The new buzzword: “Big Data”

“Big Data” is the hot topic in a lot of business articles these days, and is a catchy way of describing “data mining” of the information in a company’s data warehouse. The question discussed this week (on RetailWire) is whether retail companies are maximizing their use of “Big Data” in order to drive their business. My opinion? It’s a mixed report card so far:

It’s clear (without taking one side or another) that the Democrats managed “big data” more effectively than the Republicans in the last election. A lesson learned for all retailers and marketers: Put the time, effort and expense into your data warehouse and it will pay dividends. Among retailers, Amazon has long been at the top of the list for effective data management and addressing specific consumer interests. Macy’s probably leads the pack of more traditional omnichannel retailers, especially through its “My Macy’s” initiative and the micro-targeting of its print offers.

Bottom line: The capability is there because the top-tier retailers are already doing great things with “Big Data.” Those who aren’t prepared to make the same commitment will have to deal with the consequences.

Walmart’s push to improve micro-assortments

From a recent RetailWire comment about Walmart and its new push to tailor assortments by store location:

Given Walmart’s expertise in supply chain management, it’s essential that they put this skill to good use micro-managing assortments by store. Making this work requires great logistical execution (by both Walmart and its vendors), adept use of its data warehouse, flexible planogramming and above all a committed culture.

Target has tried over the years to tailor its assortments for local preferences and — like Walmart — has better IT tools today than ten years ago to help make it happen. The added initiative of using social-networking techniques to focus their marketing efforts makes perfect sense, and we can expect to see other retailers follow Target’s lead.