Marketing

The data storm

January 21, 2014

Europe, North America

January 21, 2014

Europe, North America
Charles Ross

Asia editorial director

Charles Ross is Principal of Policy and Insights in Asia-Pacific and leads the region's technology and society practice. Prior to this role, he was editorial director for The Economist Intelligence Unit overseeing all thought leadership research in Asia. Charles combines a deep understanding of how technology trends are reshaping business and society with excellent research and editorial skills, to create impactful and award-winning research programmes for clients. Charles is currently based in Australia and has led many projects analysing the implications for business of new technology trends such as blockchain, fintech, smart cities, cloud computing, sustainability and the internet of things, for Google, Stripe, SAP, Telstra, Microsoft, Prudential, Westpac and the Singapore government. He is a contributing industry expert to the UN Science Policy and Business Forum on the Environment and a frequent speaker at finance and technology events across the region. Charles holds a master of business administration, focusing on strategy and organisational change, from the University of Oxford and a certificate in public policy analysis from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Contact

Click to download

Key findings

  • Many retailers are at the early stages of using big data: Only 46% of retail C-suite executives are confident that their firm’s analytical abilities are keeping up with data volumes.
  • Marketing is still the main focus: The most common priority for data analysis spending by retailers in recent years has been marketing: 46% of respondents put this among their top three areas of investment.
  • More focus on the customer is needed: Only 16% believe that data analysis has yielded a 360-degree view of the customer.
  • Using data to improve strategy is increasingly important: In the next two years strategy is set to become the most important area of focus for big data in the retail industry, with 62% expecting to see relevant investment in data analysis to support strategy.

Economist Impact is a part of the Economist Group.
Occasionally, we would like to keep you informed about our newly-released content, events, our best subscription offers, and other new product offerings from The Economist Group.

The Economist Group is a global organisation and operates a strict privacy policy around the world. Please see our privacy policy here.

Enjoy in-depth insights and expert analysis - subscribe to our Perspectives newsletter, delivered every week