Retailers, just like any other company, seek to analyze the proclivities and tendencies of their customers. In order to ensure that this data is pertinent, traditional metrics such as average order value, conversion rate, purchase recency, and purchase total are tracked. Retailers use these measures are to gain valuable insights into what their customers are purchasing — and just as important, why the customers are choosing the given products. Retail analytics are a valuable tool that can assist retailers improve their relatively thin profit margins. Below are some of the newer technology-based retail analytics that are propelling retailers into the 21st century.
Video Retail Analytics
Video analytics are rapidly becoming widespread in the retail industry. The reasoning for this mushrooming rise in popularity hinges on the wealth of data that is gleaned from video surveillance. This form of video analytics enables retailers to gather vital information about their customers, what impact different marketing and merchandising efforts are having, and the root reasons for “shrink” and related issues.
Retail Tracking and Preventing “Shrink”
“Shrink” is the term common to the retail sector that refers to losses caused by shoplifting, as well as employee theft. Retailers that have gone to fully automated inventory tracking systems are able to access up-to-the-minute analytics to determine where their inventory is, and to deduce possible causes of discrepancies.
Catering to the Customer
Arguably the most dynamic manner in which technology-based retail analytics has helped the retail industry relates to providing a tailored, personal customer experience based on the past trends and propensities of the individual — referred to as data analytics and business intelligence. This factor especially comes into play when considering the ubiquity of mobile devices. Customers visit retailer, pull out their mobile devices, and proceed to convey a wealth of valuable data in the form of apps used and website accessed. The retailer that is able to capitalize on this technology happening under their roofs is definitely going to have a stark advantage over their counterparts who aren’t exploiting the same technology.
Customer retail analytics have always existed. However, with the rapid advance of technology, these analytics and metrics have the potential to become exponentially more powerful (and therefore profitable) to the retail sector.
