Phil Rubin

NRF: Why Are Retailers Still Complaining About Big Data?

January 19, 2012

FROM RETAILWIRE:
We hear the complaints about all the data that is now being captured in retail leading to "a plethora of data but a dearth of wisdom." BrainTrust panelist Bill Bittner has come to the conclusion that there are plenty of viable solutions; the challenge for retailers is knowing what to want from the data. Why are retailers still complaining about the difficulty in extracting wisdom from Big Data?      [more...]

Retailers who complain about the challenges in translating data into actionable insights are simply not prioritizing. It's now easier and less expensive than ever to manage Big Data but retailers consistently under invest and shift priorities.

That said, it's still not easy as it takes people, tools and discipline that is generally not resident within most retail organizations. The good news is that this is changing and every day we see more retailers investing in this area. Whether it's through an innovation group or marketing or even IT, it's happening and will continue to happen at better retail organizations.

It's very clear if you read the quarterly earnings reports and listen to the conference calls, the retailers that understand Big Data and focus on customers, best exemplified by Amazon, are the ones that are thriving and putting the others out of business.