Chapter 9, “Best Buy, Other Retailers Tap Tech to Boost Sales”{0}
The article I chose for chapter nine is called “Best Buy, Other Retailers Tap Tech to Boost Sales.” This article goes in to some detail about Best Buy’s decision to spend money on software from analytics company Omniture in order to survive the economic downturn. Best Buy used this analytic software to realize customers were willing to purchase more items with free financing. They were able to use this software to figure out their customers were willing to purchase items in this economic downturn as long as they received an incentive, like free financing. They decided to meet their customer needs by providing this free financing for a specified period of time.
The article also mentions a cereal company that installed smart shelves in a store by the name of Infosys in order to keep track of consumer behavior associated with their cereal. The cereal company was able to figure out when to restock and who its competitors were. The company was able to work with the store to fix its problems and ensure their product was available to the customers. The cereal company was able to figure out what it was doing wrong and address the problems to ensure the future of the business.
I chose this article because it incorporates the Business Intelligence section covered in chapter nine. The ability to provide customers with what they want and need is what a business needs to strive for and should be part of the company business goal. Business Intelligence is great for customers because it allows them to receive products with promptness and reliability. Businesses that choose to invest in Business Intelligence are creating a competitive advantage by providing customers with the goods and services they need or desire.
“Best Buy, Other Retailers Tap Tech to Boost Sales” BusinessWeek. 08 Feb 2009. 2 Nov
2009. < http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/feb2009/db2009028_
712098.htm>