As retailers roar down the e-commerce highway with omnichannel marketing becoming table stakes, the question that I’m hearing from most retailers is “How do I effectively compete in dynamic e-commerce marketplaces?” As most are discovering, technology is the answer.
Some retailers have aggressively pursued technology strategies. Home Depot Ventures created a $150M fund to invest in technology. Chipotle created a $50M fund to invest in restaurant technology. Walmart is hiring 5,000 technologists this year. Nike is opening a technology center in Atlanta.
But what does a retailer do who doesn’t have the war chest that the large players have? They are looking to partner with technology companies that can provide them with the competitive intelligence and insights needed to compete. This starts with a real-time view of their competitive landscape and then coupling that with their product pricing and product allocation strategies. How is every product competing in every marketplace? Where are they winning and where are they losing?
Once their competitive view is established, they can use tools to apply levers to grow their competitive position, drive revenue, and gain margin. Levers that react to pricing leaders and followers, regional price position, inventory and promotional trend insights, price elasticity and the competitive pricing index, and competitor, category, brand, and individual product level insights.
Contact QL2
In both Retail and Travel, QL2 provides the competitive intelligence tools needed to dominate a market without needing to hire 5,000 technologists or create a $150M investment fund. For the best e-commerce software tools, contact QL2.
Written by: Carl Wartzack, CEO