Saks and First Insight team toward investment guidance solution

Pittsburgh -- First Insight said Thursday that it has forged an agreement with Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5TH to provide predictive analytics generated from online consumer engagements to help the outlet retailer make faster and more accurate buying and pricing decisions for new products. These decisions are designed to reduce markdowns and out-of-stocks, as well as to mitigate risks associated with new product introductions.



In partnering with First Insight, Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th is seeking to gain strategic investment guidance on new fashion apparel products and design concepts. The First Insight solution uses online social engagement tools to gather real-time preference, pricing and sentiment data on Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th’s new products. This information is filtered through First Insight’s predictive analytic models to determine which products present the greatest opportunity.



Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th is currently using the First Insight solution to evaluate a variety of footwear lines.



“The First Insight solution is helping us predict how new products will perform,” said Rob Wallstrom, president of Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th. “First Insight enables us to allocate our inventory by applying useful consumer-sourced information to offer our customers the best product available. Our trial with First Insight was successful, so we decided to move forward with the solution.”