information gathering and processing

8-1Retail Mgt. 11e (c) 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Information Gathering and Processing in Retailing

RETAIL MANAGEMENT:A STRATEGICAPPROACH

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Informationand theSupplier

Informationand theRetailer

Informationand the

Consumer

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Suppliers Need To Know

From the RetailerFrom the Retailer

v Estimates of category sales

v Inventory turnover rates

v Feedback on competitors

v Level of customer returns

From the CustomerFrom the Customer

v Attitudes toward styles and models

v Extent of brand loyalty

v Willingness to pay a premium for superior quality

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Retailers Need To Know

From the SupplierFrom the Supplier

v Advance notice of new models and model changes

v Training materials

v Sales forecasts

v Justifications for price changes

From the CustomerFrom the Customer

v Why people shop there

v Customers’ likes and dislikes

v Where else people shop

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Consumers Need To Know

From the SupplierFrom the Supplier

v Assembly and operating instructions

v Extent of warranty coverage

v Where to send a complaint

From the RetailerFrom the Retailer

v Where specific merchandise is stocked in the store

v Methods of payment acceptable

v Rain check and other policies

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Retail Information System (RIS)Retail Information System (RIS)

v Anticipates the information needs of retail managers

v Collects, organizes, and stores relevant data on a continuous basis

v Directs the flow of information to the proper decision makers

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Figure 8-2: A Retail Information System

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Data-Base ManagementData-Base Management

v A major element in an RIS

v System gathers, integrates, applies, and stores information in related subject areas

v Used for鐻 Frequent shopper programs

鐻 Customer analysis

鐻 Promotion evaluation

鐻 Inventory planning

鐻 Trading area analysis

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Five Steps to Approaching Data-Base ManagementFive Steps to Approaching Data-Base Management

v Plan the particular data base and its components and determine information needs

v Acquire the necessary information

v Retain the information in a usable and accessible format

v Update the data base regularly to reflect changing demographics, recent purchases, etc.

v Analyze the data base to determine strengths and weaknesses

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Figure 8-4: Data-Base Management in Action

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Figure 8-5: Data Warehousing

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Components of a Data Warehouse

v Physical storage location for data – the warehouse

v Software to copy original databases and transfer them to warehouse

v Interactive software to allow processing of inquiries

v A directory for the categories of information kept in the warehouse

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Data Mining and MicromarketingData Mining and Micromarketing

v Data mining is the in-depth analysis of information to gain specific insights about customers, product categories, vendors, etc.

v Micromarketing is an application of data mining whereby retailers use differentiated marketing and develop focused retail strategy mixes for specific customer segments

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Figure 8-6: Applying UPC Technology to Gain Better Information

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Figure 8-7: The Marketing Research Process

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Marketing Research Marketing Research in Retailingin Retailing

The collection and analysis of information relating to specific issues or problems facing a retailer

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Secondary DataSecondary Data

AdvantagesAdvantages

v Inexpensive

v Fast

v Several sources and perspectives

v Generally credible

v Provides background information

DisadvantagesDisadvantages

v May not suit current study

v May be incomplete

v May be dated

v May not be accurate or credible

v May suffer from poor collection techniques

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Secondary Data SourcesSecondary Data Sources

InternalInternalv Sales reportsv Billing reportsv Inventory recordsv Performance reports

ExternalExternalv Data bases

鐻Academic Search Premier

鐻Government鐻U.S. Census of Retail

Trade鐻Statistical Abstract of

the U.S.鐻Public records

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Primary Data

AdvantagesAdvantages

v Collected for specific purpose

v Current

v Relevant

v Known and controlled source

DisadvantagesDisadvantages

v May be more expensive

v Tends to be more time consuming

v Information may not be acquired

v Limited perspectives

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Primary Data DecisionsPrimary Data Decisions

鐻In-house or outsource?鐻Sampling method?

鐻Probability鐻Non-probability

鐻Data collection method?鐻Survey鐻Observation鐻Experiment鐻Simulation

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Survey MethodsSurvey Methods

v In person

v Over the telephone

v By mail

v Online

v Disguised

v Non-disguised

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Figure 8-9: A Semantic Differential for Two Furniture Stores

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Mystery ShoppersMystery Shoppers

v Retailers hire people to pose as customers in order to evaluate aspects of the store environment (e.g. sales presentations, display maintenance, and service calls)

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ExperimentsExperiments

v An experiment is a research method in which one or more elements of a retail strategy mix are manipulated under controlled conditions.

q An element may be a price, a shelf display, store hours, etc.

q If a retailer wants to find out the effects of a price change on a brand’s sales, only the price of that brand is varied.

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SimulationSimulation

v A simulation is a type of experiment whereby a computer program is used to manipulate the elements of a retail strategy mix rather than test them in a real-life setting.

v Two simulation types are now being applied in retail settings: those based on mathematical models and those involving “virtual reality.”

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information gathering and processing

Documents

pearson education

retail information system78

prentice hallfigure

prentice hallcomponents

particular data base

data warehousing118

relevant data

prentice hallsuppliers