Customer Analytics Improves Efficiencies
By Bob Johns, associate editor
E-commerce offers a plethora of consumer data as everything is digitally captured throughout the transaction and search process. Retailers know how many times a customer returns to the site, how often they purchase, what they are purchasing, and how long the checkout process took. In the brick-and-mortar world, a lot of customer behavior data is lacking, and is sometimes limited to just people counting to calculate conversion metrics. I reached out to Steve Jeffery, CEO of Brickstream, to see how companies like his are improving in-store data.
“One point of data most retailers lack is wait time at the register,” Jeffery notes. “With newer video technologies, we can now calculate individual wait times, queue length, the number of open lanes, the amount of product on the belt, transaction time, and even abandonment.” By using technology that not only counts customers, but also measuring direction, speed, mass, and time, you can now study behavior. Brickstream’s SeeMore 3D intelligent edge device uses 3D to distinguish individuals in groups to separate adults from children to better calculate conversion.
By using this same technology, retailers can better allocate labor to keep lines moving and reduce abandonment. Additionally, staff can be better utilized when extra cashiers are not necessary, allowing managers to better schedule store operations. “With labor being the single highest cost for retailers, better allocation those resources can result in huge savings,” Jeffery says. “Not to mention the customer service side of things. You can keep the customer happy by having the appropriate number of registers open to keep the lines moving.” All of the queue data can be relayed to the manager in real time, allowing them to make adjustments on the fly. Additionally, managers can be held responsible for their staffing planning when upper-level management compares the data to plan. Managers can be alerted in the office or on a mobile device when certain indicators occur like extended wait times, significantly longer transaction times, or length of queue.
Separate from queuing, customer behavior adds numerous data points for a retailer to view. “Knowing your customer is much more difficult in the brick-and-mortar world. Online, retailers can see what a customer is searching for. In the real world, video technology is finally offering the same insight,” says Jeffery. Retailers can analyze where customers are going first in the store, where they are browsing, what areas of the store are most trafficked, and whether or not they made a purchase. By analyzing the patterns, merchandising can be improved to capitalize on traffic patterns, and labor can be assigned to the areas with the most traffic.
The effect of marketing campaigns can also be measured through dwell times and traffic counting. Are people stopping at displays? More importantly, are they also making a purchase? Are the displays grabbing the customer’s attention, or are they stopping for a second and moving on to their regular routine? Previously marketers and merchandising personnel had to strictly rely on traffic counting and POS sales data to see the effect of an ad or display. Now they can see how it affects the customer right in the store. This type of data can also be used to test the effectiveness of planograms, merchandising changes, displays, and signage.
As the online and real-world channels of retail merge, data is going to be the key to keeping the customer engaged and creating the optimal retail experience. The channels may be different, but the goals are still the same, drive loyalty and sales.