OK, 2021
will not get rid of the virus immediately but the new consumer behaviour,
induced by the pandemic will have lasting effects that need to be taken care of
by brand owners, distribution channels and -consequently- by the analytics approach
and infrastructure.
So, what is exactly this new consumer behaviour?
You already
guessed: more online shopping and more pervasive switching to web shops from
the local shops to compete with the incumbents. The local shop owners finally
have understood the value of proximity combined with the convenience of online
browsing and online ordering or preordering and collecting the order at the
local shop.
But there’s
more. Not only have the predominant shopping logistics changed; the product
range has also undergone the influence of the various lockdown periods.
Consumers have a tendency to shop for more luxury products in the food section
as a means of self-indulgence and the dichotomy between convenience and fun
shopping is getting clearer and larger. Some retail chains are already
experimenting with automatic replenishment of convenience products using
automated algorithms. But some supermarkets in the Benelux are combining
convenience, fun and self-indulgence offering prepared meals that can be
consumed in the shop. Plus, Albert Heyn and Jumbo are experimenting with the
concept. This can have an impact on local restaurants who have survived on
their take away service during the pandemic.
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| Due to Covid-19 this section where you can have a meal at a Plus supermarket is closed... |
And how does this emerging consumer behaviour affect the analytics profession?
The larger
distribution chains will continue to develop their centralised analytical
systems. The data flows from the outlets’ cash registers to the central data
warehouse and delivers customer and product insights as this has been the case
since AC Nielsen built the first embryo of a retail data warehouse somewhere in
the seventies.
New
opportunities for innovation in analytics for large retailers lie in edge
computing. Think of directed dialogues with the customer, analysing conversion
rates from looking at products, holding them, inspecting them and finally
putting the product in the shopping trolley and feeding it back to the pricing
and communication in the isles.
Now, as
local shops discover the value of customer data, syndicators will emerge to
provide economies of scale and of scope to aggregate data of the local shops
and provide benchmarks and high level customer insights as a first deliverable.
It will take some serious investments in persuading the local shops to share
their data but it will happen in the next three to five years. My experience
with a data warehouse project for an association of independent retailers tells
me it’s doable if you mimic the architecture of epidemiological analytics. These
systems have the highest levels of information security combined with state of
the art analytical capabilities. And so another product of this pandemic may
contribute to new analytical solutions.
But the
major shift in the analytics landscape is happening with the brand owners. Up
to now, most brand owners were OK with the idea that customer behaviour data
resided in the systems of large retailers. Some of the clever ones developed a
data sharing approach with the retailers accepting the possibility of a biased
view on their final customers.
Now the
need for massive customer data for brand owners is unavoidable. New ways of
collecting unfiltered customer data will emerge. Smartphones, fit bits and
other devices will have new roles to play in this strategic movement.
