Today’s retail environment is more competitive than it was a few years back. Retailers are struggling to stay ahead in the competition. Due to increased customer preferences and demand for one-click solutions, most of the retailers have started thinking of newer ways to cater to customers’ needs. Therefore, retail analytics has started gaining major traction among retailers to provide actionable insights from customers’ data. Analysis has been incorporated in every aspect of the retail space. Whether it is merchandising or customer management, retail analytics has offered proven solutions for every retailer. With rapid growth in online retail, it has become the need of the hour to utilize the tremendous volumes of data generated by every online click for strategizing promotional activities and trade promotions.

The global retail analytics market expected to grow from USD 3.14 billion in 2016 to USD 8.64 billion by 2022, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 19.7%. Retail analytics has gained major market traction across the globe, due to its capability of analyzing the huge data volumes flooding the retail industry. The unprecedented proliferation of internet connection has transformed the way the world interacts. Exponential rise in social media, cloud computing, and online banking is just the tip of the iceberg and has significantly improved the way consumers engage with the online world. Technologies such as IoT, connected devices, and smart cities are utilizing data more productively. Developed economies have leveraged the internet connection prolifically, and the majority of the new users are emerging from low and middle income countries that are centered across Asia. There is a golden opportunity for retail analytics software vendors to capitalize on this unprecedented growth of internet users. The rising eCommerce sector is changing the traditional way of shopping. Targeted email campaigns, social media advertising, increased levels of personalization, and cognitive analysis of customers are expected to be the key enablers driving sales numbers and increasing the effectiveness of customer loyalty programs. Moreover, with more connected devices, retailers would be looking toward adopting retail analytics to tap into the huge volume of data being generated. Real-time analysis of customers’ shopping behavior, market basket analysis, and loyalty analysis would be aimed at providing customized offers to increase customer retention.

Retail Analytics Market Dynamics Drivers Growing internet penetration Advancement in technologies such as machine learning, AI, and augmented reality Increased use of data-intensive platforms and rapid adoption of social media Restraints Lack of skilled personnel High initial setup cost Opportunities Advent of cloud-based analytics Growing inclination of vendors toward merging in-store and digital operations Challenges Complexities in gathering and integrating data from omnichannel eCommerce streams Rapidly changing consumer preferences

The new innovative application areas are: Merchandising Analysis, Pricing Analysis, Customer Management, Performance Analysis, Yield Analysis, Inventory Analysis, Order management, Transportation management, Assortment and cluster planning and real-estate planning

The retail analytics market comprises software and service providers, such as 1010data (US), Angoss Software (Canada), BRIDGEi2i (India), Capillary Technologies (Singapore), Diaspark (US), FLIR Systems (US), Fujitsu (Japan), GainInsights Solutions (India), Happiest Minds (India), Information Builders (US), IntelliVision (US), IBM (US), LoyaltyOne (Canada), Manthan Software Services (India), Microsoft (US), MicroStrategy (US), Oracle (US), QBurst (India), Qlik Technologies (US), RetailNext (US), SAP (Germany), SAS Institute (US), Trax (Singapore), Visual BI Solutions (US),and Zebra Technologies (US). These Retail Analytics Software Vendors are rated and listed by us on the basis of product quality, reliability, and their business strategy.

Major Retail Analytics Market Developments: In March 2017, Oracle launched the Oracle Retail Merchandising solution on the Oracle cloud platform. The cloud-based retail merchandising offerings optimize mobility, improve customer engagement, and enhance the user experience, thereby improving Oracle’s competitive position in the market.. In January 2017, Fujitsu launched a new version of Retail Engagement Analytics 2.0, a cloud-based solution that uses RFID and IoT technologies to monitor and analyze real-time customer behavior, and provide actionable insights to maximize sales conversion rates. The new solution features video analytics and queue management to help brick-and-mortar retailers collect and analyze a variety of data sources for improving the overall customer retail experience. In October 2016, IBM introduced new Watson solutions aimed at professionals working across a gamut of business functions, such as marketing, commerce, supply chain, and human resources. The company offers IBM Watson Customer Experience Analytics to comprehend a variety of customer behavioral patterns, such as shopping patterns and buying trends.