Here's why the retail needs to get its groove back

Here's why the retail needs to get its groove back | LoadProof

Is retail dead? This became the crux of the matter when I found myself invited to pitch in front of a leading retailer at the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) at Georgia Tech. It was an exciting opportunity that was dulled when the name of the retailer was revealed. They are losing market share to Amazon, the big elephant in every conference room discussing supply chain topics.

This retailer was on a downhill slide, shutting multiple store locations. There are two ways to look at this situation. I could figure that it was a waste of time doing this pitch. The other was to try to turn adversity into opportunity. You can guess which approach I chose.

Part of what led me to this decision was a distinct retail experience from my past. In those days, I saw a Kenneth Cole shoe at a local retailer. My salary was sparse, so I had to plan for the purchase, and wait for a sale. Finally, I got a coupon after about six months, and I was so excited I woke up early to go to the store. I tried it on and it was beautiful, a Kenneth Cole Simplicity in burgundy. I presented the shoes and my coupon to the clerk who told me that the coupon wasn’t valid for my purchase. I left the shoes behind at the store because:

I felt betrayed by the fine print.
It felt like a bad deal without the discount.

That was the last time I shopped with that retailer, even though I walked by the store a hundred times. For me it was shoes, but I’m sure we could point to a similar example for just about any electronic gadget or gizmo around.

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