The retail business has come to stay because “The reality of the Nigerian consumer is that an average household spends 60-70% of its monthly spend on food and beverage consumed at home which is estimated at $211 billion annually” – Michael Ch’udi Ejekam, a retail business analyst.

The retail market has become complex as consumer interests have slightly changed, thus forcing retailers to re-strategize. We are in a generation where everything is going so fast. Almost everyone out there wants to do everything as soon as they can. Shop as soon as they can and move on to other things.

Owning or running a retail business means you have to do your best to improve your customer experience. In the past, people were more interested in ‘slow and steady”. Physical shopping was more of a fun activity and family bonding activity, you could afford to be lax on delivery and convenience of shopping.

With the new turn of things and customer expectations, a retail business, be it small-scale, micro business, a large-scale or online business cannot be run without proper management of time, human resources, finance /money, updated technology, new and creative ideas, and effective customer service.

An efficient businessman does not only lure new customers but also maintains his/her old customers. By providing the best of goods and services, according to the current demands and needs of his customers, he increases his profits. Losing a customer can be a setback because one unhappy customer can turn down a lot more customers. (see our post on customer service – link to the post)

Everyone wants to buy from a business that speaks ease and convenience while providing a good product, this is the reason more consumers are embracing the online retail business, therefore owning or operating a retail business means you have to consistently go above and beyond to meet and exceed your customers’ expectations.

A consumer who is already having a busy and stressful day, such as one living in Lagos would not want to go through the hassle of visiting a retail store before having to access the goods they need and as such would prefer to shop from one that offers on-demand, last-mile delivery.
Large online retailers have caught this “Rhema” and are fast implementing systems that would improve their customer experiences and convert their one time buyers to evangelists.

A closer look at customers’ demands shows that they are not just interested in getting amazing speed on delivery, but also the quality of delivery. No one wants to get orders that have been tampered with in transit. This goes to say that for a retail business, to satisfy your customers, you have to be particular about who does your delivery.

You might have the best product and customer service in your store but if you engage a delivery service that does not communicate what you represent to a first-time customer, then your chances of losing that customer and those in his/her network are very high.
This means that to stay at the top of the mind of your customers and get them to keep coming back to buy from you, you have to liaise with the best delivery and logistics companies in your city.

At Kwik, we have devised an on-demand last-mile delivery system that makes it easy for you to get your products (make-up, food, clothing and accessories, etc) delivered to the doorstep of your customers in less than two hours. Our app (insert a link to download the app) has been equipped with a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to navigate, relieving you of the time you would usually spend getting other logistics or delivery companies to process your order. This means that you can save time and resources, while simultaneously delivering good customer service.
What an effective way to run your retail business!