analytics Archives | Tenser'sTirades

In-Store Marketing Experts Demystify the Shift to Digital

April 13, 2021 by James Tenser

THE SHIFT TO DIGITAL over the past 12 months raises questions about the ongoing relevance of stores and in-store marketing. Not to worry – even as more shoppers buy more of their goods online, stores remain the primary selling channel – for most categories.

Retail has never evolved faster. The ripple effects will continue to impact this industry for many years, even after the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic fade in memory.

For this expert roundup, our good friends at Tokinomo gathered some of the most influential voices in the industry to share what they expect is next for in-store marketing. I was privileged to participate and offer some detailed comments.

How will in-store marketers respond? My esteemed colleagues and I offer a range of observations and opinions, encompassing: “The Year Ahead”; “In-Store Promotions Tools”: “Hybrid Shopping”; “COVID-19 Impact” and more.

The discussion was a golden opportunity to share some of my best licks with some of the brightest minds in our industry. A few highlights to whet your appetites:

Why Voice Computing Standards are Needed Now: Interview With Jon Stine

April 13, 2021December 14, 2020 by James Tenser

THE RISE OF VOICE COMPUTING opens a range of innovations for consumer commerce. It not only impacts how consumers interact with digital retailers and services, but also how business decisions are made.

In this debut edition of HyTalk, we meet Jon Stine, founder of the Open Voice Network. OVN is spearheading the effort to define both technical standards and ethical use guidelines for voice assistance technologies.

Jon shares his fascinating outlook for the future impact of voice computing. We discuss its effect on every-day consumer experiences and AI-empowered commercial applications. He describes some fundamental principles and “blue sky” scenarios.

Voice Computing in the Enterprise

Most of us are growing more familiar using with smart voice devices like Alexa, Siri, and Hey Google for simple tasks. Interactions with voice assistants in the business environment are more novel, however.

A Little Problem With Big Data

June 24, 2020September 25, 2015 by James Tenser

A STIMULATING DISCUSSION in RetailWire.com this morning led me to once again think deeply about how retailers are confronting so-called Big Data and applying it to their businesses.

The question posed was an intriguing one, given the continuing hype and mysticism ascribed to Big Data over the past several years.

What is your take on the advancements (or not) retailers are making in the use of data capture and analysis? Is it all leading to significantly improved customer experiences down the road, or something less?

The responses mostly seemed to accept two tacit assumptions: One, that all store data is Big Data. Two, that the primary goal of Big Data analytics is the creation of targeted promotional offers. I have a little problem with that.

When did retail POS data suddenly become Big Data? We’ve been collecting it (and mostly discarding it) for decades. Now that storage costs have finally declined, we can capture and hold it long enough to run a few queries and design a few models. Shopper in-store data really hasn’t changed much, but our ability to mine its potential has certainly advanced.

Certainly data flows from the POS and frequent shopper programs continue to expand. There are even some new sources, like in-store shopper tracking, entering the mix. Yes there’s lots of data. But is this really Big Data?

Know Assortment. Really.

May 31, 2022December 18, 2012 by James Tenser

ASSORTMENT IS A CRUCIAL AREA of retail practice about which much knowledge is assumed, but far less is generally understood. Leading practitioners are moving swiftly to adopt superior business processes that turn assortment into a competitive edge:

They incorporate cannibalization and transferable demand in their assortment decision process.
They gauge the needs and preferences of highest-value shoppers and apply those insights to create cluster- or store-specific recommendations.

If your organization does not yet address these methods, don’t be out-maneuvered by competition that does. Learn the five key enablers for assortment optimization success by signing up for this free Webinar:

Webinar: Tuesday, Jan 8, 2013, 12:00 PM, EST

Featured speakers:

Jean-Emmanuel Biondi, Principal, Deloitte Consulting
Quentin Smelzer, Market Segment Manager, Assortment & Shopper Insights, IBM
Mark Heckman, Principal, Mark Heckman Consulting – Former VP of Marketing for Randalls and Marsh Supermarkets

Click the banner or this link to sign up at RetailWire.com: bit.ly/Xv5SBO