AWARENESS, AGREEMENT, SATISFACTION AND FUTURE EXPECTATIONS ABOUT ADOPTION OF TECHNOLOGIES IN THE SELECTED RETAIL STORES OF GUJARAT STATE: FROM CUSTOMER’S VIEWPOINT

Abstract

Indian retail industry has emerged as one of the most dynamic and fast-paced industries due to the entry of several new players. It accounts for over 10% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and around 8% of the employment. India is the world’s fifth-largest global destination in the retail space. India ranked 73rd in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's Business-to-Consumer (B2C) E-commerce Index 2019. The sizeable middle class and nearly unexplored retail market in India are the main enticing factors for international retail behemoths seeking to move into newer markets, which will help the Indian retail business grow more quickly. The urban Indian consumer's purchasing power is increasing, and branded goods in categories like apparel, cosmetics, footwear, watches, beverages, food, and even jewellery are gradually evolving into business and leisure that are well-liked by the urban Indian consumer. The retail sector in India is expected to reach a whopping US$ 2 trillion in value by 2032, according to a recent analysis by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Increasing purchasing power of consumers has led to growing demand in Indian retail sector. According to the Retailers Association of India (RAI), the retail industry achieved 96% of pre-COVID-19 sales in September 2021, driven by the rising demand from consumers in Indian retail space. And due to that India’s retail trading sector attracted US$ 4.11 billion FDIs between April 2000-June 2022. Online retail market in India is projected to reach US$ 350 billion by 2030 from an estimated US$ 55 billion in 2021, due to rising online shoppers in the country. Online penetration of retail is expected to reach 10.7% by 2024 versus 4.7% in 2019. The present study tries to study Awareness, Agreement, Satisfaction and future Expectations about adoption of Technologies in the selected Retail Stores from the viewpoint of Customer’s residing in Gujarat State. After research on Customers’, the study identified that Customers were least aware about Vending machine. Customers mainly preferred technology implementation because it “saves the time” & provides them “better customer service at an affordable price”. Customers were satisfied about various retailing technologies but they were still not satisfied by Credit Card security as it creates privacy issues in the mind of them.