It's Different Today

Not quite sure what AI had in mind as it blended a bunch of stuff in this image.

Maybe a decade ago I visited a retail brand - the CEO was ANGRY - we've all been in the meetings. HIs anger was obviously misplaced. His stores performed admirably! His share of e-commerce volume was low. He didn't like that. At all.

Ten years ago the pundits demanded full integration of all operations. If you sold something in a store, you HAD to sell it online at the same price and the same promotions. What a paralyzing thesis.

We learned that the customer could have cared less.

In 2025, it's different.

We've learned.

You do what is best for the customer, regardless of "channel". 

Sometimes there are popular items that you want to make available all the time, in every channel. One problem. The customer who buys those items doesn't come back and buy again. It's a bad way to acquire a customer.

This means you have to have a measurement method to know what items new customers purchase ... items that lead to lousy downstream performance.

This analysis will be part of what I announce to you, shortly. If you want additional details, let me know (kevinh@minethatdata.com).