Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 16

2014 rcc/kpmg retail eXecutive roundtable

D

uring the past decade, technology has
significantly transformed the way retailers
operate and the way consumers shop, and
the transformation is ongoing, as kruh illustrates.
advanced analytics can enable companies to
predict customer needs and behaviours, optimize
pricing, improve production efficiency, and automate inventory management.
"amazon's new patent for what it call's 'anticipatory shipping' is an example of a company
using predictive data analytics to manage
inventory and delivery. the algorithm behind
this technology can predict a customer's future
purchases based on buying history, profile and
current trends. the predictions would then
trigger a shipment of the anticipated purchases
to a warehouse near the customer before they
even order it, enabling amazon to reduce
delivery time to satisfy impatient customers
who might otherwise visit a physical store," he
says. "another example are large global credit
card companies that have groups using proprietary algorithms, which allow them to take
their processing information and extrapolate it
across the entire globe, slicing and dicing and
predicting by demography, et cetera. it's staggering when you see how customer data and
algorithms are being used and where it's going.
is your company using predictive technology
and/or analytics?"

ment products and service, The Home Depot Canada is
in a position which enables it to gain a unique perspective
on the lives and projects of the average Canadian home
owner, which shifted during the recession.
"Although we didn't see the same housing price adjustments in Canada as they did in the u.S., there was certainly a period of pause where customers were concerned,"
explains the company's President, Bill Lennie. "Consumers tightened their spending during that time. Since then,
however, we've seen customers slowly shift back toward
more investment spending, taking on larger projects.
They have confidence in the value of their homes again
which has fueled the rebound."
With much more of a global view, eCCO Shoes are
charged with catering to the attitudes and behaviours of a
variety of consumers in North America, europe and Asia.
And as Mette Damgaard, Managing Director, eCCO
Shoes Canada Inc., explains, the Canadian consumer is a
demanding one.

goldsmith: "We're just starting to get into
personalization. knowing our customer, reading
them wherever they may be is just part of being
relevant. We're investing in data and analytics to
allow us to do this; to be able to understand almost exactly what the next natural purchase for
the customer might be, the potential is huge."
DeFranco: "We personalize our flier by allowing
our customer to pick the items that they want to
receive deal notifications on. they can choose
them online, which gives us the ability to serve
them customized content. as we become more
sophisticated, predictive technology will allow us
to send reminder emails a week before we know
that the customer is going to run out of
dog food. being able to personalize
the experience for the customer helps
make it easier for the customer to
choose to shop with you."
Watros: "the idea of being able to
predict what the customer is going
to do and buy next is immense.
but i'm anxious for Radio Frequency identification (RFid)
to be perfected and become
cheaper, because i think it's
the holy grail as it relates
to prediction. you'll have
real-time inventories. it'll
be a game-changer."

what's next?

16 |

canadian retailer | holiday 2014

"We've been operating in North America for more than
a decade now, and what we've recognized during that
time is that the Canadian consumer is constantly looking for more variety, more convenience, more savings and
more options. And they want it now. They're not going to
wait. They force us to innovate with respect to the way we
do things and the ways we engage with them."
Don Watros, President of Hudson's Bay Company, synthesized the effect of the 2007 to 2009 recession by describing his belief that all of the things that today's customer is
seeking can be condensed down to one description.
"It's all about the value," he explains. "Technology has
made it easy for the consumer to find the lowest price,
which has turned some of the products that many retailers sell into commodities. everything is just the click of
a button away. So we recognize that what we need to do
as retailers is to offer an incredible experience to our customers. That's the way you're going to differentiate yourself going forward."



Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014

Member Insights
Retail Currents
Retail: At Issue
Delighting the Empowered and Enabled Consumer
Technology Tips for Small Business
Retail Council of Canada and Google Help to Spark Retail
Social Workers
Chasing the “E-tail” to Keep Pace With the 24/7 Shopper
Know Your Clients and Drive Your Sales
Advertiser's Index
Retail Quick Tips
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - cover1
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - cover2
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 3
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - Member Insights
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 5
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - Retail Currents
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 7
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 8
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 9
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - Retail: At Issue
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 11
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 12
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - Delighting the Empowered and Enabled Consumer
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 14
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 15
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 16
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 17
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 18
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 19
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 20
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 21
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 22
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 23
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 24
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - Technology Tips for Small Business
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 26
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 27
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 28
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 29
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - Retail Council of Canada and Google Help to Spark Retail
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 31
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 32
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 33
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - Social Workers
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 35
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 36
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 37
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 38
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 39
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - Chasing the “E-tail” to Keep Pace With the 24/7 Shopper
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 41
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 42
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 43
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 44
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 45
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 46
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 47
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - Know Your Clients and Drive Your Sales
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - Advertiser's Index
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - Retail Quick Tips
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - cover3
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - cover4
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