UXBRIDGE, U.K., November 25, 2015 – The vast majority of European retailers (91%) predict that, over the next two years, better use of Big Data analytics will bring even closer engagement with customers in the retail and consumer space.
With competition among both online and offline retailers continuing to grow, it is perhaps unsurprising that almost two thirds (60%) of firms - according to a Xerox-commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting - are looking to develop more tailored customer-focused offers to generate business.
To meet this objective, 43% of retail and consumer organisations intend to use Big Data intelligence to build real-time, contextual and targeted marketing offers. In the next twelve months, 41% will be using this data to produce better online shopping experiences also.
The most pressing plans for using Big Data in the immediate future:
- Improve customer engagement by providing a ‘single view’ of the consumer across multiple channels. Over half (53%) will incorporate more customer data into the call centre in the next 12 months, ensuring that agents dealing with customers on the phone have greater opportunities to provide the right answers.
- A similar number (51%) want to use Big Data for better matching of merchandise across all channels, meaning that shoppers encounter the same information and offers for products no matter whether they choose to shop in-store, online or via social networks.
These findings come from 70 large retail and consumer firms, interviewed as part of a wider research study conducted by Xerox, titled ‘Big Data in Western Europe Today’, which analyses the opportunities that come from incorporating a clear Big Data strategy into the retail mix to provide more offers that the shopper actually wants to see.
“Retail and consumer organisations certainly recognise the value data-driven insights can bring to help their business work better, both from a customer experience perspective and in relation to their all-important bottom line,” said Craig Saunders, director of Analytics Resource Center at Xerox Consulting and Analytics Services. “Big Data has a distinct role to play in unlocking crucial insight into individual shoppers, generating information that could make or break firms in the battle for the hearts and minds of their customers.”
Data Leadership Summit
As part of a panel discussion at the flagship Data Leadership Summit held at the Hilton London Kensington Hotel, Saunders will discuss the importance of analytics and intelligence in the enterprise including how businesses should take advantage of Big Data insights. Saunders’ session – titled ‘Where’s the Business Value?’ – will take place on 26th November at 11.50.
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About Xerox
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Media Contacts:
Sonia Panchal, Xerox
+44 (0)1895 84 2877
sonia.panchal@xerox.com
1About the Study
Definition: Forrester defines Big Data as a set of methodologies, processes, architectures, and technologies, where specific hardware, algorithms, knowledge or processes beyond the standard techniques used in data analytics are required to deal with data of large volume, velocity or variety of data in order to obtain value.
In this study, “Big Data in Western Europe Today”, Forrester conducted an online survey of 330 senior business (CEO, HR, Finance, and Marketing) and IT decision-makers in Retail, High Tech, Industrial and Financial service organisations in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK. The study was completed in January 2015.
The study refers to 'data maturity' groups: the Datarati, Data-explorers and Data-laggards. These groups were determined by scoring the survey respondents on the level of agreement they gave to a set of statements about their big data and analytics capabilities.
The Xerox report on the study can be downloaded from here: http://xerox.bz/1cADdoU