Retailers' focus on new business intelligence and analytic capabilities highlights the importance of getting information faster with a greater focus on evaluating the entire value chain from source to consumption
There has recently been a lot of buzz about Taco Bell's QR Code promotion with MTV. This is often pointed out as a great example of a fast food or franchise business using QR Codes but my impression is that most franchise owners are local business people and the Taco Bell-MTV promotion is a better example of two national brands teaming up on a national campaign.
Everyone’s talking about Social Media these days. Obviously, we can’t ignore communities of a half-billion people or more that talk to each other, share recipes, product successes, failures, and preferences.
I have been tempted to declare this year the “Year of Retail Relevancy.” Retailers are getting a better picture of customer behavior in their stores, thanks to more technology touchpoints that can capture what consumers are up to, including consumers’ personal devices.
Pop quiz, people. A customer walks into your store. She has her smartphone out, web browsing on, price-comparison apps and a whole world of online competitors ready and waiting. What do you do? What do you do?
All retail franchisee owners have, at one point, been dying to have this conversation with their chain’s CIO: “Just stop talking: you’re an idiot. How can you even keep a straight face when trying to justify a $25,000+ POS system when I know I could put in a system that does everything I would need for less than $5,000?”
