The modern retail system has worked to dazzling effect. From the 19th century, store owners emerged from small beginnings to set in train an industry that has seen some operators become nationally, even globally, dominant. Along the way, they turned retailing into an art, and then a science. Now retailers in emerging markets appear to be repeating the story all over again, except on a scale and at a speed beyond anything we have seen before. Given all of this, it can be hard for those who work in retailing to accept that the industry as we know it is living on borrowed time, on the brink of transformation. There is now an urgency with which conventional store-based retailers must now act and the extent of the challenges this change represents in strategic, organizational, and above all, technological terms. Reshaping Retail sets out the driving causes, current trends and consequences of a transformation in retail triggered by technology. The changes go far beyond making items available for sale on the internet. Starting by briefly setting the historical and business system contexts for retail and describe the role that technology has played in the creation of modern retail it then explains the underlying technological drivers behind the current revolution – radical changes in the capacity of both hardware and software, mobile telecommunications changes and the advances of the Internet. Ultimately, success will hinge on more than competence; it will come down to a way of thinking. Customer-centricity will need to be valued not just by the store owner, as in the past, but also by all employees in the organization. It will need to become embedded in their daily tasks. The same applies to technology, which must be at the center of the organization and recognized as such by everyone. With a combination of extensive desk and field research, interviews with leading retailers and technologists, together with the real world experience of practitioners in this area, Reshaping Retail will inspire and help store retailers to make the necessary transformation now to win in the new consumer driven world.

This book gathers together research from three key application themes of modelling in operational research - modelling to support evaluation and change in organisations; modelling within the development and use of organisational information systems; and the use of modelling approaches to support, enable and enhance decision support in organisational contexts. The issues raised provide valuable insight into the range of ways in which operational research techniques and practices are being successfully applied in today's information-centred business world. Modelling for Added Value provides a window onto current research and practise in modelling techniques and highlights their rising importance across the business, industrial and commercial sectors. The book contains contributions from a mix of academics and practitioners and covers a range of complex and diverse modelling issues, highlighting the broad appeal of this increasingly important subject area.

Information Technology for Retail is a concise yet comprehensive book for students pursuing post- and under-graduate courses in retail management. The book elaborates functions and sub functions of retailing. These form the main part of retail operations and are being facilitated by IT these days. Beginning with the basics of information technology and information systems, the book goes on to elaborate on the hardware and software of e-point of sales, automatic identification and data capture, database management systems, network and telecommunication. It discusses retail servicescape and types of retailers, modern electronic payment systems, enterprise resource planning systems and their functions and features in the retail context. It also covers applications of supply chain management and customer relationship management, electronic commerce--e-tailing, emerging technologies like mobile computing, m-commerce, global positioning systems, and also various retail IT products and vendors. The book illustrates the theories with practical retail scenario examples. This book will be useful for retail students and also for professionals working in retail businesses.

The retail market in the UK is worth more than £400 billion annually and employs over 3 million workers, while in the US 29 million people create over USD $4 trillion of revenue through the industry. Despite the challenge to establish stores and big-box retailers, there's a rapid increase in the number of retail start-ups and consistent growth in the independent sector. From beard shops and barbers, through cafes and coffee shops, to 'retailment' concept stores and boutique consumer-focused experiences, the specialist retail sector is booming. The Retail Start-Up Book provides clear guidance and advice on how to develop a winning retail strategy that seamlessly merges online and offline tactics. Introducing the science of shopping and how to understand customer behaviours and needs, it explores the essential steps of developing a business plan, marketing and promoting a business and advising on buying and visual merchandising. Building on years of retail experience nationally and internationally, in large groups and with independent retailers, The Retail Start-Up Book meticulously provide invaluable practical insights to help new retailers hit the floor running, or more established organizations grow their business and nurture their profits.

Retailing today is one of the largest, most buoyant and most competitive market sectors. The large, medium and small retailers, providers of systems are the major players in this market. The exploitation of information technology and the use of quantitative corporate models are emerging as key factors in determining the strength and effectiveness of marketing plans and support logistics. Many major retailers have developed considerable in-house expertise in this area and many hard ware manufacturers and systems houses have created special divisions to provide turn-key installations, products and services in order to exploit these opportunities. However, in the research leading up to the seminar on which this book is based, a number of important gaps in retailer useage of systems were noted. While many retailers, including the large multiples, had very sophisticated electronic point of sales devices, the information that was available was not being used to plan effective marketing and selling strategies, nor yet to plan for growth. In the medium and smaller companies there was still concern whether electronic point of sales were cost effective for them or whether being without such aids put them at a grave disadvantage vis-a-vis their larger competitors.

Introduction to Business covers the scope and sequence of most introductory business courses. The book provides detailed explanations in the context of core themes such as customer satisfaction, ethics, entrepreneurship, global business, and managing change. Introduction to Business includes hundreds of current business examples from a range of industries and geographic locations, which feature a variety of individuals. The outcome is a balanced approach to the theory and application of business concepts, with attention to the knowledge and skills necessary for student success in this course and beyond. This is an adaptation of Introduction to Business by OpenStax. You can access the textbook as pdf for free at openstax.org. Minor editorial changes were made to ensure a better ebook reading experience. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The book includes new theory, original empirical evidence, and applied case studies synthesizing advances in innovation and technology for the retail sector. Chapters identify the challenges retailers face in response to new practices, suggesting how the sector can respond to technological developments, ethical considerations and privacy issues.