The Important role of Customer Data in Retailing

Customer Data is a very crucial part of a Retailers ability to efficiently formulate strategies that can help their business but this is often something that retailers have a hard time collecting as well. Retailers often feel reluctant to ask their customers for their personal information and this can often hinder the collection process. Retailers must understand their customers deeply and accept this as the new norm. In order to further simplify the process of collecting data retailers can:

• Simplify the process of collecting data with the help an of Retail POS Software
• Build trust by explaining how the data collected will be utilized
• Show how the data collected provides a better customer experience 

There are plenty of ways that retailers can collect the retail custom data required from their customers. Here are some ideas that retailers can implement for data collection:

1. Purchase Transactions: POS software’s like Ginesys enables retailers to collect and easily report on all customer transactions. This is the ideal way to start the process of identifying customers. The customer data available from the POS Software will help retailers understand the spend level, brand preference, category and so much more, giving them an insight into their customers. 
2. Loyalty Programmes: Loyalty programmes are an ideal way to engage with one’s customers and learn more about them. Loyalty programmes that integrate with the POS software in place is a huge time saver and will help retailers streamline the data collection process across all channels. 
3. Surveys: A brief survey is an ideal way of collecting all the information needed. The questions should be framed in such a way that the survey can help the retailers their marketing, merchandising, sales and product decisions. 
4. POS Analytics: The data available from one’s POS Analytics can have a huge impact on various aspects of the business. Marketing, for example, can be done effectively and efficiently with the help of POS Analytics data. This data can also be useful in order to understand customer purchasing habits which is crucial when it comes to inventory management. 

Retailers need to build a cohesive strategy that correlates with their unique business. This is where POS software’s such as Ginesys can help improve the way retailers collect and analyze the retail custom data. However, that being said each team member must understand why they are collecting the data and understand deeply how it impacts the bottom line. Retailers need to use that data to provide a better and more personalized experience for their customers.