Analytics

Product returns continue to be a growing source of friction for the retail industry, with $685 billion in merchandise returned in the U.S. last year. However, retailers can convert these returns into exchanges, while also improving fraud detection and optimizing production selection, by leveraging a combination of advanced artificial intelligence-powered data analytics and customer service…

Retailers’ 2024 holiday season showed resilience and promise, as consumers embraced the festive spirit despite initial concerns about inflation and economic instability. The industry’s holiday performance outpaced expectations, with consumer spending between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24, 2024, up 3.8 percent year-over-year — surpassing forecasts by 0.5 percent. Additionally, year-over-year traffic was up 14.8 percent…

With the holiday season well underway, retailers are grappling with rising customer expectations and a constantly evolving data landscape. As a result, many organizations struggle to optimize their seasonal marketing approach. From adapting to the decline of third-party cookies to embracing real-time analytics and artificial intelligence-driven insights, the following strategies illustrate how retailers can maximize…

In today's fast-paced retail environment, data is the lifeblood of successful operations. Key functions like competitive analysis, pricing strategies, product decisions, and understanding customer trends all depend on having lots of relevant data that’s clean and current. However, not all data is created equal, and processing bad data is often worse than processing no data…

The National Retail Federation (NRF) forecasts holiday spending to grow between 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent this holiday season, potentially easing concerns over any economic downturns expected. The retail industry trade association said we should expect people to spend between $979.5 billion and $989 billion in November and December, compared to $955.6 billion in 2023.…

Digital receipts are now a staple of consumer transactions, available through apps on various devices and offering businesses a valuable new data source. Gathering digital records like receipts reveals deep insights into consumer behavior and enables competitive benchmarking. Why Traditional Research Falls Short Retailers and e-tailers regularly leverage internal data to gain insights into their…

In episode 465 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Ellen Webb, vice president of shopper analytics and insights at PepsiCo, a global leader in convenient foods and beverages with a portfolio of more than 500 brands. Listen in as Webb provides an overview of PepsiCo's pepviz data analytics initiative (0:55), what they're learning…

For many retailers, including Big Lots, store closures and restructuring are not just unfortunate outcomes but necessary strategies to maintain profitability and relevance. Store closures are often part of a broader strategy to realign resources and focus on more profitable locations. Retailers can identify underperforming locations and strategically close them to optimize their footprint by…

As the e-commerce landscape continues to evolve with the emergence of artificial intelligence and predictive capabilities, data-driven identity-based strategies will play an increasingly vital role in driving growth. The question is, “How?” By leveraging first-party data and predictive analytics, e-commerce brands can build an identity-based marketing strategy that enhances lifetime value (LTV), ensuring long-term profitability.…

The retail industry is no stranger to data. For years, retailers have made extensive use of data to help drive initiatives like identifying customers, determining how to target ads, and devising pricing strategies. However, today's breed of data analytics and management solutions — including but not limited to artificial intelligence tools and services — have…