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Retailers Feel ‘Promotion Fatigue’: Survey

ATLANTA — Retailers are suffering from “promotion fatigue," with 46% planning to switch their attention to gaining a 360-degree view of their customers (in-store, online and via catalog) to better understand buying patterns and improve margins, following two years of focusing on promotions, according to the 2011 Global Retail CIO Survey from Aldata Solutions here.

ATLANTA — Retailers are suffering from “promotion fatigue," with 46% planning to switch their attention to gaining a 360-degree view of their customers (in-store, online and via catalog) to better understand buying patterns and improve margins, following two years of focusing on promotions, according to the 2011 Global Retail CIO Survey from Aldata Solutions here.

The survey, conducted by Martec, queried chief information officers from 130 food and nonfood retailers in 26 countries generating upwards of $50 million in annual revenue.

“The ongoing economic situation has altered the way the retail industry operates and forced a change in tactics in the fight for customer spend,” said Allan Davies, chief marketing officer for Aldata, in a statement. “Promotion management changing from the No. 1 investment priority in 2009, fourth in 2010 and ninth in 2011, is just one example of this change in tactics.

“Going forward into 2011 and during the coming three years, 'promotion fatigue' will give way to more focus on understanding consumer buying behavior better and getting a full view of what, how and where customers are buying,” said Davies.

Other key findings show that as the cost of raw materials and fuel dramatically increases, 39% of CIOs will invest in enterprise demand forecasting to reduce overstocking and optimize the frequency and delivery of supplier orders to meet customer demand and further reduce transport and wastage costs.