Current Trends in the Retail Industry: Analysis of Sainsbury's

Inquiry Based
Learning

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK ..............................................................................................................................................3
Current trends of Retail industry.................................................................................................3
Analysis of organisation using SWOT and PEST frameworks..................................................5
Recommendation.........................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
The retail industry consists of selling finished goods to the ultimate consumer by
individuals and organisations. There are various retailers all around the globe including grocery,
department stores, medical stores, convenience stores, electrical stores and other speciality
stores. Sainsbury's is the second largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. J Sainsbury
plc is the holding company of Sainsbury's Supermarket Ltd. It holds a 16% share in the
supermarket sector in the entire UK. The retail industry can be classified on the basis of products
and distribution channels. In this report the author will cover the current market trends in the
retail industry along with the analysis of Sainsbury's and how it uses these trends in its favour.
The author will also use an external business environment analysis on Sainsbury's and give
recommendations on the basis of the information enlisted by him (Dolenc and Kazanis, 2020).
TASK
Current trends of Retail industry
The retail industry is going through enormous changes due to continuous changes in
consumer behaviour and their increasingly high expectations. The retail business houses need to
analyse the industry trends in order to evaluate their business and check how successful it is and
what can be done to make it more successful in the future. Some of the key industry trends are:
 Investment in Omni-channel retail Strategies:
Omni-channel is strategical approach which helps the retailers to provide consumers with
seamless shopping experience, even if they are using a mobile phone or a desktop to shop, or
they are buying through telephones and directly going to the store. According to a research an
average consumer owns around 3.64 connected devices which he uses to consult before
purchasing or buying a finished good (Iwasawa, 2021). Consumer can purchase a product by
using one device and reviewing it on another device. Due to the existing of connected devices
the consumer demands a seamless shopping experiences at multiple touchpoints. Most of the
retailers now focus on formulating a strategic policy involving these connected devices, mainly
mobile phones as it enables them to take advantage of one of the most connected devices and get
its help to capture more market and make more sales (Top 5 Emerging Retail Industry Trends,
2021).
 Personalised Retail Experience: