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Retailers need advanced analytic capabilities to compete in digitized marketplace

Retailers without advanced analytic capabilities will struggle to capitalize on IoT-driven revenue opportunities

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Sonal Desai
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MUMBAI, INDIA: Retailers will not be able to compete in the digitized marketplace without advanced analytic capabilities, according to Gartner.

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Gartner said that the need to improve real-time business decision-making will force retailers to acquire self-service and big data discovery capabilities. With big data discovery, the entry bar to explore big data sources will be lower. Analysis will be delivered at a lower cost and faster, by a broader and less-skilled set of users, ready for consumption by a broader audience.

Retailers without advanced analytic capabilities may be toppled by their inability to capitalize on IoT-driven revenue opportunities.

The impact of digital business and the IoT will require advanced analytics to support real-time decision making to take advantage of momentary business opportunities. These opportunities will demand a different approach to marketing, merchandising, pricing, distribution, store operations and every other internal process.

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According to Robert Hetu, Research Director, Gartner, "As the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to expand over the next five years, the effects on multichannel retailers will be more disruptive than anything seen to date and will require advanced analytics capabilities to cope with this disruption."

For example, a customer's refrigerator that can sense the need to replace its water filter is an example of the retailer's need to compete and the associated need for advanced analytics.

"As a result, the thing (in this case the refrigerator) will seek the best combination of price and availability. This change will require the retailer to evaluate the potential transaction in an instant and determine a course of action to save the sale or allow it to pass to others."

Hetu cautioned that big data discovery tools put information in the hands of business analysts and business users to enable better decision making. Since these analysts and users are less skilled than their counterparts in traditional BI roles, they will only handle less complicated problems, which will take them less time to fail or succeed.

"They are also closer to the business complexities, making it easier to establish interactive analytic processes that will speed up results. This will allow big data sources to be explored more often, feeding valuable information into the business and yielding faster results," he said.

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