UK and international retailer Tesco has recently announced a partnership with market research specialist Dunnhumby to monitor shopping habits and preferences of more than 60 million customers across the UK, Thailand, South Korea and China. Dunhumby claims that it can generate a like for like sales increase of around 3-4% in the first year with new partners and this can then stretch up to 10%. The pair have worked together since the mid 90s when Tesco launched its Clubcard.
Most grocery retailers have loyatly cards theses days, particularly in mature markets, but this kind of partnership is a valuable strategic weapon and has serious implications for category management and geomarketing. No matter where you're reading this post, you cannot fail to have heard/read the polemic surrounding increasing commodity and fuel prices. The price of gas goes up today in France. This is having a direct impact on what we put in our shopping baskets. Retailers are feeling this too. Whether we fall into the price sensitive, traditional, mainstream, healthy, convenience or finer foods shopper category, profiling your customer accurately and then providing a targetted offer quickly could give a real competitive edge and leverage real market share. So the next time your barcode goes beep at the cashout, just remember we know who you are and what you buy....
