Will traditional retail be ever able to compete with e-tail?

MUMBAI, INDIA: Will traditional retail be ever able to compete with e-tail?

Yes, if the segment wants to sustain in the competitive landscape in the long run.

In a bid to increase competency, traditional retailers are scouting for technologies which will enable them to compete with new age e-tailers.

One of the firms helping the retailers in this endeavor is Chennai-based product company, Aspire Systems.

“Compared to earlier, when IT only managed the operations and collaborated with internal stakeholders; because of digitization the role of software has transformed from services to revenue generation and brand building,” said Gowri Subramanian, CEO, Aspire Systems.

For instance, Aspire is helping a US-based retailer to automate its mobile and Web platforms to reduce downtime. In India, it is enabling mid-size retailers focused on cost and margins with planning and optimization software.

According to Subramanian, the basic reason behind the success of e-tailers is they have thrown open their technology to the end-users. The traditional retailers are slowly following suit. “And this innovation is forcing them to turn to digital and associated technologies such as social, mobile, analytics and cloud.”

As per a report by the Boston Consulting Group and Retailers Association of India’s report titled, Retail 2020: Retrospect, Reinvent, Rewrite, India’s retail market is expected to double to $1 trillion by 2020 from $600 billion in 2015.

According to the report, while the overall retail market will grow at 12 percent per annum, modern trade will grow at 20 percent per annum, and traditional trade at 10 percent.

Yet another report by UBS said that the Indian e-tail market will grow 10 times by 2020 to $50 billion. Despite the parity, there is no denying the fact that e-tail is here to stay. And the traditional retailers will have to either catch-up or surpass their new-age rivals or perish!!