Marketing Competitiveness for Marks and Spencer in Retail Sector

MARKETING
COMPETITIVENESS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
Trends in environment and market for the retail sector........................................3
Market structure for the retail sector............................................................................5
Market focus including factors that contribute towards the success and the
products offered by the Marks and Spencer...............................................................8
Competitive advantage......................................................................................................9
Marketing challenges to improve international competitive position.............12
Recommendation................................................................................................................13
CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................................15
REFERENCES...............................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
The potential of an organization to enhance its process of marketing
consistently in order to serve their customers better than its competitors is
known as marketing competitiveness. Marks & Spencer is a Public Limited
Company operating under retail sector. It was founded by Michael Marks and
Thomas Spencer in the year 1884. It is headquartered in London, England,
United Kingdom. M&S is one of the leading brands operating in UK with a
total of around 959 stores in UK, out of which 615 only sell food. This report
is going to examine the trends persisting in the environment and market of
the retail sector. It will study the market structure, the products offered and
the competitive advantage of the company. Furthermore, this report will
study and analyse the challenges faced by the M&S for the purpose of
enhancing its competitive advantage in the international market and provide
recommendations for the same.
MAIN BODY
Trends in environment and market for the retail sector
Because of the technological advancement in today’s world, the retail
sector is constantly going through a huge amount of change. The current
trends in the environment and market of retail sector are as follows:
Environmental consciousness
In the current scenario, the general public is aware of the harmful
effects of using a product on the environment. Thus, they avoid the use of
certain products. This has brought a change in the manufacturing processes
for retailers as they are trying to serve products made of biodegradable

substances (Coelho and et.al, 2020). Retail Industry is trying to implement
the processes which does not harm the environment.
Omnichannel retail strategies
One of the most important trends existing in the current market of
retail industry is implementing omnichannel retail strategies. It refers to
offering a seamless online platform to the customers to shop. The online
platform offered by the retail sector should be supported by different
gadgets. For instance, an online app which can be accesses through mobile
phones, laptops, iPad, new generation televisions, etc. This is important
because people use different gadgets at different times for specific purposes.
Providing a platform which can be accessed anytime and anywhere in the
world can hold the consumers and increase the customer base.
Advancement of digital payments method
A recent study by the Bank of America states that around 91% of the
people consider their mobile phones as their irreplaceable companion.
People are opting towards new age methods of digital payments for paying
to retailers. Many retailers accept payments online through digital mobile
payment services (De Vass, Shee, and Miah, 2021). But there is a need to
introduce as well as accept payment through all modes of online transfers
such as Apple pay, PayPal, Android pay, Mastercard Paypass , Google pay,
Paytm, other specific modes which are persisting in a particular country.
Providing a customized retail experience