Product Management and Retailer Expectations on the Sale of Consumer Goods in Kenya

Abstract

In today's rapidly changing commercial world, 'retail design' is taking on greater importance than ever before, both in terms of selling a company's products and promoting an organization's corporate identity hence, evolution of emerging roles such as effect on pricing, product planning and development, promotion of products and physical distribution of goods. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of retailers emerging roles on the sale of consumer goods in Kenya, case study of supermarkets in Kisii town. The study employed descriptive survey. The study population was all the employees of the supermarkets in Kisii town. Data was gathered by use of structured questionnaires. Data analysis was performed using both qualitative and quantitative techniques. .The findings revealed that: the supermarkets had larger capital investment, asset value and sales turnover, the supermarkets had product specialization designed to meet the demands of their customers as per the supermarket's locality. The study also revealed that all the supermarkets used customers' satisfaction, market positioning, customers' loyalty, new products planning, product acceptance, product life cycle, supplies offering, pricing of other competitors and new technology to great extent in managing the sales of their consumer products. Based on the findings it was concluded that retailers emerging roles had an effect on the sale of consumer goods. The study recommended that although the supermarkets had larger capital investment, asset value and sales turnover, they should make more efforts to improve much more on capital investment, asset value and sales turnover for these are functions of profitability. It was also recommended that the supermarkets should carry out more research to establish diversity of the products they stock aligned alongside the customers' ever changing needs. It was also recommended that although all the supermarkets used customers' satisfaction by for example new products planning, product acceptance, product life cycle, that much more efforts should be done to achieve higher results especially in scrambled merchandizing moderately in managing the sales of their consumer products. It was also It was also recommended that the supermarkets should invest more on the following aspects which are the riders of high sales volume ; introduction of new brands related to the previous ones, adding new mechanizing not related to usual products sold, computerization of the control systems, manufacturer pricing strategies, manufacturer physical distribution standards, inventory levels, packaging, after sales services and product quality and more so in gaining new product's acceptance and margin potential of rival brands.