We present key insights from a Coresight Research webinar on August 25, 2020, in which Centricity CEO and Founder Michael Brackett discussed how data-driven insights can inform more efficient inventory planning and in-store innovation—which have proved key for retailers amid the Covid-19 crisis. The webinar was hosted by Deborah Weinswig, CEO and Founder of Coresight Research. Centricity is an emerging data analytics provider serving the data needs of retailers and consumer packaged goods (CPG) firms. The platform enables category managers to make more customer-centric decisions by providing data and actionable insights around consumer purchasing. Backwards-Looking Sales Data and Subjective Insights Are Not Enough To Drive Efficient R&D Brackett explained that he founded Centricity after being frustrated with aspects of the ways in which grocery businesses determine product assortment in their stores. With experience in his parents’ grocery store growing up, Brackett was surprised to find that simple taste tests and testimonials from CPGs were often what convinced grocers of which items to stock. While most large grocers now rely on data rather than opinions, much of that data is inherently backward-looking: Brackett said that sales data tells a story of the past and is inconsistent in its ability to predict future consumer behavior. Brackett argued that the Covid-19 pandemic has made most retailers conscious of the limitations of such data. Consumer preferences now change so quickly that it is nearly impossible to plan localized inventory efficiently by relying on sales data. Brackett also believes that product innovation is now driven by the consumer rather than CPGs or research and development (R&D) departments at grocery stores, making it more important than ever to understand what the consumer of tomorrow will demand. Brackett and Weinswig agreed on the importance of being first to market, including in private label. Brackett emphasized that copycat products tend to do less well than originals, meaning that it is vital for retailers to harness Centricity’s forward-looking consumer insights to quickly develop attractive new products. [caption id="attachment_115959" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Deborah Weinswig and Michael Brackett discuss the role of big data in optimizing inventory management.
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]   Centricity Captures Consumer Sentiment Data To Create Actionable Insights for Retailers Centricity goes beyond sales data to give retailers a complete forward-looking view of consumer demand. The company harnesses 2 billion data points every day and synthesizes it into easily understandable formats that retailers and non-data experts can understand. By providing transparent data in a consistent format to both retailers and CPGs, Centricity promotes effective communication. Centricity captures more detailed data that can illuminate the first half of the customer journey for brick-and-mortar retailers—comprising a shopper’s research and browsing before they make their final purchase. Brackett cited online retailers’ ability to harness data on what customers click on, the time they spend on each page and conversion rates as an inherent advantage over brick-and-mortar rivals. Offline retailers can usually only see what consumers purchase and have less visibility into how shoppers came to choose and buy each item. Centricity’s goal is to level the playing field between online and offline retail, by harnessing online traffic data to enable offline retailers to understand the customer decision-making process and by collecting localized segmented data on consumer sentiment. Brackett believes that hyperlocalized data is necessary for retailers to compete with brick-and-mortar peers and online retailers. He cited his own experience in his hometown in Maine, where assortment in the grocery store in another town just 10 minutes away needed to be radically different than the store in his own town because of the distinct customer bases they served. All of Centricity’s data are localized to ensure the company’s insights are actionable, accurate and relevant to retailers’ actual locations. Brackett described Centricity’s main differentiator as its collection and analysis of segmented data on consumer sentiment. Centricity collects and parses multiple data points on something as simple as the sale of a container of yogurt: When the consumer purchases a yogurt, Centricity collects data on each facet of the product, such as that it is dairy, high-protein and low in sugar. The company can then use these insights to predict how other products with similar features may fare in that location. Facet-based data can also help retailers and CPGs alike to develop new products based on what product features are most attractive to consumers in various locations.