In order to improve business practices such as merchandising, marketing and the overall customer experiences, retailers require timely access to accurate and actionable data. However, many retailers lack this real-time data connection, which leads to lost business opportunities.
The Independent Running Retailers of Canada (IRRC) is trying to improve the data connection by leveraging Askuity, a Big Data analytics platform designed to connect retailers and product manufacturers with insight and information. As a coast-to-coast alliance of locally owned, community-driven specialty running stores, IRRC aims to share knowledge, experience and business best practices with all members, according to Nowshad Ali, Executive Director of IRRC.
“The IRRC mandate is to provide a forum for excellence through education, communication, research and advocacy in promoting running and walking as a key component to a healthy lifestyle,” Ali said in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “Specialty running stores continue to make a substantial difference in our communities with running and walking enthusiasts. Its members represent a variety of operators some of whom are running exclusive stores and some of whom focus on special needs footwear for running and walking. All of them are committed to serving customers and communities with purpose, passion, pride and commitment.”
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Historically, IRRC collected data from its members through surveys and various disparate tools, according to Ali. But these methods left the organization with old and sometimes inaccurate data. While it was credible at the core, it did not have the highest integrity.
“With these challenges top of mind, we began looking for a solution that would not only would provide data analytics to the retailer, but would serve the needs of our vendors and suppliers in a timely manner,” Ali said. After all, Ali believes that the success for any progressive business or retailer is “good data that is timely, concise, reliable and provides great insight from which to base sound decisions.”
Although IRRC was using surveys as its key methods for data gathering and analysis, “there was not much, if any, good Canadian data,” Ali noted. As a result, “vendor partners and retailers were forced to use what we provided along with extrapolated data from the U.S.”
These practices, according to Ali, compromised decision-making and could potentially impact long-term relationships with customers. But with Askuity, IRRC has access to accurate, reliable and timely data. An efficient user interface empowers retailers and manufacturers to share and interpret data, leading to improved collaboration.
IRRC aims to complete the implementation process within 30 to 45 days. This process will include completing installs at the retail level, head office level and vendor partner level, so IRRC will have data and reports available by the end of Q2 2015.
Once IRRC rolls out Askuity, Ali believes business relationships and operations will improve significantly. “First, I believe the nature of the conversation at the store level will change,” Ali said. “A sale rep no longer will have to walk into a store and do an inventory count. Product reps will have good, timely data on inventory levels, what’s moved at what price and what inventory levels remain, possibly also in tandem with forecast buys. The conversation between product reps and retailers can now be focused more squarely on sales strategies, marketing strategies, merchandising, customer support, product education and so on.”
