There's been a lot of talk in the media lately about the death of retail. Every week, it seems like another retailer announces the closing of stores, acquisitions or even going out of business. Many relate it to the growing competitive landscape with the convenience of online shopping and lure
Are you caught up in the machine learning forecasting frenzy? Is it reality or more hype? There's been a lot of hype about using machine learning for forecasting. And rightfully so, given the advancements in data collection, storage, and processing along with technology improvements, such as super computers and more powerful
The widespread adoption of the term "analytics" reminds me of the evolution of the term "supply chain management." Initially the term focused on supply chain planning. It involved demand and supply balancing and the heuristics and optimization tools that came out of advanced planning and scheduling. Over time practically everything was included
Success in the retail space boils down to one simple function: the conversion of sales. However, retailers can only do this if they have stock readily available. Missing a sales opportunity due to poor stock management just won’t cut it in today’s marketplace. How can we resolve this basic problem
Omnichannel Analytics are helping companies uncover patterns in big data to improve the customer experience. Using those insights, companies can anticipate what consumers are planning to purchase and influence that purchase in real time. Companies are experiencing unprecedented complexity as they look for growth and market opportunities. Their product portfolios are
Machine learning is a type of artificial intelligence that uses algorithms to iteratively learn from data and finds hidden insights in data without being explicitly programmed where to look or how to find the answer. Here at SAS, we hear questions every day about machine learning: what it is, how it compares to
Omnichannel shoppers have been disrupting retailers for years, and its likely to top the industry’s agenda of challenges for years to come. But optimization, an omnichannel analytics technology, can help harness the positives of omnichannel retailing and minimize showrooming. Consider this everyday retail dilemma: E-commerce sales are growing, but in-store
I find I am so busy these days, I do all of my holiday shopping online. I set aside an hour, a glass of wine and my credit card, and I get the gifts ordered. The must-have gift for this year was a Dyson hair dryer. When the first site
Retail isn't an easy place to be these days. The environment is omnichannel and ever-changing. Competition is rising and retailers are struggling to understand how to best meet customers’ merchandise preferences. Fortunately, analytics are driving profitability and market share for smart retailers. Let’s take a look at the four hottest
Machine learning is taking a significant role in many big data initiatives today. Large retailers and consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies are using machine learning combined with predictive analytics to help them enhance consumer engagement and create more accurate demand forecasts as they expand into new sales channels like the
