In a highly competitive retail market, the integration of backend transactional systems with front end systems is key for delivering reliability 24/7/365. Implementing smarter, defined supply chain processes to ensure high-quality data exists throughout the complete intelligence lifecycle can help reduce operational costs and improve insights for retailers.
Shoppers are coming to expect a seamless and immersive experience tailored to their personal needs. Integration of disparate data from customer loyalty programs, third-party data sources, and purchasing behavior, in conjunction with master data management solutions, enables “one source of truth” that strengthens a retailer’s insights. Providing full transparency to the retailer on the backend with the shopping experience on the front end creates a seamless, personalized transaction for the customer.
Providing an omnichannel experience is a strategic imperative for collecting valuable data across multiple devices and entry points online, in store, and via mobile phone. Retailers who can integrate data collected by IoT-enabled endpoints with traditional business applications like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), forecasting/planning, and inventory can optimize their operations for providing an integrated customer experience.
Data visualization and data mining solutions for retail help uncover current buying habits that can be used for predictive modeling. For example, analyzing in-store foot traffic, online traffic, and dwell times helps retailers with physical/digital location and marketing strategies. When properly implemented, marketing and merchandising provides a satisfying engagement and can even be a source of revenue for retailers to charge their suppliers prime advertising space during peak traffic times.
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