Looking at the Data Beyond Customer Engagement

Knowledge is power. Information is king. Whichever phrase you use, having access to data and knowing what to do with it is more important than ever in the convenience channel.

First and foremost, data gives you insights into your customer — what they buy, how often they come in, etc. This is where loyalty programs come into play and at this stage of the game, most if not all convenience store operators have suited up.

But data can touch all four corners of the store and extend outside the door as well. It is this aspect that oftentimes gets overlooked. 

Suresh Menon, senior vice president and general manager of software and solutions for Lincolnshire, Ill.-based Zebra Technologies Corp., cautions that while customer data garners a lot of attention, the importance of analyzing data for the rest of the business gets lost when looking at the information solely through a customer engagement lens.

For example, digging into the data can give an operator insights into their supply chain and inventory before and after it arrives at the store, and help avoid dreaded out-of-stocks.

Convenience store retailers have long known that having customer data is only useful if you actually use it. The same can be said for all the data points that are available from inside and outside your store.