In this issue

Since 2010, Indian retail has centred around shopping malls, inarguably the best format of organised retail in the country. The Indian retail landscape has seen a plethora of shopping malls being launched every year since then, we now have more than 600 mallspan India with designs and brands that can compete with most global malls. However, 2020 saw the Indian Shopping Centre hitting a massive roadblock. The pandemic has been a once-in-a-lifetime test of business continuity planning for retail businesses across the globe.

The subsequent global lockdown, shutdown of all economic activities threw the retail and shopping centre industries into chaos, with only 5 malls being launched – in Gurugram, Delhi, Lucknow and Bengaluru. The growth scale became imbalanced in a matter of weeks and all predictions were disproved. Many upcoming shopping mall projects had to be stopped midway while others were permanently shelved and suffered major financial losses.

Fabric & Apparel Revenues Up In 2021, Other Sectors Follow Suit

While operating margins for spinners are likely to revert closer to pre-COVID levels, those for apparel exporters may remain marginally lower than the pre-COVID levels amid a competitive operating environment, wherein buyers could be expected to negotiate for steeper discounts…

5 mins

Permanent Shift in Consumer Behaviour Pushes Retailers Towards E-Commerce, Technology

Global retailers to focus on virtual try-on experiences, AI, technology and e-commerce to provide seamless user experience while maintaining the highest level of accuracy to the consumers…

5 mins

IKEA Focuses on Stronger Omnichannel Play, Local Sourcing in COVID Era

As a purpose-led company, during this time IKEA focused on safety and security of their people, building digital capabilities, meeting customers in new ways as the home became the center of everything in everybody’s lives. The brand aims to reach 100 million people in India online by 2022…

6 mins

Pandemic Learnings: Upcoming Mall Developers Talk Consumer Behaviour, New Mall Design

The pandemic-led shutdown of all economic activity threw the Retail and Shopping Centre industries into chaos. Mall supply was severely impacted, and the future of many projects still remains ambiguous. Those who managed to overcome the worst of the pandemic spoke to IMAGES Retail Bureau about how different the future is for them – namely, building agility and resilience to face uncertain times, being fit for growth by aligning costs with priorities and investing in differentiated capabilities and digital levers…

10+ mins

Rewarding Customers for Walking-In is the ‘IN Thing for Retailers Today'

Retail therapy is the best therapy to beat the blues. Post an overextended period of lockdown, as much as everyone seemed enthusiastic to go and shop to their heart’s content, there were many safety concerns. However, the retail community in India ensured that they not just addressed these worries but also designed enthralling marketing strategies to entice people back into their stores. Here’s a quick look at things that worked to create sales way above the expectations of the retailers…

10+ mins

Why Building Omnichannel Capabilities are Crucial for Retail Businesses

In the wake of pandemic, as digitalisation accelerates and consumer buying habits constantly evolve, the need for a sound Omnichannel strategy seems more important now than ever before…

7 mins

The Evolving Roles Of Gold Jewellery: Recent Trends & What The Future Holds

With its universal value and stature, gold is often regarded as the best investment for common people. Gold is, and will always be at the top of the pyramid, and therefore India’s appetite for jewellery is pretty considerable…

4 mins

E-Commerce Order Volume in India Clocks 36% Growth in 2020 Q4

E-commerce as an industry saw a significant uptick in demand. The last quarter showed the real reflection of changing consumer behaviour, and highlighted the actual shift to online shopping even after the lockdown was lifted...

5 mins

Phygital Retail Convention: What's Next – CEOs Talk Strategies, Solutions

Consumption is an such an integral aspect of modern lives that even a pandemic of the catastrophic proportions of COVID-19 couldn’t abate it. It did, however, create a big dent in consumer behavior and consumption patterns. Industry titans talk to solutions and strategies which can used to abate the negative effects of the pandemic…

3 mins

The Unexpected Opportunity: How COVID Accelerated the Digital Journey of Brands & Retailers Along with Customer Experience

COVID has accelerated the digital journey of brands and retailers across industries and catalyzed innovations to offer customers unparalleled assurances and conveniences. IMAGES Retail brings views of leaders in the digital space from across retail verticals on how their organisations found opportunity in adversity and created innovation benchmarks that will define their growth and leadership even beyond COVID…

5 mins

Read all stories from Images Retail

Images Retail Magazine Description:

Launched in 2003, IMAGES Retail magazine took on the task of analysing the emerging organised retail industry at a time when the industry itself had little data to work on. The magazine covers the gamut of Indian and International movements in retail technology, logistics and supply chain, store formats, store design, retail real estate, franchising and human resource, besides reporting on significant directions within India’s sunrise industry.

The magazine is widely acknowledged India’s leading retail intelligence publication for decades now, providing news, insights, research & analysis, intelligence and data covering retail operations across all Indian markets.

The mission of the monthly B2B magazine – published exclusively for the retail industry – is to bring industry leaders and brand owners up to date with the latest in retail technology & innovations, provide them with in-depth research, studies and analytical, insightful features which help them grow their businesses in India. The magazine aims to spark ideas and shape agendas for decision makers in India’s competitive retail industry.