The Retailer Autumn Edition 2022

THE RE TA I L ER

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HOW DATA & ANALYTICS CAN UNLOCK SUSTAINED GROWTH FOR RETAILERS

Mike Withey Corporate Senior Vice President WNS Retail

I n a rapidly changing marketplace, speed and a data-led customer experience are essential While most senior retail executives recognise data and analytics as key strategic enablers, the investment in building such capabilities is seriously lacking. Some major retailers are practically shooting in the dark when it comes to understanding customer expectations and needs, and blowing their marketing budget in the process! A global analytics study by Forrester Consulting on behalf of WNS1 shows that companies need to accelerate their data and analytics capabilities to realise the benefits of analytics-driven decision-making at scale. We highlight the key statistics from the study and three major takeaways to consider: What Do the Numbers Say: • 70 percent of retailers agree that customer experience and loyalty are core priorities linked to topline revenue growth. No real sur prise here, particularly with the e-commerce boom lately; but • Only 46 percent of retailers are actively investing in enabling tech nology, with only 11 percent having some cloud-based analytics capability in place today; • Furthermore, 60 percent admit they face a lack of maturity in data management technology and 50 percent claim they cannot effectively process ‘big data’ fast enough; • This is a real roadblock to gaining customer insights and is some what misaligned with the desire of 73 percent of retailers to build predictive analytics capabilities to grow their retail business; • Finally, 77 percent of retailers are planning to implement Artificial Intelligence-enhanced Business Intelligence platforms (with 71 percent prioritising Speech Analytics above Text Analytics, Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning); and • To get there, 40 percent intend to use third-party service provid ers to bring in the skills, experience, cost-effectiveness and speed needed for the transformation.

3 business priorities

Top 3 business priorities

78%

Accelerate our response to business and market changes

70%

Build topline growth (e.g., expansion to new markets, revenue growth)

Improve customer experi ence and loyalty

70%

Source: A commissioned global analytics study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of WNS, 2021 Note: Retail industry respondent size, n=82

Do drawyour conclusions from the detailed study, but to save time, here are our summarised thoughts:

1. Invest Effectively in Data and Analytics Capabilities Cash, costs and margins are important for retailers. Still, a mindset change may be needed to invest in the data analytics capabilities that help retain existing customers and find newones. Look around – it is no coincidence that your major competitors are creating Chief Data Officer roles to consolidate their organisation data. They also bring ecosystem, partner, customer, supplier, marketplace and industry datasets, as well as data services and applications data, into a single view – and all on the cloud. ‘What does the data say?’ needs to be the new catchphrase because gutfeel and years of historic retail experience are proving unreliable, if not redundant. We find ourselves in uncharted territory post the pan demic, with supply chain issues, Brexit realities, inflation and interest rate rises, and even the impact of wars. Yet, organisations with advanced data and analytics maturity have seen revenue growth. Invest now. Take a long, hard look at why there is a lack of maturity in data manage ment technology and an inability to process big data. Is it people, process, decision-making structures – or perhaps politics? If these business cases are being overlooked and investment is not made, it simply needs to be addressed and fixed. New e-commerce entrants to your market are now data-driven. They know their customers and their buying habits intimately and offer a seamless, personalised customer journey. Retail startups are pricing dynamically, enhancing loyalty schemes, and even creating new revenue streams through retail media channels. This is to name just some of the value analytics brings; the list goes on and on. 2. Evaluate the Root Cause of Technology Challenges