Good article from Mckinsey on how winning CPG's will be need marketeers who "get" IT and vice versa. Both will need to "get" the power of data. We see an opportunity for CPGs to create competitive advantage by joining up their retailer, shopper and consumer data and using it to drive "Perfect Store" outcomes. We think the key barriers are not technical but organisational  Retailer, Shopper and Consumer tend to be managed in differing silos. Joining them up will require organisational change led by leaders who have the right vision and a rare blend of multi functional skills. http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Winning_with_IT_in_consumer_packaged_goods_Seven_trends_transforming_the_role_of_the_CIO_3065

DIY retailer B&Q has launched a new app for users to redeem loyalty offers on their smartphone and access deals on the go. The B&Q Club has more than 690,000 members who will be able to download the app from the retailer’s website. Shoppers will show their phone to a member of staff in store who can input their barcode at the check out. B&Q will then be taking the service further with then introduce of new in store point-of-sale scanners later in the year allowing shoppers to scan the  bar codes  themselves. Research carried out by the retailer showed 64% of smartphone owners use their phones in store. The retailer hopes to bolsters it multichannel credentials and reduce the use of paper by switching to the app. B&Q financial and business services general manager Steve Clark said: “We are proud to launch the B&Q Club app that offers a quick and convenient way for our loyalty scheme members to take advantage of the very latest offers and deal...

According to Marketing Week, Asda plans to overhaul its smartphone apps and launch free wi-fi in all stores.  CMO Stephen Smith told Marketing Week that “all kinds of things are possible” with in-store Wi-FI including offering product specs, further research or price checking. It currently offers a grocery shopping app including a barcode scanner and a mobile tool for its Asda Price Guarantee. The supermarket is working with parent company Wal-mart’s San Francisco based tech division Wal-mart Labs to develop mobile and multichannel properties that help consumers shop and access information whenever they want.  Smith says: “Multichannel and click and collect are big big additions for us this year - we’re pretty quiet about what we’re doing from a multichannel perspective but we’re doing some great stuff. As click and collect and multichannel become more mature, and they are by the day, there is fantastic opportunities there … you only have to look at the astounding growth...

According to British Gas, they have added 2m additional customers since they introduced Nectar points. 55% of these new customers joined BG's highest value customer segment and BG's overall NPS score grew by 5 points. 2m customers are earning Nectar points for self meter reading which is a nice win/win - the customer gets points and BG have lower service costs. A good example of "rewarding the behaviour that you seek". Chris Allin, Director of Loyalty & Customer Communications at BG explained why they chose to join the Nectar programme at the recent Loyalty World conference . Why did they feel they needed a loyalty programme? Energy utilities is a commoditised market and they needed to differentiate Their customers wanted to be rewarded for their loyalty They needed to drive brand reappraisal in some parts of world – many people still associated British Gas with the un-nationalised company which offered poor customer service T...

"It is the customer who determines what a business is. It is the customer alone whose willingness to pay for a good or for a service converts economic resources into wealth… What the business thinks it produces is not of the first importance—especially not to the future of the business and its success…. What the customer thinks he is buying, what he considers value, is decisive—it determines what a business, is, what it produces and whether it will prosper. And what the customer buys and considers value is never a product. It is always utility, that is, what a product or service does for him…. The customer is the foundation of a business and keeps it in existence. He alone gives employment."

After registering the  Scan & Go mobile phone app with their Nectar card, users can 'check in' by finding the relevant QR code at the front of the shop. They then scan the barcodes of items they wish to buy, and the app tracks their spend as well as any savings made. Shoppers then have a 'check out' QR code scanned at the till, and can pay using cash or card. The app is being trialled at Sainsbury's stores in Bethnal Green, Clerkenwell, and Tadley, Hampshire.

The huge volumes of data generated by today’s digital businesses, known as “big data” , will drive $28bn of worldwide IT spending this year and $34bn next year, according to a forecast from Gartner, the IT research firm. "Big data" is one of  four “nexus of forces” – cloud, social collaboration, mobile and information – identified by Peter Sondergaard, Gartner’s research director during his keynote speech at the annual Symposium in Orlando, Florida. Mr Sondergaard said   “By tapping a continual stream of information from internal and external sources, businesses today have an endless array of new opportunities for transforming decision-making, discovering new insights, optimising the business and innovating their industries.” He added: “Longer term, we see big data as a complete shift – a shift from today’s ways of accumulating, managing and deploying information as merely a resource to valuing it as any corporate asset.” Mr Sondergaard noted that companies that dev...