handed,” he said in a restless tone.
The departmental stores will also boast of refrigerators with LED panels and smokeless kitchens among other machines, traditionally installed in restaurants such as French fries maker, waffle maker, hot dog griller, cotton candy maker, caramel popcorn maker and display chiller among other equipment. “From digital price coding to digital promotions running inside the store, customer would feel he is shopping in Europe,” Modi said confidently.
Godrej Nature’s Basket, last year, shut all of the eight stores that it operated in the national capital region. The company said that its existing and new stores would be transformed to become the ‘freshest and finest’ neighbourhood stores. The refreshed store design will be unveiled by early financial year 2018.
Other retailers are also trying to join the digital wave. Spencer’s retails outlets across 35 cities/towns in India, customers can make digital payments. PepsiCo chief Indra Nooyi, is also pushing the chain of traditional retailers to use the opportunity thrown up by demonetisation to adopt cash-less payments at mom and pop stores.
In western world, due to online giants like Amazon, brick-and-mortar retailers have already started shutting the shops. Online player's strategy strengthened by lower prices, increased convenience and more options are hitting brick and mortar.
Much popular, Ohio-based departmental store, Macy, has already closed several stores in the recent weeks. Macy's said it would close 68 stores. International mall giant, Sears announced it would be closing another 150 stores. Teen-apparel retailer Aéropostale filed for bankruptcy in May.
Understanding the global winds of change, Modi has hired a five-member team from Japan as consultants for Twenty Four Seven. The team, headed by Mura Matsu, had earlier advised the Tokyo-based Seven Eleven Japan Co. Ltd on process, systems and operations to run the convenience stores under the popular 7-Eleven brand.
