New Research Shows Most Retailers Struggle to Measure and Activate Customer Data Effectively
New CommerceNext study reveals importance of investing in better data analysis tools and proper talent
CommerceNext announced their most recent study data, which found that retailers are consistently dissatisfied with their ability to measure and activate data effectively, as well as its impact on marketing success and return on investment (ROI). The sheer volume of data overwhelms retailers, making it challenging to analyze and implement data-driven strategies effectively, ultimately hindering potential sales and profit growth, but by employing the appropriate tools and expertise retailers can effectively utilize its potential and leverage it to their advantage. The survey, sponsored by Bluecore, polled over 100 digital marketing and e-commerce retailers spanning 13 different product categories to delve deeper into these issues and explore the potential steps organizations can take to capitalize on the opportunities presented through effective data management.
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“In today’s economic environment, retailers that maximize more of the resources available to them, including and especially marketing data, have a competitive advantage”
As retailers continue to focus on data-driven marketing for 2023, understanding and effectively using customer data remains a significant challenge for many organizations. Respondents are particularly lacking in their ability to measure effectiveness of marketing investment in regard to customer retention, purchase frequency and lifetime value, with 80% of respondents giving their organization a grade of 60% or lower, with an overall survey grade of 48%. Overall, respondents gave themselves a 54% satisfaction grade around using customer data for new customer acquisition, with larger retailers, those with over $500M in sales, grading themselves higher at 65%, while small and mid-size retailers scored a 50%.
Respondents consistently cited better use of existing data as a missed opportunity for retailers, as leveraging existing data can lead to top- and bottom-line growth. Nine out of 10 respondents use core web analytics and behavioral data for marketing campaigns, but less than 50% use POS, price/inventory changes, or customer care interactions, a surprisingly low percentage given the potential for rich insights direct from customers. By analyzing POS data, retailers can better understand which items sell best and adjust their assortments accordingly. Retailers can also optimize pricing strategies and inventory levels based on sales data, reducing costs and improving margins.
“In today’s economic environment, retailers that maximize more of the resources available to them, including and especially marketing data, have a competitive advantage,” said CommerceNext co-founder Scott Silverman. “As this study shows, there is room for improvement when it comes to using marketing data to drive growth and we hope this study serves as a data point for retailers to direct more resources to this area.”
“Getting ahead of the customer is essential to a retailer’s ability to grow and beat competition — this requires turning customer signal into customer spend and monetizing the data they have with quicker activation into campaigns, said Fayez Mohamood, Co-Founder & CEO of Bluecore. The brands who are seeing growth right now in this environment have been able to redefine their process with this deeper level of understanding and strategy.”
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