We’re pleased that three of our Business Analysts will now be using their considerable retail technology experience and solution-generating skills in new roles. Zeb Carnell and Sophie Roberts are now Solution Architects and Sam Yu is now Data and Information Lead.
Four ways to bring Christmas cheer to your customers
Greater understanding with flexible collections
Creating groups is a smart way of analysing data.
It provides a tidy method for viewing performance of individuals, or comparison between groups. Having the flexibility to create custom collections based on any criteria is one of the most useful and powerful features in Infinity CPM.
Products can be grouped based on merchandise or promotional activity, stores based on margin performance or customers on spending habits.
Collections for any occasion.
Collections can be created by selecting items you wish to group together, or calculated based on criteria you choose, such as sales volume or price. Both methods can be used to create collections of any items, such as stores, employees, products, or customers.
To select Items for a collection, use the check mark to pick out items of interest on the fly. Or take a more structured approach and use the collection window to search for and add items based on a list or certain attributes.
Calculated Results.
Calculated collections update automatically based on the criteria you choose. For example, set a collection to calculate the staff members who have a discount rate greater than 20%, each day you come back to view this collection, it is recalculated with the latest data.
This is incredibly useful to analyse information that changes on a regular basis, such as stock that is slowing moving or dead, and products sold on discount or reduced margins.
Creating your own collections provides a flexible way to manipulate your data from any angle. This makes it easier to go beyond top-level reporting, and start to see in greater detail what is happening in your business. Think about the possibilities for targeted marketing knowing who your high-value customers are… or which customers purchased product X… or who the customers are that prefer to shop in store Y.
For more information, or training on the best way to apply the collections tool for your own situation, please get in touch here.
A head start on big data: Top Retail KPIs
How to make sense of your data with proven retail KPIs and flexible analyses
Everyone has heard about how ‘big data’ is changing the face of retail, re-defining the shopping experience, making the world a better place! Ok, that last point may be a slight embellishment, but with everyone talking about the benefits of big data, where do you begin and exactly how is it beneficial to your business?
Big data can seem quite overwhelming and intimidating, but with a little understanding and starting small, it doesn’t need to be that way. Begin with the point of sale - this is already capturing a wealth of information around what products are selling, at what price, at what times, how often, and to whom. This is data already available to every retailer, and it’s quite likely that it is being underutilised.
How is this information useful to your business? You already know retail, so data such as this is about making adjustments to what you are doing and how you are doing it in order to see measurable improvements. The timing of sales can help improve staffing decisions; product sales data gives tangible evidence to support ranging and merchandise decisions. Having the ability to visit this data consistently and easily allows you to see the impact of these adjustments and fine-tune as you learn more.
Our preferred analytics tool for managing ‘big data’ is Infinity CPM, offering the simplicity of web-based dashboards, and the complete flexibility of a customisable analytics program. Built into Infinity CPM there are proven retail KPIs and standard analyses to allow for fast deployment and immediate impact on your business. As mentioned in the beginning, point of sale information is the starting point, and as your business grows Infinity CPM grows with it, incorporating multiple data points from almost any source.
