Through a special arrangement, what follows is a summary of an article from Retail Paradox, RSR Research's weekly analysis on emerging issues facing retailers, presented here for discussion.
In our most recent merchandising research, retailers tell us that they are hyper-aware that many of the legacy technologies they've been using for years are in dire need of a refresh. However, some very interesting things emerge when we look at just how differently the best performers view merchandising technologies in the first place. It is quite staggering, in fact, just how much more value best performers find in these tools — even the oldest of them — and their ability to help put a relevant product mix in front of the consumer (and at the highest margin possible).
What makes this data all the more compelling is that when compared to the overall response pool, those whose sales are already performing best are the only ones who see the light. Consider the following points as they relate to movement from last year to today:
Source: RSR Research, February 2015
- The overall response group's interest in web analytics is falling off the table (39 percent in aggregate this year compared with 47 percent last year). The fact that 59 percent of "winners" see this as a highly valuable technology set should be a serious wakeup call for average and lagging retailers.
- The aggregate response pool's interest in optimization of assortment against key customer segments has also fallen: from 63 percent in 2013 to 51 percent today. Yet winners' attentiveness to gathering as much information from web activity as possible is climbing every day. This is no happy accident.
- In fact, of the myriad options we provided, only one has gained favor among the general response pool. Markdown optimization is up to 57 percent among the aggregate from 50 percent last year. But that statistic absolutely pales in comparison to the 79 percent of winners who see markdown optimization as a way to maximize any mistakes that invariably occur within their product mix as being vitally important. For winners, it is the single most valuable tool in their merchandising arsenal.