Modern retail technology has made it easier for merchants to collect large amounts of data about customers and their shopping habits. By consolidating and analyzing this information, retailers can streamline their store operations and optimize their marketing strategies. Here are three types of insights that business intelligence can provide:

• Sales trends. Merchants need to know which items are trending and predict what customers will want to purchase in the near future. Nathan Roberson, editor for The Marketing Robot, explained in Business2Community that retail reports can break down data according to many metrics, providing merchants with insights into their target markets. Upshot's trend report noted that marketing in the moment with real-time analytical information is increasingly central to business success.
• Customer profiles. Getting to know patrons helps merchants provide relevant services and improve their marketing strategies. It also facilitates personalized campaigns, which Upshot recognized as one of the key retail trends for 2014.
• Store operations. Sales and inventory data can help retailers make better decisions, such as warehouse organization, supply chain and employee performance, Roberson said. Managers can also use insights to design more effective displays. For example, they can coordinate items that shoppers frequently buy at the same time.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Monday, February 3rd, 2014 at 6:56 am .