As the retail industry goes through a period of dramatic disruption, organizations are reinventing themselves to meet evolving consumer needs and behavior. Marsh & McLennan helps retailers achieve transformative change. By combining deep industry knowledge and state-of-the-art analytical techniques with a collaborative, hands-on approach we help organizations reduce risks, improve profitability and unlock new opportunities for growth.
Retail Perspectives
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Perspective Saving And Shrinking The Center Store: Fight Or Flight? A historically important part of the supermarket, retailers need to pose a fundamental question regarding the center store: How can innovative products and use of space continue to generate the returns of the past – or even improve on these -
Perspective Four Ways To Get Your Innovation Unit To Work Featured in MIT Sloan Management Review -
Perspective E-Commerce Success Is Killing The Economics Of Cheap Home Delivery Featured In Forbes -
Perspective Global Talent Trends Study Mindful of the human capital risks associated with constant change, organizations are realizing that people-centered transformation is the key to transferring the shockwaves of disruption into sparks of brilliance. -
Report Helping Retailers Manage Uncommon Customer Interactions Positive customer experiences are essential to the bottom lines of retailers and restaurants. But things don’t always go the way that restaurant staff and management would like them to. And it’s the negative or unusual experiences that often grab the attention of news organizations and social media users. In the latest edition of our Taking Stock series, we examine how even a single incident can cause irreparable harm to the brand of a retail or restaurant business. And we detail the steps that organizations should consider to be ready for a potential incident at one of their locations, including: •Training employees to avoid arbitrary actions and to de-escalate conflicts when possible. •Developing teams to gather facts and respond to incidents appropriately, including speaking with the media and others. •Looking to improve by learning lessons from every event. -
Report Surprises in Store "How will consumer demand for fresh fruit and vegetables shape the future of grocery retailing? Which factors will determine demand? And how can retailers meet their customers' growing demand for high-quality fresh produce? These are just some of the questions addressed in the Trend Report 2019 ""Surprises in Store"". The report was produced in cooperation with Fruitnet Media International and published at Fruit Logistica 2019, the leading global trade fair for the fresh fruit and vegetable business in Berlin. Surprises in Store is based on one of the most in-depth fresh produce consumer surveys ever conducted, research that involved almost 7,000 consumers in 14 different markets across Europe and North America" -
Perspective Regulatory Regimes to Reduce Plastic Pollution Can Extended Producer Responsibility schemes work for ocean plastic pollution? -
Perspective Managing Crowds and Other Threats During the Holidays Incidents of workplace violence are, unfortunately, not uncommon. In 2016 close to 17,000 workers in the private sector experienced trauma from nonfatal workplace violence. Their injuries required days off from work. There were also 500 workplace homicides that year, which was the highest number since 2010 and accounted for 10% of 2016’s fatal occupational injuries. While workplace violence can occur in all industries, there are some occupations that carry an elevated risk. Workers at retail outlets, bars, and restaurants are among those more prone to becoming victims of violence due to the premises’ easy and public access and constant personal interactions. With the holidays around the corner, risks increase. Financial worries and domestic conflicts tend to be magnified, while increased workloads pile stress on workers. Further, increased traffic in retail locations paired with alcohol consumption can up the risks. -
Perspective Packaging, Plastics and Understanding Your Liability Health concerns associated with reusable bags and containers -
Perspective Elevating Retail Cyber Risk Management -
Video Webcast: Climate Resilience Meeting Rising Challenge Learn more about five sources of pressure to increase climate resilience -
Perspective The Happiness Halo What do you get when you combine behavioral economics, breakthroughs in brain science and healthy doses of armchair philosophy and pop psychology? A new business mantra. Appeal to customers’ reason and they’re yours for a day. Appeal to customers’ emotions and they’re yours for a lifetime . -
Report Why tomorrow’s customers won’t shop at today’s retailers In a comprehensive study, Lippincott analyzed the major technological and sociological trends that will fundamentally change the way consumers shop and interact with brands. Synthesizing the most relevant conclusions for the retail industry, we sought to answer the question: How do retailers need to change to meet the needs of the customer of the future? -
Perspective For brand success, sometimes all you need is love Brands need to build an emotional bond with its customers; love for the brand mitigates weakness in operational performance. In other words, customers are more willing to forgive mistakes. Emotional bonds act as multipliers on everything the company does, giving a greater lift from the same customer experience. Whether it’s financial services (America’s USAA or the U.K.’s Nationwide), retail (Amazon) or entertainment (Disney), it’s possible to build an emotional bond. -
Report Retail's Revolution The Future Is Here Retail is about to go through changes that could dwarf its previous revolutions. Customers are no longer satisfied with just goods; they want experiences. Physical stores are no longer needed to store products; but they are playing crucial new roles. And a retail start-up need no longer be just a new store; it can be software that facilitates new ways of shopping – globally. Are you ready? -
Report Experience Innovation Do you think of new technology? Flashy add-ons? Trendy menus? Today’s product innovations, like the growth they generate, are often incremental and fleeting. R&D spending rose 5.1 percent in 2015 and yet revenue for the same companies increased less than 1 percent.* Technology diffusion and globalization are making it harder than ever to stay a step ahead of the competition. And, the radical transparency of the digital world favors “Excellent” reviews over brand loyalty. So what are today’s best, most innovative brands doing to stay distinct and relevant? They’re diving into the experience.