Similarly, some retailers are taking a look at point of sale data analyses and tailoring their pitches to a wireless world with time- and location-based mobile marketing. For example, a convenience store owner might text information about a lunchtime deal to a “frequent shopper club” member’s cell phone at noon, and then, once he’s in the store, offer additional personalized promotions in line with previous purchases.

Data analysis that reveals common purchasing affinities can also be used to put together more creative, effective promotions. For example, if you notice that two particular items are frequently bought together, you can structure a “buy two of each, get one of each free” offer.

Let’s get right to the point: There’s a lot more you can do with point of sale data than casually seeing what’s selling and what’s not and perhaps adjusting your orders in accordance with your own instinct. Consider this example. Increasingly, smart retailers are warehousing point of sale data in databases and then, via software […]