The Discovery Of Big Data in Retail

More than 80% of the online population have bought something online. And for very good reason. It’s easy, fast and can save the purchaser some serious cash. But with suggestions that 1.2 Zettabytes of data is now stored in cyberspace, retailers need to be proactive in managing and utilizing their data in order stay ahead of the competition. In the increasingly competitive and innovative online retail industry, retailers will need to have a Business Intelligence strategy in place in order to increase revenue and operate with more efficiency. Retailers are faced with increasing pressures to find new sales channels and to become more innovative with the ever-changing demands and requirements of the consumer. Information management (IM) and Business Intelligence (BI) solutions are now a requirement that can no longer be ignored by retail companies.

This “Discovery of Big Data” will allow retailers to make better business decisions and to better target the company’s performance goals. Business Intelligence software reports on, analyzes, and monitors vast amounts of data through it’s IT architecture that can help companies to reduce costs, increase revenue and maximize the value of their information. The applications of BI in the retail industry seem almost endless. First, companies must manage large volumes of data from many sources, everywhere from it’s physical headquarters to it’s individual branches and online stores. Companies need to integrate and cross-reference large amounts of data from multiple sources quickly and easily while identifying common relationships among the information, often in real-time, and learning how different factors have an affect on this data and the company’s bottom line. Retailers also need to analyze these various tiers of information to better understand customer requirements and behaviors. In addition, a retailer will have many people in several location, all with different skill-sets who will need to use this information for their own specific goals – including the executive who needs high-level customized summary data with drill-down capabilities, to sales support staff who need to create and design custom reports, to marketing managers who must identify market trends.

Implementing a Business Intelligence strategy allows retailers to analyze profit and loss, as well as product sales analysis, operational expenditures, and the cost effectiveness of different sales channels. Retailers can grow their revenue by identifying consumer trends and requirements and targeting the most successful-selling products. They can also reduce expenses by minimizing inventory overages and increasing store productivity, as well as improving operational efficiency and overhead costs.

Today more than two-thirds of retailers rely on business intelligence architecture for their reporting, analysis, and monitoring of corporate data. With the increasing challenges the retail industry is facing, retailers need to stay one step ahead of the competition and increase it’s competitive advantage by devising smart business solutions for better business decisions.