Retailers get creative: Using simple technology to generate income

Finding new, innovative and convenient ways to do things has always been a part of human nature, for example, the evolution of transportation, education and shopping.

As time progressed, so too has the modes of shopping — moving from a traditional system of bartering to mom-and-pop shops to department stores to retail in shopping malls, Walmart, Costco, Target and PriceSmart and the like.

Technological advancements have also allowed for retail shopping to take place with the click of a mouse at Amazon, Alibaba, Aliexpress, eBay, just to name a few.

TT has been pushed hard into this realm of online shopping as measured to curb the the covid19 pandemic has forced many stores to suspend their brick and mortar operations.

Store owners now have to find innovative and imaginative ways to get their products to their customers, maintain that target market and attract new audiences. This is not an easy feat, as the world wide web is swarmed with unimaginable content.

Many businesses look forward to Father’s Day sales: clothing stores, tool stores, craft shops, electronics stores, among others. But with covid19 restrictions in place these businesses have been forced to close until further notice.

Kross Fine Arts owner Kurleigh Ross who operates a Kiosk at Trincity Mall said the week leading up to Father’s Day would have been one of his busiest weeks in June.

Because of the closure, he said, the business has not been able to generate any income since May.

“Things have not been good and while there were thoughts to go online, we are still heavily dependent on the foot traffic at the mall.

“There are many other people in the same business and because we create prints on the spot, this is what we consider our competitive edge. This is how we stay effective and relevant,” Ross said.

Ross added that there was not much planning for post-pandemic as he was unsure of what government and mall owners would mandate but maintained that foot traffic was critical for his business to survive.

Tight Assets owner Marilyn Clarke said she has embraced technology to get her items to her niche market.

Clarke who had stores at Trincity Mall and Long Circular Mall had to close the branch at Long Circular Mall in 2020 because of the covid19 pandemic and lack of funds to sustain operations.

She said the venue at Trincity Mall remained opened but has not been operating since May due to government’s covid19 health regulations.

Clarke added that she has no staff and has since been using platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp to reach customers.

“I have developed a new Facebook and have been using its marketplace and it is working good for me and my customers. Regardless of if we like it or not, this is the technology that is working right now in TT because before this, we were never that online shopping type of people.

“I plan on using this and looking into other platforms that would bring the best outcome for my business and market.”

Bhagwansingh’s group marketing manager Baliram John said they were looking at ways to digitalise parts of its operations to keep people safe and make shopping easier.

John said, “We are giving it due consideration and may roll out something by September. A new website and e-commerce options would be available but because our items are irregular, things like transportation have to be taken into consideration. We have to weigh the pros and cons and see how it goes.”

The largest social media platform, Facebook, had roughly 2.85 billion users for the first quarter of 2021, according to data reports. An article by Forbes Magazine in March 2021 stated that the top five social media platforms mostly used to promote business activity are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube and LinkedIn. And making a new entry is TikTok, with its special feature — TikTok for business.

“Social media is no longer just a personal tool. In fact, its biggest contribution to the world may be in the form of commerce. These days, it is vital for small businesses to stay engaged with their audiences, and social media is one of the best ways to do so,” the article stated.

Advertising has become popular on Facebook, and it has introduced its Marketplace feature which allows items to be bought and sold through filtering results by location, category and price. It also has its paid ads feature.

A report by Hootsuite has shown that in January 2020, TT has 1.08 million internet users, an increase of 3,731 between 2019 and 2020.

“Social media penetration in TT stood at 62 per cent or 860,000 social media users in January 2020, but the number of mobile connections in decreased by 27,000 between January 2019 and January 2020.”