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Big retailers shift focus also to online market
Carrefour international hypermarket chain works out last details to launch an online store, being the second largest retailer making this move, after that Metro Cash & Carry broke the ice in January and started to sell its products online, the Capital publication writes.
The new realities of the digital era (the continuous increase of the degree of Internet usage, of online payments and of mobile applications usage) force the big retailers to rethink the tactic to boost turnovers, PwC partner Bogdan Belciu believes.
'The consequences of this evolution - the consultant says - are various and can be seen more and more in the consumers' behaviour, as they want to inform themselves on the Internet about the products of a certain retailer, to compare prices - therefore a growing demand for transparency - and to be able to order anywhere and anytime as simple as possible,' Belciu said.
The online retail allows the introduction of a wider and more diversified range of products and can lead to a richer shopping basket. Given that the market poses still problems to retailers and the consumers' expectations change at a rapid pace, 'we expect to see new launches of online platform of the traditional retailers in the near future (even during 2012),' says Bogdan Belciu.
The online sales in Romania account for only 1 percent of the all-in retail value, compared to the EU average of 4 percent. The degree of Internet usage is also significantly lower than the EU average (47 percent compared to 72 percent). Moreover, only nearly 13 percent of the Romanian Internet users bought products online in 2011, against an European average of 57 percent (82 percent in the UK).
Nevertheless, considering that both the degree of Internet usage and of the usage of online payments grow at a faster pace, the online trade in Romania is likely to sharply spike in the upcoming period.
'The retail is a volume business. The small retailers who are present only on the online market can survive in the medium and long term if they find a niche of products and/or services to stand out in the crowd. Particularly in the conditions of a very competitive retail market where the consumption keeps on being limited and the consumers' preferences correlate with the prices of products, is quite difficult if not impossible for an online retailer not standing out to survive,' the PwC partner points out.
In his opinion, there are clients who like the convenience of buying products online, but many prefer the online acquisitions for the lower prices, the discounts or an exclusive offer of products or packages.
On the other hand, as the competition on the online segment becomes fiercer and fiercer and the expectations of the consumers increase, the online retailers will have to invest more and more in technology (web design, eCommerce platform, mobile applications interface), in supply services of high quality, take out locations and in publicity to a certain extent.