| | December 20178CIOReviewThe retail industry has traditionally piggybacked on customer loyalty data for the primary goal of targeted marketing--to define the consumer, based on previous purchasing behavior. The days of blast email marketing campaigns announcing the arrival of a `new' version of a product that the consumer just viewed nonchalantly are drawing to a close. The numbers speak for themselves. We are witnessing a time when the big players are beginning to withdraw their investments from digital marketing since they do not see the returns. Just because something receives a large number of views and likes, it does not translate to `x' number of sales. It may be of importance to note the shift of focus, at least in the retail sector, today: How to leverage loyalty and social media data when it comes to planning or buying merchandise, managing and reallocating inventory, and being right on top of the trend as opposed to playing `catch-up'?Popular social media platforms are now thronging with consumers' posts about places, activities, people, and products that are receiving a lot of attention, both good and bad. It is a potential gold mine for a retailer. Fast fashion brands like Zara, Uniqlo, and H&M have the `wow' factor of bringing the latest trend on the runway into their stores at a reasonable price and in a matter of weeks. Being on the cusp of a trending interest area is the next big step for the retail business. The possibilities aren't restricted to a demand adjustment standpoint; they can extend to rising and falling popularities of competitors, propensity relationships between products, and hordes of local data that can be captured by replenishment, forecasting, or third-party systems for the operations group to act on. Social media is a great place to identify local events that have received sudden spikes of attention, and the events themselves may mean a lot to the business depending on the vertical it is in. For a convenience store like Walgreens, a local marathon that is receiving a lot of RSVPs may mean something, and they can stock their water supplies along the stores that are proximate to the route. What interests me is how we can gather knowledge of such happenings and present it in front of the right people in the right manner and at the right time.Manning the MachinesThere is a plethora of tools that use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms to comb the social media world for keywords and hashtags on Instagram, Twitter, public Facebook, and public SnapChat. Companies can now turn their attention inwards and try to take advantage of the data, either through holistically integrated systems and their actual forecasting systems themselves or use some reporting or analysis tools to bring the trends to the DEMAND FORECASTING FROM THE HASHTAG WORLDBy Sean MacCarthy, Global Head of Analytics and Store Segmentation, Claire's Inc.IN MY OPINIONSean MacCarthy
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