The Retailer Winter Edition 2023

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this year.” ‘‘

Open data sharing will bolster disrupted supply chains As retailers strive for just-in-time and just-in-case fulfilment to combat shortages and oversupplies caused by supply chain disruption, brands and CPG companies will double down on open data sharing this year to help reduce and even avoid these extremes – building greater supply chain resilience and driving sales. The ability to enable frictionless data collaboration without moving or copying data is transforming how data is used across retail – helping optimise stock levels and ensuring the right products are available when and where customers want them. These data-sharing collaborations between retailers and CPG organi sations are helping reduce oversupplying while offering more products to customers. It’s something grocery retailer Albertsons and food man ufacturer Kraft Heinz have used to great success, sharing data between their organisations to reduce out-of-stock items by 20%. A cloud data platform could be your best investment this year While these five predictions hold significant growth and CX potential for retailers and CPG organisations, they also all have one thing in common: they rely on accurate and timely data. One thing for certain is that maximising cloud data platform investment is an ideal way to tackle market fluctuations and deliver enhanced, person alised, and more immersive customer experiences in 2023 – and beyond.

The ability to report, compare, bench mark, and analyse ESG performance against predefined goals will be critical

More brands will experimentwith data tracking to measure sustainability As shoppers become more ethicallyminded and demand detailed product sourcing information, retailers have made substantial efforts to highlight their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals to customers, investors, and the wider market. While there’s no silver bullet solution for tackling sustainability, the ability to report, compare, benchmark, and analyse ESG performance against predefined goals will be critical this year. This is because, despite economic headwinds, the most savvy retailers and CPG businesses will maintain and even increase their focus on sustainability, tying goals to consumer sentiment and even executive compensation. For example, I predict we’ll see companies experiment with new track ing metrics – such as the percentage of empty space in ecommerce packaging and how to reduce returns. We’ll also see a significant rise in organisations looking to enhance how they use data platforms to measure and communicate their progress in meeting sustainability goals.

Paul Winsor