Predicting Retail Trends: Making Sales Forecasts More Accurate

Retail TrendsThe retail world is changing. Big time. The last few years have led to a retail revolution a far as how information is retrieved and how customers shop. Of course online shopping growth has played a major role in this, but so too has the desire for a more personalized shopping experience. To effectively deal with this change, CPG leaders are looking to new economic metrics to connect the dots between product planning and consumer behaviour.

Check out this great article from IBM, “Economic metrics: How CPG leaders can craft more accurate forecasts.” In it, the author discusses the ways in which big data can help retailers and brands better measure metrics and forecast trends and sales more accurately.

What are they?

  1. Measuring costs throughout the entire sales journey. According to the article, “A recent report from Strategy& points out that 75 percent of companies in the CPG industry have implemented sales operations and planning programs that improve accuracy in forecasting and planning. Even still, the majority of these companies are benchmarking opportunities based on cross-sectional, rather than comprehensive, views of organizational operations.” CPG leaders need to trace costs at all organizational layers – not just at certain points.
  2. Measuring relative and absolute growth. As demands change both nationally and internationally, decision-makers need to determine how to best allocate their resources over the short and long term. A complete picture regarding growth is what will yield the highest profit.
  3. Measuring total economic impact. It is more than just your store or your brand’s sales. According to the article, “Supply chain operations and profits are only part of the manufacturing and retail value equation. CPG production drives economic activity across most industries. Companies yield tax revenues and employee salaries, and their activities cause spending in healthcare, the restaurant industry and real estate, for example. Product demand stems from all of these channels. Forecasting models and economic metrics must account for a diverse spectrum of CPG stakeholders.”

Want to know more? Check out the full article here: http://www.ibmbigdatahub.com/blog/economic-metrics-how-cpg-leaders-can-craft-more-accurate-forecasts.

Storesupport has the resources that can help you improve sales, using current retail trends. For more information, call us today at 1-877-421-5081.

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