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RETAIL

MANAGEMENTINFORMATION

SYSTEM

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8-2

How Information Flows in a Retail

Distribution Channel

Information

and the

Supplier

Information

and the

Retailer

Information

and the

Consumer

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Suppliers Need To Know

From the Retailer

Estimates of

category sales Inventory turnover

rates

Feedback on

competitors Level of customer

returns

From the Customer

Attitudes toward

styles and models Extent of brand

loyalty

Willingness to pay a

premium forsuperior quality

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Retailers Need To Know

From the Supplier

Advance notice ofnew models andmodel changes

Training materials

Sales forecasts

Justifications forprice changes

From the Customer

Why people shopthere

What they like anddislike

Where else peopleshop

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8-5

Consumers Need To Know

From the Supplier

Assembly andoperatinginstructions

Extent of warrantycoverage

Where to send acomplaint

From the Retailer

Where specificmerchandise isstocked in the store

Methods of paymentacceptable

Rain check and otherpolicies

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Retail Information System (RIS)

Anticipates the information needs ofretail managers

Collects, organizes, and storesrelevant data on a continuous basis

Directs the flow of information to the

proper decision makers

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A Retail Information

System

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Data-Base Management

A major element in an RIS

System gathers, integrates, applies, and

stores information in related subject areas Used for

Frequent shopper programs

Customer analysis

Promotion evaluation

Inventory planning

Trading area analysis

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Five Steps to Approaching Data-

Base Management Plan the particular data base and its

components and determine information needs

Acquire the necessary information Retain the information in a usable and

accessible format

Update the data base regularly to reflect

changing demographics, recent purchases, etc. Analyze the data base to determine strengths

and weaknesses

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Retail Data-Base Management in

Action

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Data Warehousing

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Components of a Data

Warehouse Physical storage location for data the

warehouse

Software to copy original databases andtransfer them to warehouse

Interactive software to allow processing

of inquiries

A directory for the categories of

information kept in the warehouse

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Data Mining and Micromarketing

Data miningis the in-depth analysis ofinformation to gain specific insights about

customers, product categories, vendors,and so forth

Micromarketingis an application of datamining, whereby retailers use differentiated

marketing and develop focused retailstrategy mixes for specific customer

segments

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Applying UPC Technology to Gain

Better Information

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The Marketing Research Process

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Marketing Research

in Retailing

The collection and analysis of

information relating to specificissues or problems facing a retailer

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Secondary Data

Advantages

Inexpensive

Fast

Several sourcesand perspectives

Generally credible

Providesbackgroundinformation

Disadvantages

May not suit currentstudy

May be incomplete

May be dated

May not be accurate

or credibleMay suffer from poor

collection techniques

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Secondary Data Sources

Internal

Sales reports

Billing reports

Inventoryrecords

Performance

reports

External

Data bases

ABI/Inform, etc.

Government

U.S. Census of RetailTrade

Statistical Abstract

of the U.S. Public records

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Primary Data

Advantages

Collected forspecific purpose

Current

Relevant

Known and

controlled source

Disadvantages

May be moreexpensive

Tends to be moretime consuming

Information may notbe acquirable

Limited perspectives

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Primary Data Decisions

In-house or outsource?

Sampling method? Probability

Nonprobability

Data collection method? Survey

Observation Experiment

Simulation

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Survey Methods

In-person

Over the telephone

By mail

Online

Disguised

Nondisguised

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A Semantic Differential

for Two Furniture Stores

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Mystery Shoppers

Retailers hire people to pose as

customers and observe operationsfrom sales presentations to howwell displays are maintained toservice calls

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