Intuition won’t get retailers to the next level, advanced analytics will

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Why retailers should invest in advanced analytics to effectively manage promotions.

Despite technology growing and evolving at a rapid pace, many retailers are still relying on intuition for promotion management. Whether they are guessing the right time to run a promotion, or agreeing on a markdown based on last year’s revenue, the fact of the matter is that this practice is neither accurate nor sustainable.

Throughout this blog, learn what practices to stay clear of and how advanced analytics can positively impact managing promotions.

So, why not just rely on intuition?
It’s worked for us in the past!

Though intuition is a great tactic for retail experts, it shouldn’t be the only tool used to make important decisions.

Now you may argue that in the past your intuition resulted in a big win for your retail business– increasing sales, boosting customer loyalty, and even attracting new customers. However, if you were to run the same promotions again the following year, the promotion is not guaranteed to be just as successful. Why? It may have had nothing to do with your strategy, but rather a lot of other factors you weren’t even aware of.

There are too many factors for your gut-feeling to digest on its own, making it critical to tap into advanced analytics to see clear data on why a promotion performed the way it did. As Bain & Company mentions, “Advanced analytics is the only way to control for the noise and tease out these questions with any degree of precision.”

Key features retailers need for advanced analytics to work well

Advanced analytics is an excellent option for retailers to consume accurate data, however, if it is not customized to YOU and the questions you want answered, the data will not be helpful.

Before diving into the world of advanced analytics, make sure to ask yourself the following:

Do we have a clear promotional objective that avoids a common bias in discounting?
Is there a clear objective of the price-cutting?
Do we have a holistic view of the discounting process?
Do we use tailored advanced analytics models to help make pricing decisions?
Are we getting enough feedback from consumers and investors in relation to price positioning and discounting?
Do we have a collaborative workflow for merchandising, pricing, marketing, supply chain teams to work together?
Do we have a way to accurately measure the effectiveness of promotions and identify the true ROI?
Do we have a way to model and predict the consumer demand and reaction to pricing and promotions?
Do we have the tools / systems in place for merchants to decide on what promotions to run that will support their business goals?

With advanced analytics, the future is now!

It’s an exciting time to live in for retailers. Rather than relying on old data, or gut-feeling for promotional management, retailers have access to fresh new approaches that are accurate and fast with the power of advanced technology.

We’re quickly seeing how analytics brings more to the table with data-driven insights that anticipate needs, mitigate risk, and optimize customer experience. Learn more about how Cognira can get you started today on improving your promotional management.

About Cognira

Cognira is the leading artificial intelligence solutions provider for retailers. Cognira is passionate about helping retailers unlock valuable, transformative business insights from their data.

We know retail. We love data.

To learn more, check out our website at cognira.com or contact us today to get started.

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