The evolution of retailers and big data
If we consider two of the world’s tech giants today, the use and benefits of big data analytics is more relevant than ever and as a consequence, is putting constant pressure on retailers. Amazon and Uber use big data to specifically channel consumer behaviour, shopping patterns and what demands are trending both geographically and industry-specific, to sustain their dominant competitive market position.
The emergence of fin tech has disrupted businesses within the financial industry, but also in the retail sector. In fact, big data is one of the most potent tools of fin tech companies, and is becoming increasingly receptive among several industries.
Deloitte reported that 2018 has so far been a challenging year for retail stores, and studies show that e-commerce now accounts for almost 20% of retail sales, growing at ten times the rate of store sales in the first half of 2018.
Deloitte states that the consumer is in the driver’s seat, enabled by technology to remain constantly connected and more empowered than ever before to drive changes in shopping behaviour in both the physical store and digital retail landscape. 2018 is turning out to be an eventful year in UK retail.
In the history of British retail, Debenhams, a leading department store was once, among others, the definitive one-stop shop for your fashion, beauty, electrical and household needs, but now compete for a survival spot in this current digital world. Debenhams is now undergoing a complete brand restructure in order to compete with e-commerce platforms, optimise production and stay up to date on changing consumer trends.
The revamp of Debenhams is just one example of how the digital world is playing a core role in all businesses today.
The fall in profits of several department chain stores in the UK indicates that retail market conditions have changed dramatically in the past two years, whilst market study research reveals that a combination of structural change and extremely volatile market conditions have presented significant challenges for all department store businesses.
With this in mind, it may not just be banks that are looking to transition into the use of big data analytics and business intelligence tools to dive deeper into the trends and behavioural patterns of consumers.
The need for evolution and technological disruption within the retail sector opens up the wave of fin tech companies and the importance of big data analytics as it will further drive the sustainability and success of retailers. Retailers will need to keep a close watch on consumer behaviour since realising the impact that digital can have on in-store patterns.
Retail data analytics is now the new normal. The brands that have access to high-quality data, and know how to use it, are the ones that will deliver unprecedented value to their customers.
Populous World’s Business Intelligence platform
The Populous World XBRL (PXP) platform offers business intelligence solutions, and provides an easier understanding of data visualisation, which allows for a business to gain a competitive stance within their industry. With the PXP platform, users and investors can access reports, which compresses weighty statistics into digestible information.
Populous World’s business intelligence platform and the benefits of big data analytics can be used by retailers to gain a powerful advantage in a highly competitive space, enabling the following key factors:
· Assess a company’s financial performance — with this knowledge, retailers can see if competing stores are profitable and what their default risks are.
· Identify companies that have similar profiles via the ‘PXP’ heat maps; stores can determine criteria such as size, industry and location — this provides an understanding of the demographics that visit stores.
· Track stores that offer similar products to the same targeted consumer, and look at complex organisational structures in concise, simple formats.
· Access to essential company details such as background information, financial history plus relevant topics and industry news.
· With so much data available, it can be impossible to absorb and understand so much information. PXP shows your results graphically and in a compressed format to help you digest and display your research.
· Implement your results into analysis or business development projects, and helps to pin point who your customers are and what engages them.
· Import data into your own database and CRM systems, from this, stores can learn more about existing and prospective customers.
· Compare competitors against each other — with this information, retailers can use this to their competitive advantage and create new strategies for product development and expansion.
With so many benefits of big data analytics to consider, it is vital that businesses such as retailers can leverage data analytics to help connect the world of physical retail stores with e-commerce.
Lou Chan, Populous World.
