ANALYTICS IN STORE OPERATIONS AND RETAIL PROFITABILITY: BEST PRACTICES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN INDIA

Abstract

The Retail industry is one of the most dominant industries in India today. It faces complex operational challenges that have to be monitored with stringent business processes. Store operations form a major portion of a retail business for the corporates and its efficiency thereby drives their operational and financial performance. Store operations involve store staffing, front-end/backend stocking, customer service, and other key maintenance tasks. Since payroll is one of the major expenses in retail, it has to be linked to sales metrics and KPIs in performance, benefits and compensation. Flawless system integration between various departments will boost the staffing efficiency and overall store profitability. Other processes include security and in-store systems integration like POS complementing employee performance and Stores’ overall KPIs. In India, the middle class boom and globalization have opened new business avenues for the retailers. As the infrastructure is still in growth stages, several challenges plague the retail industry in the country, namely labour management, systems integration, analytical ability and sustainability, and governmental regulations. Also analytics is not a priority to Indian retail businesses in combination with infrastructure. Global Retail giants like WalMart, Tesco and Metro integrate real-time data analytics into their store operations with in-depth KPI monitoring and strategic initiatives on a global scale. Analytical planning is embedded in all departments that have significant impact on store operations. This paper attempts to identify the challenges in Indian retail operations scenario and impart the best practices from global leaders assimilated to the Indian economy and culture.