Retailers' Response to Digital Transformation in the Industry: A Manager's Perspective

  • Sarah Irdina Ridzwan
  • Anizah Zainuddin

Abstract

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, work disruptions were primarily linked to emerging technologies and expanding trade relations. However, the pandemic has highlighted the significance of the physical aspect of work. This study examines the effects of the growing prevalence of e-commerce in the retail sector by gathering insights from 20 retail managers. The participants were asked to provide their perspectives on the industry's transformation driven by digital advancements. The content analysis shows that the retail industry is changing rapidly and requires a deeper understanding of its driving forces. To keep up with the industry's digital power, future workforce management must implement appropriate strategies. One such strategy is transitioning to the future of work, which requires retail workers to acquire new skills to keep up with technological changes. To remain competitive, retailers must re-examine the in-store shopping experience.  Strategic decisions should be made to optimize the workforce and focus on smarter operations. Effective inventory management can be a key differentiator for stores in a competitive market. With the right information, managers can make more informed business decisions. Digitizing the workforce can enhance employee engagement and productivity, resulting in cost savings that can be redirected to improving the customer experience. Further research is required to generalize the findings of this study. This can assist retailers in planning their business to achieve operational efficiency while remaining competitive.  

References

A Zainuddin, SI Ridzwan, SB Ridzwan (2020), The Role of Halalan-Toyyiban Supply Chain Practices as Significant Predictors towards Excellent Customer Service Management, Advances in Business Research International Journal 6 (1), 1-10.
A Zainuddin, SI Ridzwan, SB Ridzwan (2021), Retail Halal Control Points – Which Control Process Can Be Applied Digitally? Romanian Journal of Information Technology and Automatic Control, Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 41-52.
A Zainuddin, SI Ridzwan, SB Ridzwan (2022), Will the Modest Fashion Industry Survive? Covid-19 Puts Fashion Modest Business to the Test, Asian Journal of Research in Business and Management, e-ISSN: 2682-8510, Vol. 4, No. 3, 345-356,2022.
A Zainuddin, SI Ridzwan, SB Ridzwan (2023), Role of Trust and Relationship Enhance Retail Halal Supply Chain Practices and Customers’ Perception of Halal Compliance, International Journal of Social Science Research, Vol 5 No 1 (2023): March 2023.

A Zainuddin, SM Shariff (2016), Preferences for Halalan Toyyiban Retail Supply Chain Certification: A Case of Hypermarket, Procedia Economics and Finance, 37, 405-411.
A. Sorescu, R.T. Frambach, J. Singh, A. Rangaswamy, C. Bridges (2011), Innovations in retail business models, Journal of Retailing, 87S (1) (2011), pp. S3-S16.
Braun and Clarke (2013), Successful Qualitative Research: A Practical Guide for Beginners, March 2013, Edition: FirstPublisher: SageISBN: 9781847875815.
Braun, Virginia and Clarke, Victoria (2006) Using thematic analy-sis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3 (2). pp.77-101. ISSN 1478-0887.
McKinsey & Company (2022), The tech transformation imperative in retail, https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-tech-transformation-imperative-in-retail.
McKinsey & Company (2014), Digitizing the consumer decision journey, https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/digitizing-the-consumer-decision-journey.
Nowell, L. S., Norris, J. M., White, D. E., & Moules, N. J. (2017). Thematic Analysis: Striving to Meet the Trustworthiness Criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917733847.
P.C. Verhoef, A.T. Stephen, P.K. Kannan, X. Luo, A. Vibhanshu, M. Andrews, Y. Zhang (2017), Consumer connectivity in a complex, technology-enabled, and mobile-oriented world with smart products, Journal of Interactive Marketing, 40 (4) (2017), pp. 1-8.
P.C. Verhoef, P.K. Kannan, J.J. Inman (2015), From multi-channel retailing to omni-channel retailing – Introduction to the special issue on multi-channel retailing, Journal of Retailing, 91 (2) (2015), pp. 174-18.
Sahil Sagar (2024), The Impact Of Digital Transformation On Retail Management And Consumer Behavior, IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSR-JBM) e-ISSN:2278-487X, p-ISSN: 2319-7668. Volume 26, Issue 1, PP 06-14.
Published
2024-06-01
How to Cite
RIDZWAN, Sarah Irdina; ZAINUDDIN, Anizah. Retailers' Response to Digital Transformation in the Industry: A Manager's Perspective. International Journal of Business and Technology Management, [S.l.], v. 6, n. 2, p. 206-215, june 2024. ISSN 2682-7646. Available at: <https://myjms.mohe.gov.my/index.php/ijbtm/article/view/26898>. Date accessed: 12 nov. 2024.
Section
English Section