Retail Intelligence at the Moment of Truth: Are You Ready?
In the past decade, the digital world has accelerated the volume, velocity, and variety of data at an incredible pace. While this tidal wave of data had been somewhat helpful in our digital commerce and advertising efforts, it fundamentally failed to unlock return on investment (ROI) at the point of purchase, exactly where we need it most. Take trade spending alone, according to POI and Gartner, we spend $200 billion, nearly 20% of our gross sales, on this one area of retail execution, yet we remain almost entirely blind to what is actually happening at the moment of truth.
This is finally changing. The rise of retail intelligence technology today and in 2016 is ushering in a new era for the consumer packaged goods (CPG) world. Like the shift from warehouse audits to scanner data in the 1980s, the embrace of category management and just-in-time delivery in the 1990s, and the rise of eCommerce and digital advertising in 2000, the next transformation is here. Forget about the mostly failed promise of big data and predictive analytics, what we are talking about is timely, actionable visibility.
We have the unbiased facts and insights in real-time that allow us to see clearly, act faster, and execute with confidence in the retail environment. After 100 years of blindness, we can finally see, and those companies and individuals who lean in now and learn will create huge competitive advantage in market for both their companies and themselves.
Today retail organizations struggle to attribute even a rough return on investment (ROI) to their in-store promotion and everyday shelf health investments in spite of the myriad of existing data analytics solutions. In vain, we hope to measure the point of purchase impact through analytical means without the actual data needed to do so.
Retail intelligence technology is a game changer. The innovation lies in the on-going measurement of in-store conditions like price, promotion, on-shelf availability, and speed to shelf for new products to help drive sales, reduce cost, and fix issues on a daily basis. Even better, the on-going quantitative data and insights drive vastly improved planning and resource management over time.
This transition is happening now. The only question is are you ready? With so many consumer and economic trends challenging brands today, it’s refreshing to see one working so strongly in our favor. A trend that allows us to put a dollar in, and see three, five, or ten dollars come out.
The only danger is that we ignore it. We go on doing what we’ve always done, pretending it will all work out, or assuming things will go on as usual. This is a time to lean in, be intellectually curious, and champion a better way of doing business. Many of us will take action. Will you?
Author Note:
To hear more on this topic, sign up for the webinar that Quri is hosting with CGT. In this event, titled “Unlocking $33.5Bn in Promotion Planning Opportunity”, we’ll look at the impact retail intelligence is having on both retailers and consumer goods companies. The webinar will be held December 9th at 11:30 am eastern. To register for the event, click here.
About the Author
James Lamberti is the Chief Marketing Officer at Quri, Inc. Prior to joining Quri, Lamberti worked at IRI, Clorox, comScore, InMobi, and AdTruth. He graduated from Colby College in Maine with a BA in Economics and minor in music.
This is finally changing. The rise of retail intelligence technology today and in 2016 is ushering in a new era for the consumer packaged goods (CPG) world. Like the shift from warehouse audits to scanner data in the 1980s, the embrace of category management and just-in-time delivery in the 1990s, and the rise of eCommerce and digital advertising in 2000, the next transformation is here. Forget about the mostly failed promise of big data and predictive analytics, what we are talking about is timely, actionable visibility.We have the unbiased facts and insights in real-time that allow us to see clearly, act faster, and execute with confidence in the retail environment. After 100 years of blindness, we can finally see, and those companies and individuals who lean in now and learn will create huge competitive advantage in market for both their companies and themselves.
Today retail organizations struggle to attribute even a rough return on investment (ROI) to their in-store promotion and everyday shelf health investments in spite of the myriad of existing data analytics solutions. In vain, we hope to measure the point of purchase impact through analytical means without the actual data needed to do so.
Retail intelligence technology is a game changer. The innovation lies in the on-going measurement of in-store conditions like price, promotion, on-shelf availability, and speed to shelf for new products to help drive sales, reduce cost, and fix issues on a daily basis. Even better, the on-going quantitative data and insights drive vastly improved planning and resource management over time.
This transition is happening now. The only question is are you ready? With so many consumer and economic trends challenging brands today, it’s refreshing to see one working so strongly in our favor. A trend that allows us to put a dollar in, and see three, five, or ten dollars come out.
The only danger is that we ignore it. We go on doing what we’ve always done, pretending it will all work out, or assuming things will go on as usual. This is a time to lean in, be intellectually curious, and champion a better way of doing business. Many of us will take action. Will you?
Author Note:
To hear more on this topic, sign up for the webinar that Quri is hosting with CGT. In this event, titled “Unlocking $33.5Bn in Promotion Planning Opportunity”, we’ll look at the impact retail intelligence is having on both retailers and consumer goods companies. The webinar will be held December 9th at 11:30 am eastern. To register for the event, click here.
About the Author
James Lamberti is the Chief Marketing Officer at Quri, Inc. Prior to joining Quri, Lamberti worked at IRI, Clorox, comScore, InMobi, and AdTruth. He graduated from Colby College in Maine with a BA in Economics and minor in music.