Retailers: Turn Retail Data into Competitive Advantage

If you consider the last few decades, the retail industry has gone through a massive transformation. From the corner drug store of yesteryear, to the massive malls of the 80s and 90s, and from online marketplaces to self-service kiosks and social media shopping, the retail landscape has evolved in ways that no one would’ve imagined. However, one thing is certain: Data will separate the retail innovators from the laggards.

Data has become one of the most valuable assets to help retailers make more informed decisions to gain a competitive edge, reduce costs, optimize processes, and delight customers. However, many retailers aren’t sure how to tap into their data stores. This is because they’re scattered throughout the organization, and usually different departments “own” the distinct data sets. Moreover, many retailers don’t have the analytic skillsets on staff to methodically parse through petabytes of data and glean the insights to drive astute business decisions.

If this data conundrum sounds familiar, then you should download and read our latest eBook, “Turn Retail Data into a Competitive Advantage: A Guide to Becoming a Data-driven Retailer from AWS.” Written especially for retail business leaders, this eBook dives deep into key topics, such as:

• The importance of data to retail businesses.
• Creating a data-focused culture.
• Strategies to become a data-driven retailer.
• Key details about using a data lake to store and curate data.
• Considerations for data governance.
• Steps to implement an enterprise data initiative.
• AWS programs to design and deploy a retail data strategy.

The eBook focuses on a data lake architecture – a centralized data storage system into which all of the internal and external data streams flow. As the foundation of a modern data architecture, a data lake holds raw data. However, you can easily move data inside-out, outside-in, or around the perimeter of it as needed to accomplish specific data-related tasks. The eBook explains these concepts, as well as the data flow, from ingestion to storage and analysis to usage. In turn, you can leverage machine learning (ML) across the retail enterprise to connect the dots between different parts of the organization to drive better business decisions.

Of course, the eBook also showcases leading retailers who’ve implemented well-designed data strategies with appropriate governance using innovative cloud-based solutions from AWS to improve their businesses. These include:

• Lyft – By collecting and analyzing GPS coordinates for all rides, Lyft identified a new business opportunity and created Lyft Line, an innovative car-pooling service.
• Tapestry – As the parent company of retailers, Coach, Kate Spade, and other luxury brands, Tapestry unified inventory and sales data and deployed an ML-based inventory optimization solution.
• Under Armour – This popular athletic brand consolidated and mined its enterprise data so that it can quickly design and deploy new experiences for over 180 million customers.

We hope you’ll download and read our new ebook to learn more about how AWS can help your retail business become a data-driven organization.