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In Part 4 of my blog series on roadblocks to a more pervasive use of shopper insights, I shared how organization culture and limited availability of the right skill-sets play a bigger role than any technological barriers.
In this blog, I’ll focus the key factors driving positive ROI from the shopper insights initiative.
While the survey showed companies using shopper insights to drive decisions were faring better than the ones that weren’t actively using shopper data in terms of ROI, it was interesting to note that there were differences in the rate of success even amongst companies using shopper insights.
Digging deeper into the survey data revealed two surprising factors that most recognizably correlate with turning shopper insights to positive ROI:
1. Systemic sharing of shopper insights across departments and ROI.
Survey respondents were clear in communicating that for the majority of companies (69 percent); it was the marketing department that primarily owned the shopper data. Merchandising, at distant second, received only 16 percent of the votes. However, irrespective of ownership, it was clear that the companies that facilitate systemic sharing of data across different departments, report more positive ROI verses the ones that don’t have a defined sharing process in place. In fact, more than twice (57 percent) the number of companies with sharing processes in place reported positive ROI compared to those that do not (24 percent).
While not surprising, it was interesting to note that the companies that most systemically share the data, are also strong proponents of cross- departmental sharing with 8 out of ten claiming that “cross-departmental sharing is helping them integrate shopper insights more into retail practices.”
2. Monitoring the impact of shopper insights initiatives impacts profitability.
Despite the disappointing fact that even today nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of the survey respondent companies without monitoring to determine the impact of their shopper insights-based initiatives on standard metrics like gross margin, revenue, or inventory carrying costs, etc., it was clear from survey findings that monitoring works. In fact, almost 2.5x surveyed companies that are measuring the impact of their shopper insights projects claimed a positive ROI, 69 percent, compared to only 28 percent of those that are not monitoring, proving the saying that “what gets measured, gets managed.”
In conclusion, the survey results clearly show that it is not enough to incorporate shopper data to drive one-off initiatives. To get sustainable positive return, it is important to make shopper insights and enabling analytics integral to your retail decision making. Furthermore, it is equally important to regularly monitor the impact of these initiatives to understand the true gains and then calibrate your effort and investments accordingly. Capturing shopper data is neither easy nor cheap. Invest in the right ways to measure to ensure that you derive your rightful return.
We are almost at the end of this blog series. In my next and last blog, I’ll share our recommendations and industry leaders’ experiences on how to make most of your shopper data. Let us know what you think of this blog series, and if you like what you have read so far, do share it with your colleagues and other interested parties!
A full list of other blogs in this series is as follows:
Retail Shopper Insights Blog Series: An Insider’s Perspective
- The State of Use of Shopper Insights: Retail Analytics Blog Series Introduction
- Shopper Data Matters – But All is Not Equal!
- Top Uses of Shopper Insights – And Missed Opportunities!
- Roadblocks to Usage of Shopper Insights
- Shopper Insights to ROI – Factors that connect!
- Recommendations: Making Your Shopper Insights Initiatives Count!
