It is not uncommon for success to be shared in retail when times are good, especially when profitability has increased for the organization.  However, when profitability drops, fingers are always pointing, but who gets the blame?  When trying to understand who owns the problem and ultimately the blame, the answer is usually “no one.”

Over the last couple of years, when meeting with CEOs, CFOs, CIOs and various operational managers,  I was shocked to discover that in each of their organizations there was no one department or individual that owned profitability. Retailers are able to collaborate when it comes to managing topline growth, merchandising and even supply chain efficiency.  But no one is responsible when it comes to the bottom line.

While the industry is constantly changing, one thing remains consistent: retailers focus on making money. The industry is always seeking new ways to make money, serve different service lines, increase assortments, or optimize and localize for local markets. While they’ve put systems in place to manage across the different silos of their organization, there is nothing that manages shrink, waste, damage, and margin loss.

Today’s retailer is challenged not only by competition from other stores, but by a growing number of consumers whose preference is to shop online from home or work. Retailers need to lure these consumers back into the store by creating an engaging customer experience that far exceeds the online experience. Solutions such as in-store mobile marketing and digital signage combined with targeted loyalty programs can enhance both acquisition and retention of customers to positively impact in-store purchasing decisions. However, there are many possible pitfalls associated with these solutions.

Store networks have evolved dramatically over the past decade. What was once a simple private network designed to handle credit card transactions and support basic back office applications has transformed into a complex, open network required to support guest Wi-Fi and multi-vendor access, network security services, and distribution of many forms of multimedia content. This expansion in scope has challenged many retailers to redesign their store networks to satisfy new business requirements to increase customer engagement in the store.

In today’s hyper-competitive market, it is not enough for retailers to understand customer behavior — to be successful, retailers also must develop the ability to predict upcoming consumer actions. Gaining this insight can help companies improve their customer offers and conversations for increased sales and loyalty.

This retail imperative has spawned the growing use of predictive analytics technology, which analyzes patterns in historical and transactional data to help retailers make predictions about future consumer behavior. Examining customer spending and other behavior patterns to improve retention strategies, and cross-selling of products to boost profitability per customer are just two examples of how predictive analytics can impact the retail environment.

In addition, predictive analytics also can be used to identify staffing needs and trends; having a better understanding of which shopping days are busiest can help stores staff appropriately to improve customer service and the bottom line.