Some 63% of ecommerce leaders believe that this year’s peak period is ‘make or break time’, with how well it goes deciding the future of their businesses.
The survey of more than 250 decision makers within ecommerce in the UK by data integration platform, Supermetrics found that 52% say the amount of data they expect to process will increase this Black Friday, with a huge 81% saying the same for Christmas; it’s no surprise that almost 60% of retailers are anxiously working to collect intel on their customers during a busy “peak” period.
Yet despite the urgency to achieve a well-rounded understanding of their market, 67% are left struggling to manage and analyse the intel. What’s more, many retail decision makers believe the data they do receive is poor quality, with 48% feeling that it is not up to the standard required to adequately serve consumers. This abundance of (bad) data – coupled with an inability to manage it – is leading to “dataflation”, with half (52%) of retailers saying this is negatively impacting their company.
In fact, up to two-thirds (64%) say that managing data is even harder to manage than their own employees, and although nearly half (46%) say they do not have the talent to accurately breakdown the numbers.
But the data problem seems particularly stark during tough economic times; 71% worry that the impending recession will directly impact on the quality of data they receive moving forward and 73% saying it will directly impact their growth, which could hamper their plans for peak season.
Mikael Thuneberg, Chief Executive Officer at Supermetrics, says: “As we enter one of the most crucial times in the retail calendar, the findings are clear: it’s make or break for many retailers. As consumer budgets tighten and the supply chain remains unstable, retailers are looking for help. And one of the best ways of doing that is with a solid data plan. Despite this, it makes for frustrating reading that so many in the sector find it to be one of the biggest pain points of their operations.
“And while we recognise that what’s daunting is the amount of data that comes in, all from different sources, marketers do not have to follow a trail of crumbs to find what matters. It’s therefore vital for organisations to harness technological solutions that put all the facts in one place – essentially pulling the digital marketing activity reporting together which seamlessly taps into the existing and potential customer and sales pools. The rocky period ahead requires an intelligent approach to data to help retail businesses not just survive but thrive.”
