Retail businesses are tapping into technology to transform their businesses and stay ahead of the competition. These days, it is about offering a unique, omni-channel experience, catering to social lifestyle shopping, and allowing seamless transactions using smart or mobile wallets.[1]
Retailers have to make quick and informed decisions to maximize profits and avoid potential setbacks, and only the smart use of data allows them to do that. Many retail businesses are turning to data analytics to gain insights into their business operations, learn about their customers, and better take advantage of market trends.
From point of sale (POS) information to comments on social media websites, inventory data to loyalty programs, retailers gather and store relevant information needed to customize and build preferred customer experiences and interactions.
To drive actual, actionable insights from data, retailers have to properly understand and interpret their data. JY Pook, Asia-Pacific Vice President at Tableau, offers three simple steps that can help retailers gain insights into their businesses and deliver a truly integrated, multichannel retail experience.
1)Put the data in the hands of business experts
Management teams of successful retailer businesses plan their companies’ direction based on data analysis and market information. They also hire subject matter experts—from marketing specialists to supply chain consultants—to help determine the next course of action for their companies.
These experts often do not have the skills or the time to operate traditional business intelligence tools. Most of the time, they use reports derived from data that is crunched by analysts or data scientists from the IT department. The problem is that generating these reports requires time. If the retail market moves so quickly, would these reports still be relevant when they arrive?
One way to get around this is to empower business experts with the data they need. Retailers need business intelligence solutions that allow business users to access and visualize their data in intuitive, easy-to-understand ways. They need business intelligence tools that are fast to adopt and easy to use. These tools should help business users do their job better and not burden them with an added chore.
The key is for business users to access and work with current data so that decisions can be made as close to real time as possible. Waiting for reports to be generated by another department slows down responses in an industry that continues to accelerate.
2)Enable insight at the speed of retail
Customers these days expect fast and personalized services. Many do not have much loyalty and will switch to a competitor if they do not get a satisfying shopping experience. This is especially true for online shoppers, as hopping to another e-commerce site is a matter of a few mouse clicks.
Retail business decision makers need to be able to see and understand data fast to react to changing consumer preferences. One of the ways that retailers can help business users quickly understand data is through visualization. Humans interpret visuals about 60,000 times faster than text.[2] A data visualization tool that can present complex data through charts, graphs, etc. will help users make sense of data fast.
In the Hype Cycle for Retail Technologies 2013 report, Gartner analyst Robert Hetu wrote that sophisticated yet simple-to-use data visualization tools must be added to retailers’ analytical toolkits, since these tools are required to utilize the knowledge that merchants rely on to drive analytic views of information from broad data sources.
Additionally, in the fast-moving retail industry, business decision makers need to be working with up-to-date data. Retailers can choose a data visualization tool that allows for data is to be updated or refreshed automatically once a dashboard is built. This way, business users who are working on the dashboard are assured that they are tapping on the latest available data at all times.
At Metro, one of Singapore’s largest department stores, staff use a simple data analytics tool to keep track of inventory levels. By going through historical data, they were able to discover that customers rarely buy shoes with half sizes. With this information, they lowered the orders for slow-moving shoe sizes and minimized wastage. In fact, Metro has been able to maximize profit and reduce overhead costs by optimizing their supply chain to ensure that there is a constant stock of ‘hot’ items and less of others.
3)Provide data access across multiple data sources
To accurately gain a 360-degree view of a customer, business decision makers need a cohesive view of data generated in multiple channels and delivered in differing formats.
Previously, data workers would clean and consolidate data into a data warehouse. This was a challenge because:
•Retailers need information fast. A typical data warehousing project can take a year or more. This is too long for most retail businesses.
•As the data comes from different sources, centralized storage does not mean that users will be able to access the data that they need in a timely manner.
•Data sources are continuing to change and evolve. The recent surge in mobile shopping — or mCommerce — for example, is a retail channel that was practically non-existant until about five years ago. It is now fast becoming a key channel in retail that every retail business needs to pay attention to.
Retailers need data analytics tools that can connect to and blend data from multiple sources. This helps them stay current and remain effective in the future. They also save time, as there is no need to move the data to one data warehouse. Business users can access the data that they need faster and make better, more informed decisions while the data is still relevant.
With new channels emerging and customer expectations for tailored, immersive experiences continuing to grow, the need for clear, actionable customer insight will definitely increase. Retailers that are looking to continue to remain competitive need fast, complete self-service analytics, the sooner the better.
