Omni-Channel Retailing in India: A new buzzz…

Retail has undergone significant changes in the past few decades to adapt to the rising expectations and needs of today’s digital consumer. The key challenge is in presenting the consumer with the most relevant content and in building a more personal, one-to-one relationship.

Omni-channel retailing is slowly catching the fancy of Indian retailers, as more and more consumers are embracing digital technologies into their buying behavior. Omni-channel retailing is all about providing this ‘anytime, anywhere’ shopping experience.

It is still in the nascent stage in India as one of the key challenges retailers who embark on Omni-channel initiatives encounter is establishing a unified organization strategy and roadmap. Retailers need to bring together different functions for this. Multiple functions – merchandising, supply chain, stores, and marketing – will undergo changes in operations and will need to adapt.

In the near future, retail in India will be driven more by structural changes and changes in policies and regulations that will enable Indian and foreign retailers to grow and expand across urban and rural markets.