Analytics

The COVID-19 pandemic, and resulting store closures, drastically changed how retailers operate and interact with shoppers. Now, social distancing and phased re-openings around the globe are having continual impacts on consumer behavior. To navigate the ongoing upheaval, retailers need to supplement historical data with fresh insights, allowing them to better strategize with near real-time decision…

The holiday season is ramping up with a bang. And it will be a holiday season like no other. People will shop more because they're at home. People will give more gifts because they won’t be able to travel to see family and friends as the pandemic drags on without an end in sight. People…

Despite the sweeping changes the pandemic has made to our economy, today’s e-commerce brands are well-positioned to capture — or recapture — shoppers just in time for the holiday shopping season. During the pandemic, retail giants such as Amazon.com and Walmart reported astounding growth in e-commerce sales as consumers used online shopping as their new…

Up until the past year or two, most efforts with artificial intelligence (AI) in retail fell under the umbrella of “optimization.” For example, on the advertising side, AI is used to optimize ad placement, content and delivery based on various AI-reviewed inputs. For the online shopping experience, AI-powered tools provide retailers with product recommendations to…

While COVID has been an “unprecedented disruption” for business and consumers, it’s clearly been an accelerant for existing trends. For retailers, this includes “Retail Darwinism.” Retailers filing for bankruptcy is nothing new, but regardless of a vaccine or another “unprecedented” event, failure to understand the context that made COVID exacerbate retail’s challenges will only leave…

Consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies should be eager to reclaim the customer relationship from retailers and innovate through strategies such as direct-to-consumer e-commerce, especially given heightened urgency resulting from COVID-19. Strategically collecting and understanding customer data creates value for all parties through direct feedback on consumer behavior. Consumers are better understood and served, while CPG…

The retail experience was undergoing a transformation even before the current pandemic forced massive changes in shopping behavior. A 2019 survey revealed that 92 percent of 1,400 retail leaders identified "reinventing the customer experience" as their top business priority. However, with the new reality we’ve all been forced into, the stakes for retailers are higher…

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, a retailer’s ability to operate safely depends on the dual effectiveness of its social distancing measures and sanitation protocols. It’s the new reality of 2020, which only intensified with the resurgence of the virus across the U.S. in July. That showcased exactly why retailers must have the right precautionary measures in…

Disparate systems and siloed data make it nearly impossible for retailers to effectively run analytics that provide insight into the business and its customers. Modernizing legacy infrastructures and moving data to a centralized location within a cloud platform lets retailers reduce IT spend (from costly maintenance), leverage advanced technologies to transform structured data into actionable…

Retailers are strongly committed to leveraging innovative technology to create a meaningful experience for their customers — particularly as more customers interact with them digitally. Think about all of the companies that enable you to order items online and pick them up in-store, order food through mobile apps, and/or watch video via streaming services. These…