Running Head: BUSINESS STRATEGIES WITHIN THE RETAIL INDUSTRY

Business Strategies within the Retail Industry

Jocelyn Navarrete
The University of Texas at El Paso

Business Strategies Within the Retail Industry

In the United States, the retail industry is a very important sector of the economy that is
comprised of individuals and companies engaged in the selling of finished products to
consumers. According to the 2015 Global Powers of Retailing Report, the United States is the
undisputed leader of the retail industry. A growing number of some of the largest U.S. retail
chains have been able to be successful thanks to their various business strategies within the retail
industry. The company, Synchrony Financial, which is a consumer financial services company
headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, published an iconographic video, Female executives
are leading innovation in the retail industry and the typographic retail business article, Improve
management of retail returns for a better customer experience, written by Peter Sobotta and
published by a business magazine website, Entrepreneur. The article and the video are similar in
the sense that they both project the idea of improvement in the retail industry, but differ in
medium style, some rhetoric appeals, and the strategies to be successful in the retail industry.
Audience
The primary audience for the business article Improve management of retail returns for
a better customer experience is towards business leaders, around the ages of 24 to 60, with some
knowledge in retail industry, seeking to drive growth and success in their own organization.
Thus, the magazine website, Entrepreneur, features insight, advice, and strategy from leaders
such as Mark Cuban, Ted Turner, and Wayne Huizenga, with this approach fostering greater
reader engagement among business leaders. The website consists of publications that focus on
news and events related to the business environment. In addition, the video Female executives
are leading innovation in the retail industry aims towards an audience interested in the business
world and retail industry. As the title of the article suggests, it mainly targets female audience
between the ages of 25 to 45 years of age, involved in the business environment, seeking

Business Strategies Within the Retail Industry

innovation in the retail industry and at the same time supporting those women in the business
environment as Lauri Vela, SVP Marketing, Synchrony Financial, said When I think about
being a woman in retail Im not sure I think about gender... (0:04). The audience for this
typographic genre will not have difficulty understanding the video since the three female
executives project themselves very clearly and provide their point of views in a manner that
presents the intended message that they want about retail industry. The audience for both, the
article and the video, is directly attributable towards business leaders.
Purpose
The video published by Synchrony Financial Company, is an iconographic genre that
presents the information in a visual matter that supplements the spoken information so that it can
be understood more easily. The purpose of the video is to show how with evolving technological
landscape, companies focused on retail are in need of strong leaders who make innovation a
priority as stated by Founder and CEO of Stella and Dot Family Brands, Jessica Herrin, I have
been so lucky to be born in a place in time where the internet came into commercial use and to
be able to use it in a way that I know is making an impact in peoples lives (0:36) In addition,
the video shows the strategies used by three female executives for successful leadership in the
retail and digital age.
The business article, Improve management of retail returns for a better customer
experience, is a typographic genre that presents its information in a written manner. The
primary purpose of this article written by Peter Sobotta, is to point out why retailers need to
improve their management of retail returns within the company so that customers receive a better
quality experience and treatment when returning an item, Customers pay far more attention to a

Business Strategies Within the Retail Industry

retailers attitude toward product returns than many retailers realize. Furthermore, the article
provides the reader with alternatives and helpful steps to standing out through better
management of returns some of which include Be liberal with product return policies, creating
efficient processes for returns, and tracking and analyzing returns. The purpose of both the
video and the article is to provide the audience with helpful information that can be beneficial in
the retail industry. However, both genres differ in the sense that they focus on different aspects
of the retail industry, such as the way technology results beneficial towards the retail industry all
the way to how management skills in retail returns forms an important part of retail.
Rhetorical Appeals
The logos, pathos, and ethos are different for the iconographic and typographic genres. In
the video the audience can experience a combination of logos, pathos, and ethos. For logos, the
audience can rely on the information provided by the video because it was published by
Synchrony Financial Company. Executives from companys such as Toy R Us, Stella and Dot
Family Brands, and GAP Inc. are the speakers in the video which gives the audience that sense
of proof and trustworthiness towards the information given through the video. For pathos, the
executives give personal stories and their own points of views based on their jobs and the retail
industry in general. Lauri Vela, SVP Marketing, Synchrony Financial, gives some advice that
may appeal to the emotions of the audience: Be active listeners, be aware, be curious, be
thoughtful, and think about how you would like to be treated, and be able to leverage that as you
grow in your career (2:41). The ethos in the video delivers that confidence towards the audience
because the speakers project themselves in a very professional manner. Also, the way that the
executives are dressed in professional attire and the scenario being in an office or conference
room gives the audience that sense of credibility. On the other hand, the article relies more on

Business Strategies Within the Retail Industry

logos more than anything, but ethos and pathos can be seen in the article too. For logos, the
author provides the audience with percentages and statistics that prove his point: A staggering
88 percent of consumers say ease of returns is an important factor in choosing where to shop In
addition, the article is credible because the author uses other sources from research by JDA
Software and reports of research from Retail Consultancy Kurt Salmon Associates, to support his
information. The author uses pathos in the sense that he gives the audience his personal advice
for improvement in the management of retail returns so that customers receive a better
experience. The ethos in the article can be seen by the language used in the article and by the
way the information is organized and structured.
Conclusion
When analyzing two different genres such as iconographic and typographic each with
information over business strategies within the retail industry, the audience perceives the
different approaches each has towards building a point in retail industry. The style provided by
each genre is entirely different from one another, but in the end it is up to the audience to
determine which genre provides better information and is more beneficial towards their needs.

Business Strategies Within the Retail Industry

References
Synchrony Financial, (2015, December 8), Female executives are leading innovation in the retail
industry. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3No9Xil2VFE
Sobotta, P. (2016, January 19). Improve Management of Retail Returns for a Better Customer
Experience. Entrepreneur.