Three ways POS data analytics can help retailers succeed

As you strive to grow your business, you don’t have to make decisions based on feelings and instincts alone – you should use numerous sources of data* to decide where to spend time, money, and effort in your operations. One critical place to find and analyze data is your point-of-sale (POS) solution* – there, you will uncover invaluable insights about your customers, products, and operations that can help you improve your offerings and drive revenue growth.

According to a McKinsey survey*, companies that extensively use customer analytics reported 115% higher ROI and 93% higher profits compared to those that didn’t monitor customer analytics. From customer activity records to top-selling products, you can make informed decisions to improve your offerings, streamline operations, and ensure customer satisfaction. Consider these three approaches:

1. Personalize your offers and promotions to individual customers

Getting granular insights can help you serve your customers before they even make a purchase. According to a recent Salesforce survey*, 66% of customers expect companies to understand their unique needs and expectations. Customer and trend data can help you create personalized marketing campaigns* and send relevant messages to the right customers at the right time. You can create customer personas and target audiences for email campaigns, special offers, and more by tracking number of visits, average spend per transaction, days since last visit, and purchase quantities.   

Based on this data, you can decide to quickly launch a new marketing campaign or personalized shopping experience any time, based on questions like these:

• When was the last time the customer made a purchase?
• How often do customers need to be reminded to make additional purchases or restock their personal supply of a product?
• What new products would customers like based on previous purchases?

2. Adapt your products and bundles based on customer behavior

When you dig into historical purchasing data, you will likely notice data points and trends that can help you improve your products and distribution strategies. Keep track of which products are commonly purchased together, whether they are commonly purchased in-store or online*, what types of products customers are frequently returning, and much more. Based on this implicit feedback, you can adjust offerings – even in small ways like packaging or promotional materials – to drive sales and grow your business.

Bonus: use this data to create personalized product bundles* that fit your customers preferences for common purchases – hats and mittens, shampoo and conditioner, headphones and chargers, and more.

3. Optimize inventory tracking to seasonal fluctuations and customer preferences

Managing inventory* is hard – especially if you sell perishable or fragile products. This challenge is amplified by seasonal fluctuations in customer demand for certain products – not many people are buying wool sweaters in the summer or popsicles in the winter. Sales reporting from your POS system can help you compare year-over-year inventory movement to make more accurate predictions – rather than relying solely on monthly data that may not reflect upcoming shifts in seasonal customer behaviors.

Further, metrics like inventory-to-sales conversion rates* can help you plan ahead for popular shopping seasons and help you stock up while supplies/packaging are cheaper.

Your POS solution* is much more than a cash register – it is an untapped source of valuable data about your operations, products, and customers that you can turn into action steps to grow your business. From insights on customer behavior to precise inventory tracking, your POS solution can unlock your business success.

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