Full Stop for Shoppers Stop? Part 2

Apropos our earlier discussion on the issues plaguing Shoppers Stop , let us focus on the strategies that will enable it regain its lost glory.

SS should concentrate on three areas to salvage its position as a premium departmental store

1)Positioning:

For a consumer, the perception of Shoppers Stop is that of a fashion goods aggregator under one roof, offering discounts. Apart from a few in house labels, they offer racks to display goods to other reputed brands. Other than that, they do not have an identity in terms of the service they provide.

SS needs to study how a Harrods is distinct from M&S or how a Saks Fifth Avenue stands out from a Macy’s or how a Takashimaya positions itself distinctively from Marui.

They are all departmental stores but they are branded uniquely, based on the experience they provide to the customer.

Shoppers Stop needs to bid adieu to this aggregator mind-set right away and create a disparate positioning to generate a pull for the prospective customer.

2)Merchandise Planning/Buying:

A consumer walks into a departmental store for three reasons:

a) To buy products of several categories at one go

b) To compare products of the same category by various brands, before making a final choice

c) Have a great shopping experience

The merchandising team should plan a range for a category in such a way that the best of every brand is offered to the customer in that particular category.

Take an instance of formal shirts for men. It is well known that men are infrequent shoppers and that they buy several articles for the next 4-6 months in a single shopping outing. Brand X might have a great collection of white shirts, brand Y may be presenting exclusive non-iron shirts and brand Z would have launched a cool Blue collection for a particular season. It is the job of the merchandising team to curate a range to present the best offering to the consumer from the range of several brands. The in house collection too should be made to fill a gap and complete the range in that particular category- may it be price point wise or style wise or fit wise. Not only will this ensure ease of selection for the consumer, the Units per Transaction shall also increase several fold- creating a win win for both the customer and the departmental store.

3)Shopping Experience:

In Store Experience:

It is imperative that the store has fashion consultants for the entire category rather than brand staff manning their respective brand walls. A customer can easily step into an EBO to fulfil the needs but he/she visits a departmental store for the ease of comparison amongst brands of the same category with similar positioning. If a customer is looking for tan brogues and brand A doesn’t carry this style, the brand staff will simply refuse instead of guiding the customer to another brand which has this product. This makes the process tedious for the consumer. A dedicated category FC can guide the customer to the right footwear shelf for selection of the relevant style, irrespective of the brand.

In case a particular size in out of stock in store location A, it should be made available to the customer from store B and door delivered.

Virtual mirrors can also help save time and the tedium of physically trying several garments to gauge the appearance.

Customers should be able to complete the process of checkout on the app to save them the hassle of waiting in long queues.

With the correct use of technology, several such progressive steps can be taken to enhance consumer experience in the store.

Online/Phygital:

Instead of creating a robust Ecommerce system, Shoppers Stop attempts selling its in house labels on Amazon. This not only shows their lack of confidence to take on online players like Myntra but also reflects a callous attitude in keeping up with times.

With the humongous database at their disposal, they should be profiling the consumers with respect to a)Frequency of shopping b)Category affinity c)Brands affinity  and d)Price points. They should use AI to alert respective consumers of the styles they would be interested in, whenever a new drop is issued to the store.

They have a huge advantage over Myntra and Amazon in the sense that they offer touch and feel to the consumers which is paramount in the fashion industry. They should let the customers select products online. The app can help the consumers navigate the physical store so that they do not have to hunt for the styles already selected online. Trial and checkout in the store is then a matter of minutes. This would save precious time for the consumer and exponentially enhance the buying experience.

I am sure, Venu Nair has a vision with his game plan, in place. The share price of SS has grown by 17% since his induction. It remains to be seen in the long term, if the new CEO can turn around the culture of the organization not only bottom up, but also top down.

PS- Special thanks to @Ramesh Hathapaki @Vishwanath Krishnamoorthy and @Ramesh Chhugani for their participation and inputs on this discussion