Power of analytics set to drive omni-channel growth
The future of retailing is all about delivering the optimum omni-channel experience. It is the natural evolution of multi-channel retailing and concentrates on delivering a seamless and consistent customer experience through all available shopping channels from internet devices, including mobile, to bricks-and-mortar stores. Commentary by Graham Wallace, Esri
What’s driving today’s approach is the emergence of Big Data analytics. A treasure trove of information can now be captured through technology-enabled tools, including social media, and the ability to analyse this provides retailers an unprecedented level of detail around the sequence in which customers engage with them and the manner in which they do so.
Indeed, the latest analytics technology will be key in enabling forward-looking retailers to achieve the service levels and omni-channel support they need to out-perform their rivals and to create barriers to entry for future would-be competitors.
They need to have systems in place that enable them to assemble information from multiple sources and feeds and then to present it in an accessible way to decision-makers across the business. More important still is the intelligence this data can give them in terms of prioritising their future investment. They need to know the typical buying sequence that different kinds of customers undertake, what tasks they conduct online, through mobile devices, or in-store and how long each stage in a transaction takes. This provides options to accelerate the process.
There are issues of data privacy and anonymity to be considered – but the potential of this development is huge. Many leading retailers are already taking advantage of the Esri Retail Platform to visualise, analyse and respond to cross-channel data.
Making sense of Big Data about where and when customers use which combination of channels is fundamental to driving sales in the omni-channel world. In many ways this single view of the customer is the holy grail of insight for the retailer, enabling them to make more robust decisions about how and where to prioritise their investments, be it bricks and mortar, online, or a combination of both.
