Walmart refines customer-centric research

One of the biggest retailers in America has recently released their findings on consumer insights, based through their wholesale arm, Sam's Club.

The research was commissioned to "excel at synthesizing, integrating, and leveraging (consumer) insights" across their entire business to create a closer connection with current and potential customers. The results of the research were recently presented by Ramón Portilla, the senior director for insights, operations, and membership at Sam's Club.

The "engine" that would drive change, according to Portilla, was best presented in a three-stage process - 

• Analytics: "Think about a company that has more than 200 million transactions a week. We have to be driving analytics. And, in the case of Sam's Clubs members, we have to listen to them. Consumers are telling us, 'You need to know more about me in context if you want to talk to me.'"

The task, in the retail industry, goes further still, as so much of commerce is seasonal. "We need to test at every time of the year," Portilla said, "and we need to find a faster way to apply these results."

• Research: What Portilla called "qualitative and quantitative trackers" have become more important to Walmart in the last 18 months, as America's largest retailer has sought "to leverage more efficient ways across the company" to get closer to the consumer.

"We don't have time to reinvent the wheel," Portilla added. Research resources are thus better spent writing short, precise considerations of market conditions.

• Metrics: In terms of measurement, he continued, "we have to be connected to performance metrics." To that end, Walmart integrates a variety of available research services, ensuring they can be combined to produce useful information.

Putting theory into practice has proved the efficacy of this model. "The results we've seen recently from our membership-experience [program] have been very favorable," said Portilla. "For the second year in a row, we've been in the top five" on an annual list that ranks retailers' performance in this area, he added.

And the stakes change almost every day: "We all hear more and more about big data ... How can we build an infrastructure to support big data?" he asked. "We need suppliers who can help us."

What this means for us

Research is always behind the work we do each and every day, be it from a business, media  or creative standpoint. A robust data set (such as we have with our Everyday Rewards card members) can lead to new and varied consumer insights, thanks to updated data tracking and consumer tracking software.

The task before advertisers is twofold - how to take these vast reserves of data and turn them into actionable insights, and then how are those insights implemented across the entire business. While there are many companies that can be contracted in to work on the first task, the second task can take a much more difficult route. Insights need to be filtered from the business to all relevant parties - agencies, planners, and even store managers.