Research by Tableau reveals over 60 percent of consumers
expected to hit stores for their Christmas Shop just one week
before the big day
LONDON, Nov. 9, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On average, UK
shoppers will conduct their Christmas grocery shopping on Monday
19th December this year, according to findings released
today by Tableau Software, a global leader in visual analytics
software. The study also shows that a staggering majority (88
percent) of UK shoppers will choose to shop in-store, with about
one in ten people planning to buy their groceries online.
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The survey of 1,000 consumers across the UK shows that shoppers
expect to spend an average of £170 on Christmas groceries alone and
79 percent feel "very confident" that they will get the stock they
need in-store. With 60 percent of shoppers hitting the stores just
one week before Christmas, this means there will be huge pressure
on retailers and their supply chains to ensure they are equipped to
meet the expected demand.
"Our research shows the clear spike in demand and confidence
from UK shoppers in finding what they want in the week before
Christmas," said James Eiloart, SVP
EMEA at Tableau. "The pressures of high demand and consumer
expectations is both an opportunity and a balancing act for today's
retailers as they work to get the right stock on the shelves
without over-estimating it. Retailers who do it well are using data
analytics to assess supply and track demand in order to achieve
this perfect balance."
The ability to analyse large quantities of data is increasingly
critical for enhancing business performance. By visualising data
with analytics solutions such as Tableau, businesses can quickly
glean insights and react to demands, for not only certain times of
the year but also specific geographies and individual stores.
"At Majestic Wine we don't debate, we test. By doing this we can
find a better way of managing our business today, rather than spend
ages debating it," John Colley,
Managing Director of Majestic Wine Retail comments. "We have a test
and learn culture that is driven by our data and what our customers
tell us. This is especially important as we approach Christmas, we
need to make sure we have the right products in the right place at
the right time and by being able to respond quickly to our data we
can ensure we give our customers the best experience whenever and
however they shop at Majestic."
Additional findings from the survey reveal that a third (32
percent) of consumers claim their retailer ran out of the goods
they wanted last year, meaning supermarkets will have to work even
harder to ensure they're better prepared this year. Not only this,
but with 88 percent of consumers choosing to shop for Christmas
groceries in-store over online, retailers will need to track and
assess product supply closely to ensure they meet customer
demand.
"We create and distribute Coca-Cola products and 250 unique
brands to over 38 million people. This means that a lot of details
must be managed very carefully across teams and geographies in
order to ensure our highest standard of quality service,"
Kevin King, director of reporting
and analytics at Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated.
"We work with a large amount of data from a variety of sources,
so being able to access and visualise that data across departments
is crucial for our success. Our employees can spot trends, see
potential issues and respond quickly. For example, our operations
team can look at their data and see increased demand of certain
products in specific stores and then share that data with other
departments in order to respond quickly and ensure our customers
walk away with the beverage they want. It's a team effort to
deliver our standard of customer service and this includes how we
work with data."
Robin Bevan, Managing Director at
Javelin Group, retail strategy consultants, part of Accenture
Strategy says, "The retailers that will come out on top for
delivering exceptional customer experiences this holiday season
will be those that have mastered unlocking value from data to
predict purchasing trends and deliver the hyper-personalised
experiences customers expect, both online and in-store. Visual
analytics can be a powerful tool, particularly during peak times,
giving employees across departments an added layer of visibility,
and helping them to make more informed decisions when responding to
last minute stock issues, changing pricing or dealing with product
returns."
A large variety of companies use Tableau for fast, visual
analytics – from independent retailers to global brands, including
Coca Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, Cheapflights.com, Groupon,
Majestic Wine Retail, and Wiggle.
For more information about Tableau, please visit:
www.tableau.com/.
About the research
The survey was conducted in
October 2016 by Bilendi, which polled
1,000 consumers based in the UK.
To see a data visualisation of the retail survey results with
Tableau Public, please visit: http://tabsoft.co/2eAnQyu
About Tableau
Tableau (NYSE: DATA) helps people see and understand data. Tableau
helps anyone quickly analyze, visualize and share information. More
than 50,000 customer accounts get rapid results with Tableau in the
office and on-the-go. Over 200,000 people use Tableau Public to
share data in their blogs and websites. See how Tableau can help
you by downloading the free trial at www.tableau.com/trial.
Tableau and Tableau Software are trademarks of Tableau
Software, Inc. All other company and product names may be
trademarks of the respective companies with which they are
associated.