Retailers recognise analytics as key to business transformation, competitive advantage

Tom Davenport reveals ‘analytical retail’ trends at NRF 2009 

08 January 2009 -  NRF 98th Annual Convention and EXPO, NEW YORK

According to a new study from Competing on Analytics author and consultant Tom Davenport, leading retail executives believe they can achieve true competitive advantage with retail analytics technology by using a bold, enterprise-wide approach that involves crossing product, customer and functional boundaries.

Davenport, a professor of IT and management at Babson College (Wellesley, Mass.), will offer a preview of his latest research during a special session on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009, the opening day of the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) annual convention in New York City. The session begins at 10:15 a.m. (Eastern).

Davenport’s research highlights will benefit retailers looking to invest in database-driven analytics as a catalyst for competitive advantage. While pinpointing best practices and offering practical hands-on advice, Davenport will focus on analytical trends and specific areas where enterprise-class analytics contribute business value well beyond the initial investment.

Retailers today are searching for ways to derive more customer intelligence, marketing savvy and operational insight from their overflowing databases. In addition to acknowledging that the use of analytics is the key to future success in this data-intensive industry, retail executives also revealed to Davenport that:

• Analytics improve retailers’ bottom lines most quickly when applied to pricing and merchandising.
• Analytics drive market differentiation and customer-centric marketing.
• Analytics help retailers achieve demand-driven supply chain optimisation.
• Retail leaders increasingly manage analytical resources in central cross-functional teams, with an integrated data warehouse, rather than in silos.
• Analytics professionals are in short supply, and demand for them is greater than ever.
• The epicenter of analytical capabilities is shifting from manufacturers to retailers.

Thirty-three major North American retailers participated in Davenport’s study during the second half of 2008. They represented a wide variety of retail firms, from grocery, apparel and outdoor to fast food and home improvement companies. Retailers whose analytical activities are described in the study include Amazon.com, Brooks Brothers, eBay, HEB, The Hudson’s Bay Company, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom, among others. These online, catalog and bricks-and-mortar retail executives were asked to describe the trends in analytics and data that most affected their businesses.

Full copies of Davenport’s report and conclusions, “Retail Analytics Trend Research Study,” will be available in early February 2009 at www.sas.com/davenportretail. Davenport’s NRF session and his latest research were co-sponsored by SAS, the leader in business analytics, and Teradata (NYSE: TDC), the world’s largest company solely focused on data warehousing and enterprise analytics.

About Professor Tom Davenport

Tom Davenport is the President’s Distinguished Professor of Information Technology and Management at Babson College. His most recent work is on how companies compete on their analytical capabilities. His 2006 article, “Competing on Analytics” in Harvard Business Review was the best-selling reprint of that year. His co-authored book “Competing on Analytics: The New Science of Winning” (Harvard Business School Press, 2007) rapidly became a best seller and has been translated into 10 languages. He has a new book on analytics called “Being Analytical” that will be published in 2009. In 2003, he was named one of the world’s top 25 consultants by Consulting magazine, and in 2005 he was named one of the top three “business/technology analysts” in the world by Optimize magazine. In 2007 and 2008, he was named one of the 100 most influential people in the information technology industry by Ziff-Davis magazines.

About Teradata

Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC) is the world’s largest company focused on raising intelligence through data warehousing, consulting services and enterprise analytics. Teradata is in more than 60 countries and on the Web at www.teradata.com

About SAS

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