The latest report from Retail Systems Research (RSR) reveals that retailers still want their Business Intelligence (BI) and analytics as quickly as possible, but they can’t react quickly enough to the data they uncover. For the fifth year they have conducted this study, RSR’s research shows that among retail “winners,” those companies that consistently see a store/channel sales improvement, gathering timely intelligence is still the biggest challenge, but then determining what to do with that data and how to react is their second biggest challenge:
RSR’s fifth annual study of the subject retailers reiterates that the need for speed remains the most frequently cited business challenge driving the need for new BI and Analytics. But while average and laggard performers are concerned that don’t get information quickly enough, most Retail Winners worry that they are unable to react to what it reveals quickly enough. For most retailers, “consumer grade usability” has become the order of the day, as many retailers seek to use “smart” mobile technologies such as the iPhone and iPad in their operations.
The ability to act on customer-critical data in a timely fashion is what keeps smart retailers ahead of their competitors. Even with the best business intelligence, it’s difficult to identify the retailer’s best customers quickly enough to map to their changing needs:
This is problematic, given that most small and mid-sized retailers attempt to differentiate through knowing their customers and the products they prefer. Without a proper BI infrastructure and tools, they may find themselves losing their most important advantage against their larger competitors. When Amazon.com knows your customers’ preferences better than you do, a local retailer is in serious trouble.
The report also notes that retailers need to change the way they access BI. Consumers are ahead of store managers when it comes to data
access, since consumers can get most of their shopping insight from their smart phones. As the report states, “Store Managers and employees must be armed with up-to-date information, and can’t be expected to sit at desks or pore over reports while customers wander around the store, smart phones in hand.” However, a number of vendors (including Groupsoft) are emerging with mobile BI applications that will put vital analytic information at store management’s fingertips while they are on the store floor.
And one of the biggest operational impediments to gathering and applying BI is information silos. Seventy-five percent reported that siloed
information and legacy systems that make it difficult to share information was one of the biggest impediments to delivering next-generation BI capabilities. The retail winners are learning hot to adapt with operational unites that work cohesively together; 25 percent fewer winners cited organizational silos as a significant challenge.
The good news is that more retailers are looking to undertake technology pilot projects. They are working on more pilot projects to demonstrate the real ROI from BI, with strong executive-level sponsorship.
