Retail Marketing Analysis Report: Customer Experience at Burberry

This report provides a detailed analysis of retail marketing, focusing on the evolution of customer experience in the industry. It begins with a literature review, exploring the latest academic publications and trends in retail marketing strategies, including the impact of technology and changing consumer behaviors. The report then presents a case study of Burberry, examining how the luxury fashion brand manages its in-store customer experience, including its use of technology and digital campaigns like "Burberry Bespoke" and "Burberry Kisses". The analysis covers Burberry's marketing mix, pricing strategies, and its approach to consumer engagement. Finally, based on the literature review and case analysis, the report offers recommendations to retailers for improving customer experience and adapting to the changing retail landscape.

Running head: RETAIL MARKETING ANALYSIS
RETAIL MARKETING ANALYSIS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1RETAIL MARKETING ANALYSIS
Executive Summary
The report is based on the analysis of retail marketing based activities that are performed by the
organizations and the changes that have taken place in the last few years. The literature review is
based on the implementation of internet and technologies for the purpose of analyzing the trends
in retail marketing. The organization that has been taken into consideration for analysis in case of
retail industry analysis is Burberry Plc. The changes that have been implemented by Burberry
and the use of technologies to maintain customer relationships are also analyzed in the report in
detail.

2RETAIL MARKETING ANALYSIS
Table of Contents
An introduction to the report...........................................................................................................3
The context and background............................................................................................................3
Literature review..............................................................................................................................4
Recommendations............................................................................................................................8
Case analysis....................................................................................................................................8
Conclusions......................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................11
Appendices....................................................................................................................................13
Appendix 1 – Burberry Bespoke...............................................................................................13
Appendix 2 – Burberry Kisses...................................................................................................13

3RETAIL MARKETING ANALYSIS
An introduction to the report
Retail can be defined as the sale of services and goods from different businesses to
particular end users or consumers. Retail marketing is thereby considered to be a process that is
implemented by the retailers are able to promote awareness related to the interest of the services
and goods that are offered to them in order to generate effective levels of sales from the
consumers. Many different strategies and approaches are implemented by the retailers in order to
market the services and goods to the target consumers in different parts of the world (Blessing
and Natter 2019). The report will be mainly based on the literature review of the concept of retail
marketing. The analysis of retail marketing process and its literature review will also be based on
an organization Burberry that operates in the fashion sector.
The context and background
The context of retail marketing is mainly based on the efforts that are made by the
organizations in retail industry in order to increase awareness related to the products that are
offered to the consumers. The organization that has been taken into consideration is Burberry
and its operations in the retail industry will also be discussed in detail (Chen, Ayanso and
Lertwachara 2018).
Burberry Group Plc. is a luxury fashion based organization of British origin that is
mainly headquartered in London, England. Burberry is a major fashion house that focusses on
the distribution of different fashion based products that include trench coats, fashion accessories,
ready-to-wear outwear fashion based accessories, cosmetics and sunglasses. The organization
was established in the year 1856 by Thomas Burberry that is mainly focused on the proper
development of different outdoor based attire to consumers in different parts of the world

4RETAIL MARKETING ANALYSIS
(Burberryplc.com, 2020). The trench coats, pattern based scarves and different fashion
accessories that are offered by the organization are considered to be quite unique in nature. The
first shop of Burberry had been opened in the Haymarket, London in the year 1891. Burberry had
been an independent and family controlled company until the year 1955 when the organization
was reincorporated (Burberryplc.com, 2020).
Literature review
According to Chou and Shao (2020), retailers have used different communication and
advertising based tools for the purpose of enhancing the levels of awareness and the
considerations with the future customers. The development of a right marketing mix is able to
enhance the returns and the profitable levels of growth on investments that are made. The
implementation of an effective marketing strategy is considered to be an important aspect of the
ways by which organizations can maintain their operations and the levels of profitability as well
(Friebel et al. 2017). The fundamental approach that is mainly implemented by the modern
retailers for the purpose of marketing the products to the target customers is based on the four Ps
of the retail marketing process.
Product – Two primary types of the merchandise are considered for the purpose of
considering the retail marketing process. The durable or hard goods that include electronics,
appliances and the sporting based equipment are taken into consideration for the purpose of
analyzing the product based aspect of marketing mix. The retailers can carry range of the hard as
well as soft items like supermarkets or major retail based chains and the smaller retailers can a
single category of the goods (Gafar, Ali and Abdullah 2017).

5RETAIL MARKETING ANALYSIS
Price – According to Groza, Locander and Howlett (2016), pricing is considered to be the
most important aspect of the retail strategy that is implemented by an organization. The retail
based prices also need to cover the costs of various goods as the additional overhead costs as
well. The retail organizations can thereby use four major primary pricing based strategies that
include,
Everyday based low pricing – The retailers operate with thin margins and can also attract
the customers who are interested in the lowest possible prices. The strategy is mainly used by the
big retail organizations like Target and Walmart.
High or low pricing – The retailers start with high prices and can later reduce the process
when popularity of the items can fade. The strategy is mainly implemented by the small to the
mid-size based retailers (Grimmer et al. 2017).
Competitive pricing – The retailers in this case set the prices with respect to the prices
that are charged by the competitors. The strategy is mainly implemented after the retailers have
exhausted the strategies related to higher pricing based strategies.
Psychological pricing – The retailers have set the prices of different items with respect to
the odd numbers that consumers perceive to be lower in comparison to the actual prices. The
strategy has also been termed as charm pricing and pricing ending (Groza, Locander and Howlett
2016).
Place – The place based is mainly based on the ways by which retailers are able to
conduct the business operations with the customers. The place can be mainly based on the
physical retail based location or the non-physical space like the catalog company or the e-stores
as well. Most of the retailers who are a part of the industry are owned in an independent manner

6RETAIL MARKETING ANALYSIS
and more than 50% of the retail sales have been generated by the major retailers who are also
called the “big box retailers” (Júnior and Chinelato 2018).
Promotion – Promotion is considered to be the final element of the marketing mix based
elements and this mainly include personal selling, sales promotion, direct marketing, advertising
and publicity. The promotional mix is able to specify the ways by which attention can be paid to
the different tactics and the budget that is provided to each of them. The promotion based aspect
can be based on wide range of the activities that include the increase in sales, creation of the
brand equity, acceptance of the new products, competitive retaliations, development of corporate
image and positioning (Kadic-Maglajlic et al. 2017).
For the organizations that are considered to be customer oriented in nature are also
considered to be an important part of the retail marketing based activities that are performed by
them. The 4 Ps of marketing mix in this case can be replaced by the 4Cs that include consumer,
cost, communication and convenience.
Consumer (versus Product) – The organizations in this case are more focused on the
consumers instead of the product based factor. The retailers in this case aim at understanding the
needs and demands of the consumers before they go to the market. The chances of attracting the
customers in this case are considered to be higher in comparison to the increase in sales and
revenues.
Cost (versus Price) – The cost based factor in case of the retail industry is related to the
value for money that is provided by the organization. The factors which are mainly able to
include costs of consumers are related to the change to new products and costs related to
customers for not selecting the products of the competitors (Mohr and Batsakis 2017).

7RETAIL MARKETING ANALYSIS
Convenience (versus Place) – The use of internet has reduced the importance of the
Place based factor of marketing mix. The purchasing based decisions that are made by the
consumers are considered to be an important part of the retail marketing activities that are
performed by the organizations. The convenience that is offered by the organizations to its
consumers is able to influence the transactions that are made by the consumers.
Communication (versus Promotion) – Communication mainly includes the range of
efforts that are based on advertising, social media, public relations, grassroots efforts and
different other forms of communication that is developed between consumers and the company
(Morimura and Sakagawa 2018).
The supply chain of retail industry is considered to be an important aspect that is able to
influence the ways by which organizations in the sector can maintain their operations. The
wholesalers and manufacturers are connected in an effective manner and they are together able to
provide best levels of services and products to the consumers. Different aspects that are
considered to be important parts of the supply chains of retail organizations are as follows,
Manufacturers – The manufacturers are mainly responsible for the production of goods
by using the raw materials, machinery and labor.
Wholesalers – The wholesalers are responsible for the purchase of finished goods from
the manufacturers and also selling them to the retailers (Oberoi, Patel and Haon 2017).
Retailers – The retailers are able to sell the products in the individual units or smaller
quantities to the consumers at prices that also include the profits.
Consumers – The end-users are mainly the consumers who purchase the goods or
products from the outlets of retailers.

8RETAIL MARKETING ANALYSIS
The changes that are have taken place in retail marketing are thereby based on the
communication process that is developed between the consumers and the organizations. The
consumers are currently more informed about the products and services that are being offered to
them (Panagopoulos, Rapp and Ogilvie 2017). The convenience levels and number of options
offered to the consumers are also more and the different alternatives offered to them are able to
influence the ways by which they make choice of the products. The future operations of retail
marketing is mainly expected to be related to services that are provided on-demand and the
hyper-customized concierge along with integration of entertainment, consumption and ultra-
convenience (Ramanathan et al. 2017).
Recommendations
The major recommendations that can be provided to organizations in retail industry in
order to improve the operations based on various changes are as follows,
The organizations in retail industry need to understand the needs and demands of
the consumers.
The retail organizations need to improve the service levels and communication
with the consumers.
The retail firms need to enhance the convenience levels that are offered to
customers.
Case analysis
Burberry has implemented the premium pricing based strategy in order to sell the
products to consumers in different parts of the world. Burberry has been able to provide a mix of
the high end based premium products and the low cost based range in order to attract customers

9RETAIL MARKETING ANALYSIS
belonging to different income groups. The brand has implemented technologies for the purpose
of driving the digital strategies in an effective manner. The organization has collaborated its
operations with the technology based companies in order to reach the customers faster (Shi et al.
2018). The “Burberry Bespoke” Campaign has been implemented by Burberry in order to
customize the trench coats with respect to the needs and demands of the consumers. The
customization of products has been totally based on the personal choices of the consumers
(Panagopoulos, Rapp and Ogilvie 2017).
The product named “Burberry Kisses” is mainly a range of lipstick that had been
launched by the organization with the help of a digital campaign. The millennial consumers have
been targeted by Burberry in order to offer its products The result of the collaboration developed
by Burberry with the technology organizations is based on the partnership that has been formed
with Google in order to launch the products (Burberryplc.com, 2020). Google’s facial
recognition technology has also been implemented by Burberry in order to connect and
communicate with the customers. Snapchat has been used by Burberry in order to offer the
products to millennial consumers in different parts of the world. The organization has been able
to promote the collections and fragrances with the help of its social media based communication
process (Mohr and Batsakis 2017).
Conclusions
The report can be concluded by stating that the retail marketing activities have been able
to depict huge levels of changes in the last few years due to increased use of internet and e-
commerce based activities. Burberry is a major fashion retail based organization that has been
able to change its operations in order to offer the consumers with the products that are based on

10RETAIL MARKETING ANALYSIS
their choice and demands. The consumer orientation of Burberry has also increased in the last
few years due to increased use of internet.

11RETAIL MARKETING ANALYSIS
References
Blessing, G. and Natter, M., 2019. Do Mystery Shoppers Really Predict Customer Satisfaction
and Sales Performance?. Journal of Retailing, 95(3), pp.47-62.
Burberryplc.com, 2020. Home. [online] burberry Corporate Website. Available at:
<https://www.burberryplc.com/en/index.html> [Accessed 24 March 2020].
Chen, L., Ayanso, A. and Lertwachara, K., 2018. Performance Impacts of Web-Enabled Retail
Services: An Empirical Study. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 58(4), pp.301-311.
Chou, Y.C. and Shao, B.B., 2020. Adoption and Performance of Mobile Sales Channel for e-
Retailers: Fit with M-Retail Characteristics and Dependency on e-Retailing. Information Systems
Frontiers, pp.1-14.
Friebel, G., Heinz, M., Krueger, M. and Zubanov, N., 2017. Team incentives and performance:
Evidence from a retail chain. American Economic Review, 107(8), pp.2168-2203.
Gafar, M., Ali, N. and Abdullah, F., 2017. Determinants of Customer Experience Creation in
Retail Industry. International Journal of Business, Economics and Law, 13(2), pp.11-19.
Grimmer, L., Miles, M.P., Byrom, J. and Grimmer, M., 2017. The impact of resources and
strategic orientation on small retail firm performance. Journal of Small Business
Management, 55, pp.7-26.
Groza, M.D., Locander, D.A. and Howlett, C.H., 2016. Linking thinking styles to sales
performance: The importance of creativity and subjective knowledge. Journal of Business
Research, 69(10), pp.4185-4193.