Retail Industry Trends: HRM, Forecasting, and Succession Planning

This report examines the critical relationship between supply forecasting and succession planning within the retail industry. It identifies current business trends, analyzes labor employment statistics, and forecasts possible employment shifts. The report discusses how an HR planner would utilize this information for succession planning and emphasizes the importance of assessing personnel needs to avoid negative consequences. Key areas covered include customizable options, AI utilization, social media promotion, big data analysis, and home delivery service improvements. The research highlights the growing online retail sector and the need for skilled technical experts to support technological innovations in packaging, distribution, and logistics. The HR planner's role in coordinating with educational institutions and designing training courses is also emphasized to address the decreasing supply of skilled labor. Ultimately, the report underscores the dependence of the retail industry's succession planning on effective market research and adaptation to evolving customer preferences.

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................2
2. Current business trends in retail industry....................................................................................2
3. Literature review..........................................................................................................................3
3.1 Business and labor employment statistics of retail industry..................................................3
3.2 Forecast for the retail industry...............................................................................................4
3.3 Utilization of information by HR planner.............................................................................6
3.4 Utilization of research for succession planning.....................................................................7
3.5 Importance of assessing personnel needs of organization through forecasts........................8
4. Conclusion...................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9

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1. Introduction
Organizations operate in the global market scenario with the continuous support of the
human resource. The different business trends that are affecting the structure of the markets also
infest modifications in the workforce practices for ensuring the sustenance of the businesses. The
research will clearly identify the different business trends that are faced by the retail industry.
The depiction of the labor employment statistics in the research and the possible future forecasts
will be helping the HRM in organizations to bring forth considerable changes in the staffing
methods as per the needs of the business. Therefore, the research aims at identifying the market
trends that are faced by the retail industry and the manner in which the staffing strategies might
be undertaken by the HRM for facilitating the needs of the ventures.
2. Current business trends in retail industry
The retail industry is growing in the different parts of the world with the changes in the
preference patterns of the customers. According to the US Commerce Department, the online
retail sales has grown by 300% between the years 2000 to 2018 (Kaufman, 2012). The key
changes that are encountered by the retail industry are dependent on the technological
innovations and the shifts in the customers buying behavior. However, as per the report, the
departmental stores suffered a drop by 50% of sales in the years (Henly & Lambert, 2014). The
online retailing industry has grown since the development of IoT (Internet of Things) and
making the same available to the mass. Suitable networking has helped in the development of the
retail industry as per the industry standards. The changes in the consumer spending trends and
the subtle modifications in expectation of the customers have brought about significant changes
in the retail industry. It has been reported that most of the customers prefer retailers who provide

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the same with customizable propositions as per the requirements. The technological innovations
that are encountered by the retail industry have thereby helped the same in maintaining the
efficacy of the retail organizations to adapt to the requirements of the customers. However,
Boxall (2012) stated that the workforce of the retail organizations has contributed to the growth
process more vehemently through the collaborative functioning of the same as per the
organizational objectives.
The major trends that are being encountered by the retail industry are:
 Amendment of customizable options along with the propositions to the customers in
order to maximize the customer satisfaction and loyalty
 Utilization of Robots or AI (Artificial Intelligence) and AR (Augmented Reality)
technologies for avoiding the human related errors in the processes that are designed by
the organization
 Utilization of updated social media platforms for facilitating large scale promotions at
lower costs
 Utilization of Big Data platforms for supporting the decisions that will be undertaken by
the retailers
 Bringing forth developments in the home delivery services for minimizing the time that
was earlier required for dispatching the orders to the customers
3. Literature review
3.1 Business and labor employment statistics of retail industry
Boxall (2012) stated that the retail industry in US is reported to grow by 0.2% by
November 2018, which is estimated to be 42 % increase from 2009's record. The yearly sales

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volume of the retail industry is reported to grow by 4.3 %, whereas the economic standards
portrayed that the economic growth of the nations will be portrayed through an annual growth of
3 % or more (Lambert & Henly, 2012). The business growth of the retail industry is primarily
based on the consumer spending statistics and the enhanced rate of personal consumption rates.
It has helped the industry in making a robust growth program in the economy. Brewster,
Mayrhofer and Smale (2016) stated that the definite growth of the retail industry is dependent on
the buying behavior of the consumers. Alternatively, Thite, Wilkinson and Shah (2012) stated
that the departmental retail industry suffered a depression due to the changing buying behavior
and their inclination towards the utilization of online media rather than brick and mortar stores.
The average salary that is provided to the employees in the retail industry, as per the
report, is $33,359 (Demo et al., 2012). Gardner and Sheppard (2012) stated that the growth of
the online retail industry has helped the same in enhancing the scopes of employment. The
organizations in the retail industry are looking forward to recruit skilled workforce for
supporting the activities of the same as per the objectives of sustenance. However, Tracey
(2014) opined that the introduction of automated technology in the online retailing systems has
minimized the rate of job expectancy in the different sectors.
3.2 Forecast for the retail industry
Technological innovations have helped in enhancing the operations of the retail industry
while operating in diverse international markets. For an example, Amazon, the e- commerce
organization in America has undertaken steps to implement different technologies in order to
minimize the dependency of the same on the workforce. Dale (2012) stated that apart from the
enhancement in the job expectancy in the retail industry, the enhanced turnover ratio has affected
the smooth functioning of the business. Demo et al. (2012) also stated that the technological

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innovations in the retail industry has helped the same in minimizing the rate of dependency on
the human workforce. The estimated job growth in the retail industry is encountering a 0.5%
increase in the 10 years. On the other hand, the lower education levels in most of the economies
will be affecting the supply of skilled labor by 0.2%, which is a rising concern for the retail
industry. The retail industry is undertaking steps to provide customizable options in order to
facilitate the needs of the individual customers. In this connection, the organizations in the retail
industry requires skilled workforce who have a better understanding of the market trends. The
recruitment of skilled workforce in the retail industry will be helping the same in maintaining the
efficacy of the operations as per the expectation of the customers. Scheel, Rigotti and Mohr
(2013) stated that the implementation of the AI and AR technologies in the different sectors of
the retail industry has brought about significant modifications relating to the growth.
According to Thite, Wilkinson and Shah (2012), the retail industry will be facing a
steep growth of 4.3% by the end of the year 2020 due to the technological innovations and the
continuous inclination of the customers towards online retailing. The technological innovations
in the retail industry have supported the spontaneous growth of the same by minimizing the
dependence upon the human workforce. Cohen and Schleyer (2012) stated that the introduction
of the robots and AI technology in the packaging and distribution processes has helped the online
retail industry in improving the customer buying experience. On the other hand, Brewster,
Mayrhofer and Smale (2016) stated that the introduction of AR technology in the promotional
practices has helped the organizations in the retail industry in identifying the need of the
customers more viably. For an instance, Maybelline, the cosmetic organization, provided the
customers with the privilege of testing the cosmetics in virtual time through the utilization of the
AR initiatives. It has helped the organization in the retail industry in improving its amount of

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sales in the different economies. Therefore, it might be stated that the different technological
innovations that are undertaken by the online retail industry will be requiring the support of
technical experts for enabling the smooth functioning of the processes.
3.3 Utilization of information by HR planner
The HR planner of an organization in the retail industry might take steps to design and
plan the recruitment processes as per the assessment of the urgency faced by the venture relating
to the forecasts. Horwitz, Budhwar and Morley (2015) stated that the technological innovations
that are being undertaken by the retail industry will be resulting to the needs of organizations for
recruiting skilled technical experts. The skilled technical experts will be helping the industry in
ensuring the smooth functioning of the different packaging, distribution and logistics processes.
On the other hand, the industry will be requiring different market researchers for identifying the
demand faced by the industry in the different economies. In this relation, the HR planner of the
organization might take steps to evaluate the needs of the organization as per the forecasts, which
will be assisting the person in delineating different job positions.
Lambert and Henly (2012) stated that the skilled employees contribute to the smooth
functioning of the complex processes in an organization. Therefore, the recruitment of skilled
and experienced employees will be helping the HR planner in mandating the requirements of the
organizations as per the market situation faced by the same. As the supply of labor will be
decreasing by 0.2% in the next ten years, the HR planner might take steps to coordinate with the
educational institutions for making the same aware of the technical skills that might be induced
in a candidate. On the other hand, the HR planner might design different courses for enhancing
the operations of the existing employees to support the growing concerns of an organization in
the retail industry. For an example, Tesco undertook recruitment of skilled employees for the

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smooth functioning of the processes that are designed by the organization. Ollier-Malaterre et al.,
(2013) stated that the key changes that are undertaken by the organizations are dependent on the
smooth functioning of the skilled employees. Therefore, the improvements in the retail industry
will be dependent on the recruitment of skilled and experienced employees.
3.4 Utilization of research for succession planning
The research will be helping the HR manager in identifying the requirements of the
organization while operating in diverse international markets. The fast paced growth of the retail
industry requires the involvement of skilled and tenured workforce. Therefore, the research and
forecasts helps the HR managers in identifying the urgency faced by the organizations in the
industry relating to the supply of skilled workforce. Kaufman (2012) stated that the market
research and the delineation of the needs of the organization helps the HR planner in maintaining
the efficacy of the recruitment process while designing the job roles. The delineation of the job
roles and the provisions in the process designs will be helping the industry in maximizing the
output. On the other hand, Henly and Lambert (2014) stated that the delineation of the customer
expectations will be helping the HR planner in identifying the job roles that might be included by
the same for assisting the concerns of the customers. The identification of the different trends
relating to the technological innovations that are encountered by the industry has helped the HR
planner in maintaining the efficacy of the recruitment procedure.
The succession planning of the industry is based on the identification of the trends and
the changes in the customer preferences. The delineation of the needs of the end level consumers
will be helping the industry in recruiting the workforce as per the enhancement criterion
followed by the same. Warhurst et al. (2012) stated that the major changes in the retail industry
are dependent on the customer buying intentions and the evolution of relevant technologies.

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Therefore, the succession planning of the organizations in the industry are strictly dependent on
the efficacy of the market research that is undertaken by the same.
3.5 Importance of assessing personnel needs of organization through forecasts
Scheel, Rigotti and Mohr (2013) stated that the assessment of personnel needs of the
industry helps in reducing the costs of operations. On the other hand, Boxall (2012) opined that
the assessment of the trends and the customer concerns that are encountered by the industry
helps the same in taking decisions while recruiting a candidate. The current forecasts indicate
that the online retail industry is moving towards automation of the different processes with the
view of enhancing the customer experience of shopping. Therefore, in this case, the
organizations in the industry would aim at recruiting candidates with technical knowledge of the
automated processes. Klaus and Nguyen (2013) stated that the smooth functioning of the retail
industry is dependent on the recruitment of skilled personnel, as the ever changing trends and
inclination of the customers indicate. Therefore, the choice of the personnel in the retail industry
is mostly dependent on the assessment of the market situation that is encountered by the industry.
4. Conclusion
Therefore, from the above research it can be stated that the identification of the needs of
the retail industry will be helping the HR planner in recruiting skilled candidates for ensuring the
smooth functioning of the processes. The research administers the forecasts for the retail industry
in US and the trends that are faced by the same in the markets. On the other hand, the research
also focused on identifying the manner in which an HR planner might contribute to an
organization’s succession planning activities.

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