Skillsmart Retail Analysis: Online retailing potential developments and its impact on people and skills
This analysis explores how the adoption of online trading has introduced new opportunities for retailers and how these might affect those who work in the sector and the skills they may need. It is based largely on secondary sources and commentary from retailers themselves.
We briefly chart how online retailing has moved from being viewed as a minority hobbyist pursuit, to one which is now a mainstream route for retailers.
Like many IT based innovations, the development of online retailing channels presents businesses with a range of new choices. In this sense, the development of the technology is a ‘driver’ helping to shape the future of the sector.
However, culture and politics in companies and of consumers will be complementary drivers and will also shape how the new technology will be applied.
We speculate that on balance the development of online retailing is likely to further increase the depth and breadth of many job roles in the sector.
Within senior managerial occupations, online retail will pose a series of strategic challenges around the role of their online trading platforms and evaluation of their success. Professional and associate professionals will also be affected as online retailing will increase the breadth of activities they have to deal with.
The fulfilment of orders will also lead to new demands. Warehouse systems may increase in their complexity. Many delivery personnel will be expected to offer more than a perfunctory drop off of the item; some might even e expected to offer advice and expertise on the product being delivered.
The blurring of boundaries between online and traditional retailing will also present interesting challenges for store managers, sales and customer service roles. Where online and traditional retail operations operate seamlessly, many employees will require knowledge of the entire range of products and services on offer and skills to carryout a wide range of processes.
Within the retail sector previous developments have focused on reducing errors. It has also helped develop job roles that rely on modest levels of skills. The development of online trading may reinforce this trend.
