Technology has changed how people shop. Now, consumers can use their computers or smartphones to research products, compare prices and finalize purchases. The shopping experiences has become even more integrated, with consumers shopping through mobile phones, tablets and computers. While this may complicate multi channel retailing significantly, technology can also bring merchants new advantages, such as in-depth information and data about their customers.

“Highly informed and more demanding customers are challenging retailers to consider new ways of tapping into their data to answer the ‘crunchy questions’ that can hold the key to improving performance,” explains consulting form Deloitte. “As the questions become more complicated to answer, retailers require in-depth insights to effectively manage and forecast future performance.”

While knowing the customer has always been important to any merchant, retailers are now able to become even more insightful when it comes to shopper behavior and intricacies. For example, the right analytics could help them understand which shoppers they are in danger of losing and why, and allow them to identify their biggest influencers and most loyal guests. Additionally, metrics can be leveraged to understand target demographics, even when the core shopper base shifts buying habits and greatly impact operations.

“Advanced analytics represent a portfolio of tools, techniques and organizational capabilities that can be applied to specific decisions across a wide range of business concerns,” Deloitte adds.

In an era of multi channel shopping, metrics and data give merchants the ability to track customers and their buying habits regardless of what channels they are purchasing from and at what price. In turn, these analytics can help merchants keep their customers happy and inform organization-wide business decisions.

eCommerce software solutions such as SalesWarp provides merchants with a user friendly dashboard and reporting tools that monitor and highlight all the important information required to make these critical business moves.