The retail revenue has grown at a CAGR of 5.0% from
2010 to 2015. The growing influence of mobile and internet penetration has
given rise to a new way of working for the retail sector. We have seen the rise
of omni-channel retail to cater to the varied needs of the customer and close
the online-offline gap.
The rising sales number is matched by the massive rise
in customer expectations and needs. They need the triple treat of a wide
assortment of products, unmatched services, and 100% satisfaction. It is here
that retailers look for the apt solution that will help them get an unbeatable
edge in their business.
This is exactly where Business Intelligence and analyticscome
into the picture.
BI reporting solutions like Power BI produce in-depth
customer analytics reports and dashboards.
This helps the senior management to
look beyond mere numbers and get invaluable insights.
This helps serve
customers betters, make informed decisions, and create unmatched competitive
value.
HowBusiness Intelligence and
analytics power business revenues?
1 – Better assortment
visibility
An online retail business may be struggling to find
which products are a hit and which are lagging behind interms of customer acceptance.
They may want to see where the cart abandonment is atthe highest. They may want
to drill down on every impression, every click, and carry out ad attribution
for online ads shown.
All these metrics need data which is available in huge
volume. It is the smart application of Business
Intelligence and analyticsthat derive patterns and trends from mere
numbers. This helps a decision maker to get a clearer view, cut out the noise,
and look at only those numbers that are truly critical for the company’s
success.
2 – Smart advertising
You must have come across sections like ‘Products
based on your shopping history’ or ‘Users who viewed this product also viewed
the below products’ on sites like Amazon. This is nothing but a careful
strategy of Business Intelligence and
analyticsat play. So, if a customer buys a Captain America toy figurine,
he/she will be bombarded with ads around Captain America and Avenger series
toys, books, t-shirts, and other merchandise. This information about which is
the most likely product to be bought based on purchase history is a forte of Business Intelligence and analytics.
3 – Retail decision made
insightful
Did you know that most of the assortment decisions are
taken based on careful analysis of the customer behaviour and purchase trends
that are shown by Business Intelligence and analytics
tools? A real-life
case of a supermarket had changed its assortment when it saw that men are more
likely to buy baby nappies than women. As a result, they strategically placed
beer next to the nappies section. This resulted in a dramatic increasein beer
sales in the next few months. This sort of decision making would not have been
possible if not for the transformativeprowess of Business Intelligence and analytics.
4 - Personalization made
powerful
Amazon’s recommendation engine is a great example of
how Business Intelligence and analyticscan
be used to enable a better shopping experience for each and every customer
logging online to the retail website.
Macy’s is another example of using Business Intelligence and analyticsto deliver
a smart customer experience. It looks at different metrics like inventory
levels and price promotions and augments these results with the stock keeping
unit information of a given product at a given location. This helps the store
to stock a higher quantity of those products that are in greater demand at a
particular city or location. With such a degree of personalization, users will
be far less likely to see a ‘Product out of stock’ message, thus making their overall
customer experience even better.
To sign off
Onlineretailers are fast realizing that customer experience
is all that matters for their online business’ fortunes. They are increasingly employing
Business Intelligence and analyticsto
make smarter decisions. The various tools and BI technologies empower companies
to serve customers better and provide them the impetus to stick with an online
brand and purchase more from that website.
These pointers prove that BI and analytics are a true
epitome of ‘Knowledge is power’.
