Inquiry Project: Trends and Analysis in the Retail Sector

This inquiry project focuses on the trends in the retail sector and analysis of the organization TK Maxx. It provides recommendations for the organization to adapt to new technology, enhance skills of workers, and focus on online channels.

Inquiry Project

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Trends in the retail sector.............................................................................................................1
Analysis of the organization........................................................................................................2
Recommendations for the organization.......................................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Inquiry project refers to the undertaking of inquiry by the management of the
organization which ensures that the managers are able to identify the ways through
which they can assess the overall viability in the market (Aktas and Meng, 2017). For
this report TK Maxx has been chosen. It is an American Departmental Store Chain
which provides its different types of products at a lower rate than the other stores in the
market. In this assignment, focus will be made on trends in retail, analysis of the
organization. Additionally, focus on recommendations will be made as a part of this
project.
MAIN BODY
Trends in the retail sector
The retail sector is a thriving one in which there are multiple companies in the
market. It has various segments in which different firms can operate (Chiguvi, 2020).
There are various organizations which are operating in it. Its various trends are as
follows-
Investment in omnichannel strategies- Nowadays in the retail sector there has
been a focus of the companies on investing in different omnichannel strategies (Ferreira
and et.al., 2020). They are identifying the ways through which they can ensure that
multiple channels can be used to target the customers in an effective manner. Thus the
requirement from TK Maxx is to make sure that they can do right investment in these
strategies by identifying the multiple channels through which the customers can be
targeted and the marketing of products and services can be done in an effective
manner.
Personalized retail experience- The firms are focusing on providing
personalized retail experience to their customers (Filimonau and Gherbin, 2017).
Personalization has now become the focus of the companies because the customers
have their specific needs and demands which are required to be fulfilled by the
businesses. TK Maxx has to therefore make sure that the needs and preferences of the
customers are identified and personalized services are provided to them accordingly
which will ensure their satisfaction.
1

Culture of immediacy- Nowadays the customers want that their complaints and
queries are resolved immediately. Thus the retail companies are required to put their
focus on ensuring that their customer care services are quite effective and thus in this
way can embrace this new trend. In the context of TK Maxx it is quite essential for the
managers to ensure that this new trend is adopted because by adopting it the company
will be able to resolve the queries and complaints of the customers quickly and ensure
their full satisfaction in an effective manner.
Digital mobile wallet- It means the digital payment method which requires a
very less use of cash. Thus for the organizations, the requirement is to embrace this
new technology in an effective manner. Thus in the context of TK Maxx it can be used
so that the company is able to facilitate the acceptance of digital payments in an
effective manner.
Expanding into emerging markets and creation of new channels- It means
identifying the various emerging markets in which expansion can be done by the
company to earn more profits. Also the creation of new channels can be targeted by the
company to be able to target more customers. The managers of TK Maxx therefore are
required to consider this new trend and make efforts to accept it so that the company
can sustain in the market.
Creation of new supply methods- A new trend which has emerged in the
markets is that there can be a creation of different types of supply methods. For TK
Maxx it is crucial that new supply methods are adopted in an effective manner which will
allow it to be able to sustain effectively in the market.
Analysis of the organization
PESTLE: It covers various factors to track the business environment that effect
positively as well as negatively in some place. In this P stands for political, E represents
economic , S denotes social, T means technology, L indicates legal, E stands for
environmental. Sometimes these factors create threat and it also provide opportunities
also.
Political: Trade policies, trade restrictions, tax policies, corruption, political
stabilities, government policies, etc. are some political factors that effect the business
2

most (Jaravel, 2019). Due to changes in the government policies at a very short period
it is difficult for TK Maxx to adapt these policies so it impact negatively on the company.
Economic: Factors that effect our economic growth in terms of money are
interest rate, taxation rate, inflation rate, economic growth, unemployment rate, income
disposable etc. TK Maxx is a departmental store in UK that selling the products at lower
prices as compare to other similar stores so if inflation rate is high it effects negatively
because large number of customers purchase products from this store as rise in rates
reduces the purchasing power of public.
Social: Some factors make impact on social behaviour also these are health
conscious, safety measures, population,religion, consumer views, cultural barrier,
lifestyle growth etc. As TK Maxx is a big departmental store so large number of
employees of different religion work together that helps to create brotherhood among
workers that help to exchange their ideas so that they can promote their sales by
making strategies in this way it make positive impact.
Technology: It includes innovation that reduces the hardship of performing a
task. Automation, technology change, R&D activity, technology awareness are
technological factors. TK Maxx use new technology to operate various function that
effects positively to save time and increase the level of sales.
Legal: To avoid defaults some legal factors that are fixed by government related
to consumer protection, patent, copyright, health & safety, discrimination, fixation of
minimum wage rate, trademark, etc. are to be considered (Kjellberg, Hagberg and
Cochoy, 2019). As TK Maxx is a departmental store so it protect the interest of
consumers as they providing good quality with reasonable cost so it give positive effect
on business because they follow consumer protect act of U.K.
Environmental: It covers factors like environmental policies, pollution, weather
change , climatic conditions these also effect the business most. Due to change in the
climatic condition the sale of product effects negatively the most in TK Maxx.
SWOT Of TK Maxx :
Strengths Weaknesses
 TK Maxx has proper and  It does not have good marketing
3

technological advance system of
inventory management.
 It has its dominating position in the
market as it attracts large number of
consumers by offering products at
lower prices as compare to their
competitors.
techniques that lowers their their
profit margin.
 Skills of employees are not be
upgraded that effect the business
negatively because training is not to
be given by TK Maxx to their
employees so they face problem
problem at the using handling
technologies.
Opportunities Threats
 It has great opportunities to sale
their items online, through its own
site so it helps to expand their
business also.
 TK Maxx has vast opportunities to
explore the business by emerging
with the markets of different famous
countries.
 Due to growing of retail market,
competition increases and there is
always a threat of reduction in the
number of consumers that effects
the business profit and their
survival.
 There is always a threat of
increasing inflation rate and
unfavourable government policies
are faced by TK Maxx in U.K.
Recommendations for the organization
There are different types of recommendations which can be provided to the
organizations so that they are able to secure a much-desired competitive edge within
the market. Thus the recommendations for TK Maxx are as follows-
Adaptation of new technology- In the dynamic business environment, there are
various types of changes which can take place. A company is required to adapt to them
quickly to stay relevant in the market (Kubica and SZArUCKI, 2016). Thus it is required
from TK Maxx that its managers are able to adapt to the new technology in an effective
manner. The recommendations for the company is that it should identify the
4

technological changes taking place in the retail sector and make sure that it is able to
adapt to them so that it can maintain a strategic edge over its various types of
competitors in the market.
Creativity and Innovation- Organizations are required to consider them
because they through creativity and innovation they will be able to make sure that they
can provide products which can satisfy the customers in an effective manner (Nash,
2019). Thus the recommendations for TK Maxx's managers is that they must consider
the creative and innovative aspect while providing the goods to the customers so that
their needs and requirements can be met.
Investment in right markets- Selection of a right market is quite essential for
the companies in order to ensure that they are able to maximize their profits and
achieve their goals and objectives (Roy and et.al., 2018). Thus, in the context of TK
Maxx it is very important that a right market is selected for targeting profit expansion.
Therefore the recommendations for the company is to conduct an appropriate research
and make sure that the selected market offers enough potential for its different goods
and services.
Enhancement of skills of the workers- It is crucial for the firms that they
assess the skills of the workers from time to time (Sigarev and et.al., 2018). In a
dynamic business environment, it is quite important for the organizations to ensure that
the overall skills of their employees are up-to-date. Thus the recommendations for TK
Maxx is to make sure that it identifies the ways through upgrading of the skills can be
done. In this way it will be able to ensure that its workers are technologically up-to-date.
This will help it a lot in achieving its various goals and objectives in the future time
period. For this it is required that it conducts training programmes so that employees
can be trained in an effective manner.
Adaptation to social trends- The requirement from the companies is to make
sure that they identify the changes in the social trends prevailing in the society (Zubeldia
and et.al., 2016). Therefore in the context of TK Maxx it can be recommended that its
managers are able to identify any changes in social trends quickly and thus are able to
make the required adjustments by changing products and services.
5

Better customer service- Customer service has become a prime requirement
for the companies because it is through it that they are able to ensure the satisfaction
level of the customers. This is crucial because a satisfied customer will provide a
positive review of the company. In this way a good image can be created which will
benefit the organization in the long-run. Thus the recommendations for the managers of
TK Maxx is to make sure that they make their customer service even more better and
serve them in an effective manner.
Focus on Research & Development- R&D should be the focus area for the
organizations in the future time period because through it the managers will be able to
make sure that they can identify the new trends quickly and implement them within the
organization. In the context of TK Maxx, the recommendations for the managers is that
they should invest more in this area so that they can target expansion of profits in the
future time period.
Focus on online channels- The focus area of the retailers in the future will be
online channels. This is so because online shopping has now become quite famous
among the customers in the market. The recommendations for the managers of TK
Maxx is that they should make the use of these online channels so that they can
sustain in the market and thus are able to target more customers for the purpose of
enhancement of their revenues.
Ethical practices- Ethics are quite important to be followed by the businesses.
Thus TK Maxx is required to make sure that it brings the use of ethical practices in its
processes which will enable it to be able to serve the customers in the right manner.
The recommendations for TK Maxx is that it must be ethically right in its approach which
it is adopting which will enable it to stay relevant in the market in the future time period.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that in retail sector several
businesses are there. These can operate in their respective segments. There are
various trends which have emerged in the retail sector. Analysis of the organizations
can be done through SWOT and PESTEL. Recommendations can be provided to the
managers so that they are able to ensure that they can adjust effectively to the needs
and requirements of the retail sector.
6

7

REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Aktas, E. and Meng, Y., 2017. An exploration of big data practices in retail sector. Logistics.
1(2). p.12.
Chiguvi, D., 2020. The Influence of After Sales Services on Marketing Performance in the Retail
Sector in Botswana. Dutch Journal of Finance and Management. 4(1). p.em0060.
Ferreira, M. J. and et.al., 2020, April. The Digital Transformation at Organizations–The Case of
Retail Sector. In World Conference on Information Systems and Technologies (pp. 560-
567). Springer, Cham.
Filimonau, V. and Gherbin, A., 2017. An exploratory study of food waste management practices
in the UK grocery retail sector. Journal of Cleaner Production. 167. pp.1184-1194.
Jaravel, X., 2019. The unequal gains from product innovations: Evidence from the us retail
sector. The Quarterly Journal of Economics. 134(2). pp.715-783.
Kjellberg, H., Hagberg, J. and Cochoy, F., 2019. Thinking Market Infrastructure: Barcode
Scanning in the US Grocery Retail Sector, 1967–2010. In Thinking infrastructures.
Emerald Publishing Limited.
Kubica, I. and SZArUCKI, M., 2016. Exploring employee motivation in Polish family firms.
Case of retail sector. Business, Management and Education. 14(2). pp.194-209.
Nash, J., 2019. Exploring how social media platforms influence fashion consumer decisions in
the UK retail sector. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International
Journal.
Roy, S. K. and et.al., 2018. Predictors of customer acceptance of and resistance to smart
technologies in the retail sector. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. 42.
pp.147-160.
Sigarev, A. V. and et.al., 2018. The role of chains in the Russian retail sector.
Zubeldia, B. B. and et.al., 2016. Effectiveness of the cold chain control procedure in the retail
sector in Southern Spain. Food Control. 59. pp.614-618.
8