Most of us can probably agree that shopping at a physical store just isn’t what it used to be.
For starters, that’s because there are just fewer stores around.
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Many small or local stores closed during Covid, leaving sizable vacancies for larger corporate incumbents to scoop up.
So, when we actually do go shopping at a physical business, it’s more likely now than ever before that we’re visiting a Walmart, Target, Costco (COST) , Home Depot, or other national brand.
While it might be hard for business owners, this isn’t the worst thing in the world but customers.
These big box stores offer so much variety, it’s hard to complain about just popping into one store for everything you need.
This is especially the case at Costco, which sells everything from diapers to diamonds.
The warehouse club prides itself in its variety.
You could easily spend a half (or full) day wandering through its aisles, trying its various samples, and finding the best possible deals on a multitude of consumables without ever having to visit another store.
This is great for people that have access to a Costco nearby.
But Costco knows it must ramp up its e-commerce capabilities to stay competitive.
Costco bets on e-commerce
Costco’s website and app are some of the most frequented e-commerce platforms for good reason.
They offers deals on all sorts of items and experiences, but some folks have found issues with the platforms.
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Sometimes, top-selling items are out of stock more often than not.
And some people find the app hard to navigate.
So Costco is opening up a Global Capability Centre in India where employees will work behind the scenes to make online faster and more user-friendly.
The efforts should help keep items in stock and streamline supply chain processes.
The Global Capability Centre will open up in Hyderabad, India and employ about 1,000 people.
The center is the first of its kind for Costco and is designed to help make online shopping easier for customers.
Global Capability Centers are growing
Costco is hardly the first corporation to employ a Global Capability Center to make its operational processes easier.
Top consumer-facing companies like Walmart, Target, and McDonald’s, plus top banks like JP Morgan Chase also use GCCs in India.
Costco hopes its Global Capability Center will make online ordering faster and more satisfactory for shoppers.
Employees will be tasked with personalizing data to help target certain customers with promotions, which should in turn convert to bigger sales.
The center will also help to make deliveries happen faster, which will help Costco compete more effectively with Walmart and Amazon, since the two retailers are celebrated for their speedy same- or next-day deliveries.
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