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What are analytics and whose job is it anyway …

Why leaders must be engaged in business analytics

There seems to be two buzz phrases in the headlines these days: “big data” and “analytics”.  In working with a number of Fortune 500 clients, there certainly is no lack of data.  Executives don’t lack data; they need more business intelligence to answer some very tough business questions.  One of the hottest buttons of the C Suite today is “business analytics”.   Just what is “analytics” and whose job should it be in today’s big data world?

Harvesting Low Hanging Fruit from Out of Stocks

Why retailers & vendors must address shelf availability 

In these economic times, retailers have pressed so hard for lean inventory that now many of their high volume stores are often out of stock.  If the item is missing from the shelf, consumers are quickly turning to online retailers.  Out of stocks represent “low hanging” fruit for capturing lost sales, and profit potential without additional market spend.  As typical in retail, this sounds enticing.  But, the harvesting this opportunity requires visible inventory and collaboration between both retailers and vendors.

The Future of Retail – Assortment is Job #1

Have retailers lost the art of managing assortment?

To be fair, the new normal of retail is change at an ever increasing pace.  Retailers are not just competing in stores, but online and on mobile devices.  Yet, as many as 75+% of consumers still purchase in store, at least for consumer electronics.  In the frenzy over competing on ads, promos and price, retailers have tended to neglect their most important job of managing assortment.  If management can’t answer the basic question of why consumers shop their stores, they are in deep trouble!

Future Retail – Shopping carts spying on you!

Your shopping cart is about to become a data center

No one thinks much about the lowly shopping cart in the store.  It first appeared at a Piggly Wiggly in 1937.  For the last 70 plus years the cart has remained baskets on wheels to help customers gather goods for checkout.  All that will change when your smart cart gets its “new brain”.   The computers being added to new shopping carts will be able to customize offers … and track your every move in store!

Predicting the economy by height of stilettos

IBM research says higher the heel the bigger the fall

Now, here’s a bit of interesting economic research by IBM which identifies a leading economic indicator you may have missed.  IBM Global Business Services has identified an economic predictor based on what fashoenistas are wearing on their feet.  In economic downturns, the heights of heels on women’s shoes go up and stay up.  So, ladies do your part to spur the economy … ditch the stilettos and  go buy some flats.  Seriously, is there any science behind any of this?

5 Insights - Joint Scorecards to Improve Profit

Missing KPIs mean lost opportunities for both partners

Earlier this year IMS had an opportunity to complete a review of top US retailer scorecards.  This past week at the VCF Fall Conference there was a unique opportunity to participate in simultaneous dialog with retailers and vendors on metrics and scorecards.  The clear take away is that scorecards are far from balanced.  But, the real gain for both partners will come from joint scorecards focused on profitable life cycle management. 

ROI – Obsession or psychosis?

Proxy metrics vs. measurement design required for ROI    

It’s a tough world out there in this economy.  In order to compete on more than price, companies are trying to differentiate by investing in customer service.  Retailers are spending more on everything from hiring and training better sales people, to using social media to enhance service and follow-up.  Do investments in customer service yield a better ROI than marketing?  The slippery slope of ROI requires more than just metrics to analyze what produces an incremental gain in sales and profit.

What if you could see through consumer eyes?

Webcam lets you track what your consumers look at

Most of traditional media metrics measure reach and frequency of how many “eyeballs” might see an ad or promotion.  There is simply no way to determine what consumers actually looked at.  In the new age of social media, consumers are spending much more time online and much less time reading newspapers or watching TV.  So, what do consumers actually look at … and for how long?  New webcam eye tracking may offer marketers deep insights on how to better design online media.

Scorecards: There’s an elephant in the room

Insights from top US retailer scorecards for vendors

On behalf of VCF, IMS has just completed a review of top US retailer scorecards for vendor performance.  This week at the VCF Spring Conference I had an opportunity to share the findings with both retailers and vendors.  There weren’t too many surprises regarding heavy emphasis of scorecards on supply chain metrics.  But there is at least one, if not two, proverbial elephants in the room that need to be both recognized and addressed through partner collaboration.

Do you know these 12 amazing marketing stats?

Based on these stats you can’t afford to be traditional

Sometimes on a Friday afternoon after being on the road all week you just wonder whether it’s worth it to sit down and pound out another post for marketing on social media.  Is social media all hype, or does it really represent a major paradigm shift for marketers?  My colleague just shared an article with some amazing marketing stats that collectively represent game changers … and definitely warrant a blog post!