Each transaction conducted in a retail setting produces valuable information that can be used to make smart adjustments to business practices. Increasingly digital retail environments have allowed those tasked with making decisions for their respective organizations to extract key information from each transaction and utilize it in their processes.
This has transcended standard retail and has affected the restaurant industry as well. Recently, the National Restaurant Association (NRA) tradeshow featured a bevy of speakers and showcases that indicated the restaurant industry is moving in the direction of the Internet of Things and big data. For example, patrons are now able to use devices built into their respective tables to place orders and leave feedback regarding the quality of their service. This information is valuable to restaurant owners, as they can easily adjust accordingly to the data.
For example, orders that are placed on digital devices and uploaded into a data processing system are much easier to track than those written down on pieces of paper. This practice gives management insight into which items are selling well and which aren’t. They can make necessary adjustments to the menu to reflect this information.
This trend was recently covered in a ZD Net article. The piece suggests big data and the Internet of Things are being used to radically transform the point of sale solution.
“Among the scores of technology vendors strutting their point-of-sale wares is a common theme of connectivity — from back office operations to targeted deals via data collection and analysis. Much like retail, the restaurant industry relies on a balance of internal functionality and customer relationship management to ensure its success,” wrote Natalie Gagliordi, the article’s author. “What technology vendors are now proposing is the use of Big Data to tie all of those needs together at the POS, albeit in a much different form factor than the POS terminals of a decade ago.”
This is one example of how data can be used in this sort of setting to improve overall business processes. Any customer interaction, whether the immediate outcome is positive or negative, can add value to an organization. In instances where the Internet of Things is revolutionizing the POS model, extracting data may be streamlined to a point where it’s easy to find and manage. That won’t always be the case. One of the benefits of business intelligence is that it can be used to collect and process data from a number of different areas.
Retailers that implement a business intelligence system will be able to extract the information they need from each transaction and improve overall business operations.