The Top 3 Reasons Department Stores Fail
Department stores are facing a time of change. Whether the department store can weather those changes and come out in a successful fashion depends on the decisions made by those in charge. Failure, when it happens, often is the result of losing sight of what customers want, ignoring sound management practices, or insisting on doing things the way they always had been done. Sometimes it’s all three. ChainDrive’s retail software for department stores provides the tools to avoid failure and stay in business.
Failure To Focus On The Customer
The first reason department stores fail is because they no longer offer what the customer is looking for in the channel the customer prefers. ChainDrive’s integrated retail management solution enables customer relationship management to be seamless and consistent across every channel, online or in-store. Retailers can know exactly what their customers want and offer the goods, promotions, and experiences that encourage loyalty.
Retail software Failure To Integrate Sound Management Practices
The second reason department stores fail is the lack of cash flow. Poor cash management has killed many retail businesses that looked profitable on the surface. If suppliers are not being paid regularly, a domino effect comes into play. Irregular payments lead to loss of discounts and the need for more money to pay bills. The need for more cash leads to increased borrowing with more of the costs related to the loans. Lenders like the confidence that they will be paid back and are hesitant to risk lending to a business that doesn’t manage cash flow well. ChainDrive provides the tools to practice sound business management, from inventory to budget and beyond.
Failure To Be Flexible In Response To Analysis
Identifying the problem is only the first step in solving it. The third reason department stores fail is a lack of flexibility as the market changes. There needs to be an ability to adapt to whatever the new situation is and respond with appropriate solutions. If doing things the way they always had been done is not working for the way customers shop today, the change has to come from the retailer or the customers will simply shop somewhere else. ChainDrive’s software for department store retailers is flexible and user-defined. The ability to customize and adapt to new situations is built into the platform. The professional support from the ChainDrive team provides the expertise to avoid failure and stay in business.