Inquiry Based Learning in Retail Industry

This article discusses the concept of inquiry-based learning and its relevance in the retail industry. It explores the current trends in the industry, analyzes the organization of Marks and Spencer, and provides recommendations for better performance. The article also highlights the importance of integrating advanced technologies and improving e-commerce for success in the retail industry.

Inquiry Based Learning

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Current trends within retail industry...........................................................................................3
Complete analysis of organization..............................................................................................4
Recommendation........................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Inquiry based project is a significant learning process which tends to effectively involve
the group of students in order to make connection with the real world by exploring high level
questioning. This is relevant for the students to effectively engage with the experiential as well as
problem solving learning. The present study will carry out complete research related with the
current trends within retail industry and also carry out complete analysis of organization.
Moreover, appropriate recommendation is also given for better performance. For the study,
Marks and Spencers company has been selected. This is a major British multi- national retailer
which has been headquartered within London in year 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas
Spencer.
MAIN BODY
Current trends within retail industry
Retail industry in turn has been going through an enormous degree of change. The
behaviour of the customers has been changing and their expectations are significantly high. As
per the 2019 results, the total value of the retail sales of UK is € 394 billion. The total number of
the UK outlets in the year 2019 were 306,655 and the online sales has risen up to three fold i.e.,
324% in last 10 years (UK RETAIL STATS & FACTS, 2020). One of the key current trend within
the retail industry is that the retailers focuses on giving personalized set of experience to the
customers. However, the rise within the personalization in retail industry trend has led to
innovation within the technology such as artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Customized customer centrality has resulted in effectively driving growth and leads to progress
within the market. Also, the rise within the technology has significantly led to the retail industry
trend. It is crucial for the retailers to speed up and also expand the services to significantly
respond to the key culture of immediateness (Bamfield, 2018). This is mainly because the
consumers want immediate set of results within the retail industry. Expanding the business into
the emerging markets and also creating new set of channels is one of the most common trend
within the retail industry. It is of crucial relevance to tap into the newer international and
emerging markets. This is relevant in increasing the market share of the industry. Another major
trend within the retail industry is to ensure that the business must be carried out in an ethical
manner by ensuring ethical and social consciousness. There are large number of consumers who

tends to make their buy decision based on the environmental and social factors. One of the
biggest trend within the retail industry is the rise in the e- commerce. The customers tend to
prefer online shopping. Also, there is a rise in the social commerce by using various social media
applications and sites. These platforms mainly includes Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat. This
is significant in providing seamless shopping experience with the customers (Habersang and
Seckler, 2019) . Another major retail trend within the industry is a significant approach towards
influencer marketing. The influencer content helps in significantly focuses on effectively
improving the quality of the content and is considered to be highly user centric. This influencer
content marketing helps in in engaging and attracting more customers. Also, rise in the use of
augmented reality, artificial intelligence and machine learning is the key prominent trend as it is
useful in enhancing the shopping experience (Rodríguez, Paredes and Yi, 2016). Augmented
reality and virtual reality are the top technologies which are trending within the retail industry in
order to get access to the key products. Also, a multi- channel approach is the key emerging
trend within the industry through which it tends to become the key strategy for the retailers. It
effectively provides opportunity to the customers to effectively browse online as well as buy
within the stores. Another major trend is linked with the ethical and value based shopping. This
is significant in effectively making supporting degree of expertise in order to create global
presence (McCunn, 2016). Also, one of the key significant trend linked with the retail industry is
to effectively use the mobile as one of the key significant method of payment. Offering high
degree of genuine transparency through which it helps in taking high degree of stance associated
with the ethical issues in turn can be highly risky for the brand. This is prominent in bringing
high degree of lasting loyalty and trust towards the customers. Also, integration with the
advanced technology in turn helps in improving the key business results and leads to better
outcomes.
Complete analysis of organization
Marks and Spencer is a major British multi- national retailer which has been
headquartered within London in year 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer. This
company is considered to be as one of the leading multinational retailer organization. It has
around 1382 stores across the world. The main products of the Marks and Spencer company is to
significantly offer home products, clothings and also luxury food products both within the store

and online. The Marks and Spencer company tends to earn its 90% of the revenue from the UK
market (Sansone and Colamatteo, 2017).
SWOT analysis of the Marks and Spencer
Strength: One of the biggest strength of the Marks and Spencer company is that, it is a
leading multinational retailer organization. Marks and Spencer company currently operates in 59
territories across the Asia, Europe, and Middle East. There is high degree of diversification
which in turn are inherent with the key international strategy (Scott and Walker, 2017). The
Marks and Spencer company tends to effectively mitigate with the key potential risk and whilst
has stability within the business. There is high degree of brand recognition. The company tends
to offer wide range of variety of products within home products, clothings and also luxury food.
Marks and Spencers has wide range of brands which helps in strengthening the business
performance and position. Diversity and innovation within this field helps in creating high
degree of business performance and leads to improved set of business growth. Also,
multichannel presence is considered to be as another major strength for the company.
Weakness: One of the biggest weakness of the Marks and Spencer company is mainly
linked with the inability to successfully penetrate within the foreign market (Sriram and et.al.,
2018). Also, poor scalability of the business within the supply chain and offering high degree of
global access to the merchandise is mainly through the online stores is considered to be one of
the biggest weakness linked with the Marks and Spencer.
Opportunity: It is mainly associated with the key avenues within the market. It is
considered to be highly significant to surround the business through which it is significant in
effectively capitalizing the increase in results (Habersang and Seckler, 2019). Fashion industry
opens high degree of opportunity for the company and tends to work on a regular basis. Within
Asia, there seems to be high degree of demand of traditional as well as ethnic wear within the
market. There is a high degree of great opportunity for the business because it is significant in
effectively reaching large number of customers from across the globe. Internationalization is
considered to be highly significant in improving the global presence (SZYDLOWSKA, 2020).
This eventually leads to higher market share and higher operational sales and productivity.
Simplifying the operational model and ensuring that, it is significant in effectively reshaping the
key business results and outcomes.

Threat: One of the biggest threat of the Marks and Spencer company is that there is a
presence of large number of competitors within the market which mainly includes Gap, United
Colors of Benetton, Zara, Asda, , Uniqlo and Tommy Hilfiger. Another major threat associated
with the business is mainly unstable economic and political market conditions. Also changing
trends within the retail industry and change in the buying behaviour of the customers in turn
impose high degree of threat upon the business (Wilson, 2016). Change within the political
factors can largely hampers the business performance at a greater scale. There are other social
factors which in turn tends to largely affect the business functions at a greater scale.
Recommendation
There seems to be high degree of crucial importance for the company to develop a
strategic business plan through which it is considered to be highly prominent in improving the
business results and outcomes. This way it helps in ensuring that, the Marks and Spencer
company tends to stay ahead of the competition (Ying and Su, 2020) . Integration with the
advanced technology is considered to be highly prominent in improving the key significant
business results and the outcomes. There must be successful track record to effectively integrate
with the complimentary firms with the merger and acquisition is considered to be of key
relevance importance. The company must focus on effectively improving their product range.
This helps in meeting the needs of the customers and leads to improved degree of business
functions and operations. The Marks and Spencer company must focus on effectively indulging
with the newer set of technologies and must also focus on improving the key business functions.
This results in improved degree of business functions and leads to improved business
productivity. Integration of the newer set of technologies such as augmented reality, artificial
intelligence, virtual reality and machine learning (Rodríguez, Paredes and Yi, 2016). This is one
of the key prominent technologies which improves the business results and leads to better
outcomes. Also, the company must focus on improving their e- commerce. This way it is
considered to be highly prominent in improving the key business results and leads to high degree
of operational performance and sales. The company must focus on the online presence and this
helps in creating high degree of opportunity to reach maximum number of people across the
world. This helps in providing seamless shopping experience to the customers. Another, one of
the key significant recommendation for the Marks and Spencer company is to comply with the
social media platforms. This is significant because it helps in improving the key business

performance through Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube, etc. this helps in reaching out to
the customers and leads to improved degree of business results and higher operational
performance by better interaction with the customers (Habersang and Seckler, 2019). Clear
branding and communicating the message with the customers is considered to be as one of the
key prominent recommendation which helps in improving the functioning of the business.
Improving the supply chain of the company is also another key significant recommendation
through which it is significant in improving the key business and helps in reaching out to the
customers on a timely and productive manner. It must also focus on ensuring global access to the
customers and leads to improved degree of business performance and productivity. Complete
research and development has been carried out in order to ensure that all the business functions
has been carried out in a significant and reliable manner.
CONCLUSION
It has been concluded that, the rise within the personalization is the key prominent trend
within the retail industry. Expanding the business into the emerging markets and also creating
new set of channels for the business is also major trend within the retail industry. Online
shopping and engaging with the new social media platforms is also another prominent trend
within the retail industry. Marks and Spencer company has high degree of brand recognition and
is also leading multinational retailer organization. One of the biggest threat of the Marks and
Spencer company is that there is a presence of large number of competitors within the market.
The key significant recommendation for the Marks and Spencer company is to comply with the
social media platforms and integrate with optimum technologies.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bamfield, J., 2018. International trends in retail crime and prevention practices. In Retail Crime
(pp. 33-53). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Habersang, S. and Seckler, C., 2019. A process perspective on organizational failure: A
qualitative meta‐analysis. Journal of Management Studies. 56(1). pp.19-56.
McCunn, J., 2016. Belize It or Not: Implied Contract Terms in Marks and Spencer v BNP
Paribas. The Modern Law Review. 79(6). pp.1090-1101.
Rodríguez, M., Paredes, F. and Yi, G., 2016. Towards Future Customer Experience: Trends and
Innovation in Retail. Форсайт. 10(3 (eng)).
Sansone, M. and Colamatteo, A., 2017. Trends and dynamics in retail industry: focus on
relational proximity. International Business Research. 10(2). pp.169-179.
Scott, P. and Walker, J. T., 2017. Barriers to ‘industrialisation’for interwar British retailing? The
case of Marks & Spencer Ltd. Business History. 59(2). pp.179-201.
Sriram, V. P. and et.al., 2018. Changing Retail Trends: Emerging Opportunities and Challenges
of Indian Retail Industry. International Journal of Business and Management Invention.
7(1). p.25.
SZYDLOWSKA, K., 2020. FUTURE BUSINESS STRATEGY OF MARKS AND SPENCER.
GRIN Verlag.
Wilson, D., 2016. Marks & Spencer: the quest to master the new millennium. The Business &
Management Collection.
Ying, S. and Su, J., 2020. Managing big data in the retail industry of Singapore: Examining the
impact on customer satisfaction and organizational performance. European
Management Journal.
Online
UK RETAIL STATS & FACTS. 2020. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.retaileconomics.co.uk/library-retail-stats-and-facts>