The retail industry is leading the way in digital optimisation and transformation, as tens of thousands of Australian retailers have complemented their in-store experience with an e-commerce offering to cater to today’s shoppers who engage with brands on multiple touchpoints. However, many retailers are not capitalising on one of the greatest digital tools: data.

While retailers are aware that they can use data to better serve customers and drive sales, when they’re faced with the near-endless amount of data available, deciding what to collect, how to collect it, and what to do with it can be overwhelming. For retailers who are weary about how to start working with data, here are five easy data points to start collecting and utilising.

Shopper information

The most important information for any business to know is who their customers are and how to contact them, so collecting the name, age, location, phone number, and email address of your consumers is vital. This data can be easily obtained from online purchase information, or from loyalty programs and newsletter registrations.

Once you have an individual profile, you can make use of a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) that enables you to store and analyse the customer data, both as individual customers and segmented groups. With these segments, which group customers with similar traits and habits, it’s easy to execute targeted and strategic sales and marketing opportunities.

Purchase data

Once you’ve gathered the basic information, you can enhance a consumer’s profile by understanding their purchasing habits. On an individual level, you can identify a shopper’s consumption patterns, such as whether they buy a particular product at a consistent frequency. On a group level, you’ll be able to see broader behavioural patterns such as where and how consumers engage with you before a sale, or items that are often purchased together.

By understanding when, what, and how shoppers make purchases, you can offer better personalisation, make stronger offers, and incentivise loyalty.

Lead source

Whether you’re targeting return or new customers, understanding how people discover your business is the only way to know whether you’re marketing effectively. If you know that two-thirds of your customers come via Shoppable Instagram posts, or that SMS marketing has more impact than email marketing, you can optimise your strategy appropriately.

Many web hosting platforms will have tracking functionality for online retailers, otherwise you can experiment with unique referral links and codes, or begin including the question during the registration process for loyalty programs and newsletters.

Reviews

Retail businesses often think that reviews are valuable because they act as testimonials to potential customers. While that is an important component, additional value from a review lies in the information it provides to the business.

Positive reviews provide insight into who is likely to be a repeat customer or willing referral. Negative reviews give you a second chance to convert a customer, as you can rectify the situation. And both types of reviews provide information on your business’ strengths and weaknesses, allowing you to improve your marketing strategy and overall business operations.

NPS/CSAT

Net promoter scores (NPS) and customer satisfaction scores (CSAT) provide a similar type of data to reviews, as they rate and describe a customer’s experience with your team, your services, and your products. Unlike public reviews, they tend to be more considered feedback that a customer directs towards the business.

They’re a great way to identify supportive customers and their desires, so you can market to them more effectively and strengthen the trust they already have for your brand.

Retailers have a constantly abundant stream of data they can gather from their customers, and understanding which data to collect and what to do with it is often the hardest step. Each of the above data points are easily accessible and have the potential to elevate your customer experience.

Now that you’re ready to start collecting your data, make sure to keep it organised. If you store your data across multiple spreadsheets and platforms, you’ll find it an increasingly difficult task that will often be ignored. Through Podium, you can start collecting, storing, and utilising all the most valuable data, allowing you to begin making your data work for you.

Dave Scheine is country manager for Australia at Podium.