Convenient stores such as Tesco express are very essential for top ups and home essentials as they are very common, Tesco have introduced such stores so customers are able to drive buy such stores and top up their phone whilst purchasing home essentials such as a loaf of bread or milk gallon, they have made consumers life’s more easy as they don’t have to travel to a supermarket to purchase home essentials. Top ups and home essentials stores have become a trend this is due to the increased use of telecommunication and due to customers being able to pick up bread/ milk after work, it is convenient and sometimes closer to work
City stores:
City stores, are stores like Tesco express that are located in city centres for commuters who are working back home from work, so they are able to buy home essentials or drinks and food for themselves, this has allowed Tesco PLC to increases sales, as they are able to get money from commuting sales rather than small unknown convenient stores from getting the sales. City stores have become a trend this is due to commuters are able to get items to and from work
Mail order:
Mail order have become very popular in recent times as customers are able to use their internet to purchase products and get them delivered to their homes, an example of this is Tesco click and collect service allows customers to order from the internet and get it delivered to their door steps it has made shopping for home essential easier. Mail orders have become a trend in recent years, this is due to customer not wanting to waste time in store and also they get their items delivered to their homes so it is convenient for the customer as they done have to pick up any shopping, its hassles
Farmers market:
Where local farmers in the local have an outdoor market in which organics food s from their farms are sold, an example of this is Bradford farmers every month on Sunday come together in Bradford city centre and sell organic produce that they have grown on their farms. Farmers market has become a trend this is due to customer wanting produce that are close to home and fresh, another reason for the trend is television advertisement in which famous chiefs encourage customers to purchase products that are home grown i.e. from UK farmers
Consumer markets:
Radical:
Radical refers to changes that have happen quickly, e.g. the internet and online shopping, they have both made Tesco PLC to make changes to adapt to their radical changes, Tesco plc have introduced a shopping website and the click and collect service so customers are able use their website and delivery service to buy products. Radical trends that have occurred is the internet it has allowed customer to reduce their shopping time by a half, it has allowed customers to purchase their products from online i.e. due to the internet there has been a massive trend in online shopping
Continuing changes:
Continuing changes can relate to Tesco plc click and collect service, which is an extension of the internet website that Tesco PLC have introduced, they have done this in order to make customers internet experience more convenient. Continuing trends include customers wanting value for money products especially due to prices increasing and also due to customers being more health conscience
Customer expectations and demands:
Customer expectation and demands have increased and Tesco PLC have adapted to this through their increase of training in staffing to adapt to the changes, the introduction of new services such as click and collect, and internet shopping, have allowed them to adapt to the demand.
Changing social and working patterns:
Social changes and working patterns have changed in reason years are more and more people are health conscience so due to this Tesco PLC have been able to adapt to the social change through offering a wider range of healthier foods. They recognised these changes from the data they collected from their clubcard
Affluence:
Affluence is about the income of the families they are wanting to attract, an example of this is Tesco PLC they have a budget range for people with low incomes, they also have Tesco finest range in which the attract rich people, they have brands and products for all classes of families i.e. working class, middle class etc
Increased mobility:
More and more people are able to travel the more supermarkets the supermarkets will open, e.g. people that live in cities will be likely to travel, so supermarkets like Tesco PLC will set up their supermarkets in the city centre as it will attract people from the city to come to the city centre and purchase groceries as they are able to
Environmental issue:
The environmental issues that are related to the consumer market is due to increase demand of the consumer market companies are fulfilling the demand, but by doing this many companies are having a massive negative affect on the environment, they are polluting more and this has affected the polar icecaps and the weather
Technology:
Due to increased consumer demand many companies have had to adapt their technology to adapt to the changes, e.g. Tesco PLC have recently updated their system, it is more efficient and it is able to withstand the rush hours and it won’t crash
Customer service:
Checkout queues and staffing:
Tesco PLC has recently placed self-checkout for customer who purchase less than 5 items; the reason being is to reduce queuing. Tesco PLC are also introducing 20,000 more staff in the next 2 years in order to fulfil customers, customers service needs, e.g. customers felt that they had to search for staff, they believed that Tesco PLC was understaffed
Quality of service:
Quality of customer service is something that a person in customer service strives for. It is the kind of customer service that makes customer happy that organisations such as Tesco PLC strive for but in recent years Tesco PLC customer service has been criticised, according to the which? Survey Tesco PLC customer service was rated 2/5 stars, this is very poor for an organisation such as Tesco PLC this is because they are that market leaders so they should have a much better star rating for their customer service
Customer expectation:
Customer expectation is when a person enters a organisation they already have a set expectation of that organisation, e.g. when a customer walks into Tesco PLC their expectation is going to be high as they are a very old and established company who also has the highest market share in the UK
Adding value to customer experience:
Adding value to customer experience is going above and beyond what customers expect of the organisation, an example of this is Tesco PLC their clubcard members only expected to receive clubcard points in which they could use for discounts, holidays etc, Tesco PLC went the extra mile by giving their clubcard members free television to their clubcard members, they have saved money for customers as they won’t have to pay monthly for their skybox, virgin media channels. They have given then clubcard members a free service in exchange for their loyalty
Stock control and product ranging:
Stock control is having the amount of stock that customers require, products ranging is the different products that customers may require e.g. sub ranges are sold by big supermarkets as they are able to afford to have such products on their shelves, small supermarkets won’t have them as they can’t afford to sell them as they are not regularly purchased. An example of a supermarket that would have sub ranges is Tesco PLC as they could afford to have such products on their shelves
Ordering service:
An ordering service is a service in which customer are able to order products from online and get them delivered to their homes, or they just have to go and collect them. An example of an ordering service is Tesco click and collect service, customer are able to order products from online and get them delivered to their door steps
Right products at right time:
Right products at right time is meeting customers’ demands, an example of this is having the right seasonal food at the right time and also having the right amount of stock on peak days e.g. having a lot of stock on Friday and Saturday as those are the days customers do their shopping, they have to also have the right amount of stock on international football match days as customer buy food before the match
Technology and data use to tailor product range to consumer profiles:
The clubcard is a service in which data is used to tailor products range to customer profile an example of this is when customer purchase products from Tesco PLC the scan their clubcard to get clubcard point, the card then transfers all the data about what products were bought but which customer on their profile, Tesco PLC is then able to use the information they have received to tailor advertisement that would attract the customer, they will also send personnel emails telling customers that there is a sale on a products that they regularly purchase, they may also refer products that are relevant but a new brand to the customer e.g. they may refer a new tea brand if the customer regularly purchases tea products
Conclusion:
This report I have analysed and also explained how developments in the consumer market have impacted on food retailers, this will include the food retailing operations and the consumer market.
by
serhadsdeadhotmailcom (student)
