63% of Retailers Plan to Upgrade or Replace their Merchandise Planning Systems within Two Years, According to Boston Retail Partners’ Survey
Boston, MA (PRWEB) November 03, 2015 -- Current retail planning systems are out-of-date and don’t effectively address today’s requirements for an omni-channel planning environment, according to the Boston Retail Partners 2015 Merchandise Planning Benchmark Survey released today. Many retailers are using planning applications designed for old retail business models with a large percentage of these systems installed in the late 1990s or early 2000s. Fast-forward to today, and many retailers are attempting to meet the needs of a 21st century customer while constrained by 20th century technology.
“Stores are under siege from other channels and unfortunately, dealing with outdated and ineffective systems to address the complex planning process that is required in an omni-channel environment,” said Ken Morris, principal, Boston Retail Partners. “All of this negatively impacts the customer experience and, ultimately sales. The good news is that retailers realize the issue and 63% of our survey respondents plan to upgrade or replace their merchandise planning systems within two years.”
Boston Retail Partners’ 2015 Merchandise Planning Survey of top North American retailers offers insights into retailers’ current planning initiatives, priorities, and future trends as the retail industry continues its omni-channel transformation.
Key findings in the 2015 Merchandise Planning Benchmark Survey include:
• Planning systems are outdated – 63% of retailers plan to upgrade or replace their merchandise planning systems within two years
• Analytics is the top priority – 58% of retailers indicated that improving analytics is their top priority for the next year
• Advanced analytics are gaining traction – 75% of retailers use advanced analytics for merchandise planning, however, fewer use advanced analytics for store planning (45%), assortment planning (40%) and omni-channel planning (20%)
• Integrated merchandising plans are not working well – While 50% of retailers have implemented integrated merchandising plans (financial plans, promotional calendars, planning teams and assortment plans), most of these retailers indicate they need improvement
• Separate inventory across channels – 49% of retailers still maintain separate inventories for each channel
• Social media use for merchandise planning is opportunistic – While 71% of retailers indicated that they capture customer feedback via social media, only 23% are using social media for product planning
To download the complete 2015 Merchandise Planning Benchmark Survey, visit: https://bostonretailpartners.com/2015-merchandise-planning-survey/
The 2015 Merchandise Planning Benchmark Survey gold sponsor is JustEnough.
About Boston Retail Partners
Boston Retail Partners (BRP) is an innovative and independent retail management consulting firm dedicated to providing superior service and enduring value to our clients. BRP combines its consultants' deep retail business knowledge and cross-functional capabilities to deliver superior design and implementation of strategy, technology, and process solutions. The firm's unique combination of industry focus, knowledge-based approach, and rapid, end-to-end solution deployment helps clients to achieve their business potential. BRP’s consulting services include:
Strategy | Business Intelligence | Business Process Optimization | Point of Sale (POS)
Mobile POS | Payment Security | E-Commerce | Store Systems and Operations | CRM
Unified Commerce | Customer Experience & Engagement | Order Management
Merchandise Management | Supply Chain | Information Technology | Private Equity
For more information on BRP, visit http://www.bostonretailpartners.com.
David Naumann, Boston Retail Partners, http://www.bostonretailpartners.com, +1 (916) 673-7757, [email protected]
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