Scrambled merchandising to upgrade the retailing sector in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Scrambled merchandising is a nationally and internationally renowned concept in the retailing sector to make life better and more enjoyable. With scrambled merchandising, retailers add goods and services that are unrelated to each other and its original business to increase overall sales and profits. Scrambled merchandising is the fastest developing retailing system followed by the majority o f retailers in the world and it is self-defense. This is a somewhat new concept to Sri Lankan retailers, therefore they are not much aware o f this concept and no research could be found in the Sri Lankan context. Drugstores, bookstores, florists, video stores, and photo-developing firms are all affected by supermarket scrambled merchandising. The research was conducted to identify why retailers in Sri Lanka tend to use scrambled merchandising and its importance to upgrade their business. The survey method was used as the main research method and further in depth interviews were held with retailers covering two provinces, namely Southern and Sabaragamuwa provinces. The practice o f scrambled merchandising concept was examined on three key variables such as customer loyalty, customer base and market share before and after the scrambling o f the businesses. The study showed that after the scrambling the businesses variables had taken a positive impact towards the business and their customer loyalty, customer base and market share have been significantly enhanced. According to the statistics, it was revealed that through a higher customer loyalty, customer base and market share, retailers can increase their sales volume and earn more profits in the long run. Accordingly, if retailers successfully follow this concept they could maximize their profits and thereby achieve organizational goals and objectives effectively and efficiently.