BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE/ANALYTICS

Digitally-savvy customers will be contributing to a high volume of holiday traffic — and they have high expectations for retailers.    Seventy-six percent of U.S. consumers expect their interactions with a brand to be easy, according to “The Holiday in July 2017 Holiday Retail Outlook” report from Alliance Data  This will be a mantra this holiday season, regardless of the channel shoppers use to connect with their favorite retailers.  

The newest batch of start-ups are making their way to Minneapolis for the second annual Target + Techstars retail accelerator program.   After receiving applications from more than 3,000 technology start-ups — 70% of which had a co-founder who is either female or comes from an ethnically diverse background — Target whittled the list down to 10 finalists for this year’s tech accelerator. Companies range from online advertising to rebates to clothing alterations, and hail from Minneapolis to as far as Belgium.

Businesses are eager to better serve their clients, but most lack the skills, processes and technology needed to leverage data effectively.   In fact, 61% of U.S. companies agree that inaccurate data is undermining their ability to provide an excellent customer experience, according to “Investing in Digital Transformation: The Year’s Most Sought-After Data Roles,” a report from Experian Data Quality.  

West Elm is upping the ante on how it recommends merchandise to customers.    The company, a division of Williams-Sonoma, introduced a new online tool that utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) to detect customers’ style patterns and connect them with products they can buy at West Elm stores and online. Called the Pinterest Style Finder, the tool is powered by Clarifai’s image and video recognition AI technology.  

The brand best known for its smiling pink whale logo is improving pricing, design and buying decisions by using an innovative data source.   By partnering with First Insight, Vineyard Vines will leverage the company’s online social engagement tools to gather real-time product pricing and sentiment data from its customers. This information will then be analyzed by First Insight’s predictive models.   

While Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods Market signifies a staggering boost in its physical store breadth, the deal is much more valuable than that.   This is according to “LandMark Insights,” a report from PlaceIQ. The study analyzed more than 165 million anonymous and opted-in mobile device signals nationwide to determine visitation patterns and audience affinities, among other metrics. These transactions were compiled over a 90-day period.   

With plans to expand its commitment to the health, beauty and personal care categories, Fred’s Pharmacy is stepping up its analytics strategy.   By leveraging its 15-year partnership with Nielsen, Fred’s will extend the company’s data insights and analytics services across its 601 stores in 15 states across the southeastern U.S., as well as in future stores. Specifically, the chain will be poised to step up market measurements and consumer targeting services.  

When Chico’s FAS wanted to put the “customer’s voice” into the merchandise it designs, it took a bold step — and tapped social media.