Want Your Next Project Funded? The Green Light Is In The Data

By Matt Pillar, chief editor

Big data isn’t all about consumer intelligence. There’s an equally important, albeit less flashy application for big data in retail, and it addresses a challenge virtually all technology and operations budget stakeholders face: getting signoff on capex initiatives.

Big data has been big news for a few years now, and for good reason. Progressive retailers are tapping into it to inform myriad business decisions, most notably customer-facing CRM and personal marketing initiatives. That’s where the bulk of the big data coverage starts and stops; most of it focuses on how retailers are analyzing massive repositories of consumer information to better understand and engage with their customers.

No doubt, leading the charge to manipulate data in a manner that drives topline sales is a flashy way for retail professionals to distinguish themselves. The analysis of massive volumes of customer data that stretches marketing dollars and wrings more efficiency and return out of promotions budgets is a sure path to hero status.

But, there’s an equally heroic, albeit far less sexy application for big data in retail, and it addresses a challenge virtually all technology and operations budget stakeholders face: getting signoff on capital-intensive initiatives.

Please log in or register below to read the full article.