It’s no secret that many households spend on the latest and greatest TVs when leading up to the Super Bowl. In fact, after I initially began working in retail a number of years back, I was surprised to find out that not only do people buy TVs specifically for Super Bowl parties, but some also go through the trouble of returning the TVs after their party (I know, exhausting)! Regardless of the enormity of your Super Bowl party, team affiliation (go 49ers!) and how many wings you’ll devour, there’s always some fun data to be explored.
Through studying normalized data across our retail base (over 100+ sites in the U.S.), we found some interesting trends on TV purchases leading up to the big game. In the image below, you’ll see that there are some states that prefer to spend more on TVs than others. The darker green states spend more than the lighter green states. The average selling price of TVs ranged from $300 – $1,100, with Wyoming at the high end of that spectrum (mean price $1,119), and Rhode Island on the low end (mean price of $366). Wyoming winters are cold, so I don’t blame them!
It should come as no surprise that the most-searched TV brands were Samsung, Sony and Vizio. However, the most purchased brands were Vizio, Westinghouse, Magnavox and Element. It seems our consumers are still pretty cost-conscious, but are still buying for the big game, which leads to our next point below.
What do purchasing habits of Super Bowl team gear tell us about who consumers would like to win? We indexed team gear purchases by geo-location below (orange is Denver Broncos and blue is Seattle Seahawks). I’ll let the graph speak for itself, but I’m pretty sure fans are confident Peyton plans to throw some more “duck TDs” this weekend.
The Big Data revolution at Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple has transformed the consumer journey across channels, and even helped turn a presidential election. This transition simultaneously poses tremendous challenge and opportunity to retailers.
In our session “How Relevance Can Get Your Brand Elected” at last week’s NRF Big Show, Rayid Ghani (Obama for America’s Chief Scientist) and I shared how data scientists have utilized key methodologies for capturing value and turning Big Data to smart data—using it to win votes and create profit. The analogies between data usage in the Obama campaign and my experience at Amazon and RichRelevance are deep: there are three ways to use data in operations, and it is necessary to take small steps toward a very specific goal using an agile, fail-fast methodology.
The methodologies for data usage are analytics; prediction and interruption; and optimization. They transcend the emergence of “Big Data” and extend in their impact from the last century, as do the learnings from their failures. The “big transformative project” is doomed to fail; only iterative implementations see the huge ROI of data-oriented technologies.
As I traveled the exhibit hall, I reached my personal predictions for 2014:
- 2014 will test us: We must know our identity—who are we to our customers and how we maximize that. This challenge exists in a highly competitive and unfriendly ecosystem: Amazon is on a tear and will not stop; will Google, eBay, Apple and Facebook turn out to be friend or foe?
- Omni-channel ROI at scale: 2014 will be the first year with enough historical case studies of successful omni-channel strategies to support systemic investment. Retailers can invest in 5-10 major initiatives and each can build on the successes/failures of past years.
- Emergence of Big Data, Year 2 of 5: Big Data is a long-term trend. We are still in the early adopter phase, where practitioners familiar with the technology and business can be successful, but not enough business people fully understand the technology’s capabilities, ROI or risk in order for 2014 to be the year of mass scale. That said, Big Data is complex and will require numerous years of investment and learning to reach maturity. Executives know that, so this year will see significant investment from both capital and time budgets.
I invite you to learn more about how you can turn your Big Data into smart data for a relevant brand experience by visiting https://richrelevance.com/nrf/.
San Francisco, CA – Jan. 14, 2014 –– RichRelevance, the global leader in omni-channel personalization, today announces its recognition as one of the Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces™ in the United States. This annual award recognizes top employers that display leadership and innovation in engaging their workplaces.
“We strive to create an environment where our employees are challenged and positioned to be successful,” said RichRelevance’s Sr. Director of Human Resources, Mai Ton. “The cornerstone of our success has always been the drive and passion of our employees around the world. Our team is incredibly humbled and honored to receive this recognition.”
The Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces™ Awards panel of judges evaluated each applicant based on the Eight Elements of Employee Engagement™: Communication, Leadership, Culture, Rewards & Recognition, Professional & Personal Growth, Accountability & Performance, Vision & Values and Corporate Social Responsibility.
The panel of 14 judges included various academics and thought leaders on employee engagement, and included representation from organizations such as the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA), and Human Capital Institute (HCI) and Northern California HR Association.
“The Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces™ understand that employee engagement is not just a buzz word, but that engaged employees provide businesses with a unique competitive advantage. Companies that focus on employee success have better engagement and alignment with business objectives and company values,” said Achievers CEO, Patrick D. Quirk. “These companies serve as role models for other businesses to engage their own employees and build success.”
RichRelevance will be honored alongside other recipients of the Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces™ Award at the awards gala on April 2, 2014 in San Francisco, California.
About RichRelevance
RichRelevance is the global leader in omni-channel personalization. More than 160 international companies use RichRelevance to turn data into actionable insight, which delivers the most relevant experience for consumers as they shop across web, store and mobile. RichRelevance drives more than one billion decisions every day, and has delivered over $10 billion in attributable sales to its clients, which include Target, Marks & Spencer and Priceminister. Recently, the company opened its cloud-based platform to allow clients to easily merge disparate data sources and build real-time applications tailored to their specific business needs. RichRelevance is headquartered in San Francisco and serves clients in 40 countries from 9 offices around the globe. For more information, please visit www.richrelevance.com.
About Achievers
Achievers delivers the only true cloud-based Employee Success Platform™ that enables remarkable business success. Designed specifically to meet the complex needs of today’s changing, modern workplace, it is the most engaging software specifically designed to engage, align and recognize employees. It is software employees love to use every day in over 110 countries. Achievers is a privately held company headquartered in San Francisco. Learn how your company can change the world works at www.achievers.com.
Two Big Data pioneers to discuss personalization – the key to turning Big Data into smart data – at retail’s biggest event
San Francisco, CA – Jan. 8, 2014 –– RichRelevance, the global leader in omni-channel personalization, today announced that David Selinger, CEO of RichRelevance, and Rayid Ghani, former Chief Scientist at Obama for America 2012, will provide brands and retailers with a strategic, practical look at Big Data and personalization at the National Retail Federation’s 103rd Annual Convention and Expo. During the session, Selinger and Ghani will give attendees a case study-driven look into big data: what it really means, who owns it, how to benefit from it and where it’s going. The session, entitled, “How Relevance Can Get Your Brand Elected,” will take place on January 13 at 10:15 a.m. ET at the Jacob K. Javitz Convention Center in New York City.
“Data is evolving everything about retail, and retailers have the opportunity to integrate new technologies into their legacy systems to get tremendous value and change how they look at data in 2014,” said Selinger. “This session addresses the Big Data issues facing retailers and brands today, and, while this is a technology issue, we will also touch on new ways to think about data, drawing on best practices from some of the most prolific data strategies ever undertaken.”
“From politics to retail, data’s promise lies in engaging your supporters at massive scale, and creating connections that empower them to become advocates and fans for your business,” said Ghani, who is currently at the University of Chicago’s Computation Institute and Harris School of Public Policy.
Retail’s BIG Show 2014 is expected to draw more than 27,500 attendees at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, January 12-15, 2014. NRF’s annual event brings together the world’s top retailers, their business partners, media and thousands of retail professionals. The show presents unparalleled networking opportunities and the latest innovative trends that are transforming the industry and enabling connections with customers. The EXPO includes more than 520 exhibitors showcasing groundbreaking solutions and retail technology. More information is available here.
About RichRelevance
RichRelevance is the global leader in omni-channel personalization. More than 160 international companies use RichRelevance to turn data into actionable insight, which delivers the most relevant experience for consumers as they shop across web, store and mobile. RichRelevance drives more than one billion decisions every day, and has delivered over $10 billion in attributable sales to its clients, which include Target, Marks & Spencer and Priceminister. Recently, the company opened its cloud-based platform to allow clients to easily merge disparate data sources and build real-time applications tailored to their specific business needs. RichRelevance is headquartered in San Francisco and serves clients in 40 countries from 9 offices around the globe. For more information, please visit www.richrelevance.com.