Predictive Analytics

If you’ve been following any recent mobile developments, you know that beacons aren’t just the next big thing – they’re here, right now. Ever since Apple introduced their iBeacon technology, the buzz has been getting louder, and in the last few months, more and more brands and businesses have been experimenting with them.

Franklin, Tenn. – Retailers lose $1.1 trillion worldwide due to inventory distortion. According to new research from IHL Group, by fixing problems such as out-of-stocks and excess inventory from overstocks, retailers could improve their revenues by 7.5%.

The combined cost of poor merchandise planning alone equals $452 billion. Inventory distortion costs retailers nearly $158 for every person on the planet, and $252.2 billion annually in North America. The Asia/Pacific region contributes 39% of all inventory distortion.

Minneapolis – Christopher & Banks Corp. swung to a net loss of $1.4 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2015, compared to net income of $2.6 million the same quarter a year earlier. Total costs and expenses exceed net sales of $91.62 million, which was an 11 % drop from $103.37 million, while same-store sales dropped 11.7%.

During the second quarter of fiscal 2015, Christopher & Banks expects to open one new Missy, Petite, Women (MPW) and 14 new outlet stores, and also close one CB store and convert seven others to MPW stores.

State College, Pa. - Consumers are spending 5% less time in supermarkets, compared to the previous year. Concurrently, the sixth annual C-Store MegaStudy from VideoMining Corp. found that shoppers' time in convenience stores increased 6% from the previous year.

VideoMining integrates behavioral data with a range of other data sources, including transaction data and exit interviews. In the C-Store MegaStudy, for example, this integration showed a correlation between time in store and average dollar basket size, which grew by 9%.

As newer and more improved technologies continue to create an overwhelming amount data, the ability to manage this data efficiently and cost effectively is no longer an option; it’s an absolute necessity. But big data is still causing major headaches for organizations that don’t have a plan in place.

We are in a golden age of big data and analytics in which technology enables retailers to be more lean, efficient and competitive than ever. There are companies with solutions that address everything from pricing optimization and marketing effectiveness to optimal modular assortments and cybersecurity threats.

Brooklyn, N.Y. – Etsy Inc. reportedly employs Big Data and artificial intelligence systems to better target individual customers with personalized offers. According to the New York Times, Etsy uses tools including an open source machine learning framework called Conjecture, as well as an open source Apache solution called Kafka and in-house Hadoop, to monitor real-time data for fast processing and storage.

American Signature is expanding an in-store tablet technology initiate running on the CloudTags platform after a pilot program yielded impressive results.

American Signature, operator of 124 stores, is using the CloudTags technology solution to allow customers to seamlessly shop online and in-store. Customers are offered a CloudTags-enabled tablet upon entering the store and tap on special product tags placed on each piece of furniture throughout the showroom.

Today, CEOs and corporate board members of retail chains must run simply to stand still. Executives of publicly traded retailers face intensive pressure from activist investors to quickly and decisively increase shareholder value. Activists are known to secretly accumulate a significant stake in a company and without notice blind side the CEO with risky restructuring plans, force firms into unwanted mergers to removing board members and CEOs that disagree with their speculative strategy.

San Jose, Calif. – Retail sales dropped 7.6% in May 2015 compared to the same month the prior year. According to the monthly Store Performance Pulse from store analytics provider RetailNext, a 9.8% decrease in traffic and 8.3% drop in transactions drove the sales decline.

Much of these declines were concentrated in the third week of the month, leading to an earlier-than-usual Memorial Day weekend.