News

Retailers tackling 'mountains of data'

January 3, 2010

A new report in the New York Times discusses the "mountains of data and whiz-bang technology" that today's retailers are wrestling with, in their ongoing attempts to get shoppers eager to spend money again.

The story touches on everything from business intelligence software to Facebook apps, all of which generate tons of information that can be used by smart retailers to plan assortments and marketing strategies.

Tellingly, the story wraps up with an emphasis on the one thing that renders all technology moot when it is absent: the human touch.

Nihad Aytaman, a senior technology manager at Elie Tahari, a private $500 million-a-year maker of designer clothes for women and men, is an enthusiastic proponent of analytics technology. The information housed in the company's data warehouse has grown fivefold in the last three years, and is constantly mined for sales trends and to orchestrate supplies and shipping.

"It takes all this data and makes it visible and meaningful, so you can make sense of it and act on it," said Mr. Aytaman, an engineer with an M.B.A. "But you're not creating something that wasn't there. Designers and merchandisers have to go with their gut if they are making something new.

"No computer can mimic human intuition," he said.