Catching the eye: brand blocking and assortment

Catching the eye: brand blocking and assortment

Humans evolved with two forward-facing eyes. What does this evolutionary detail have to do with retail merchandising? Just about everything. When consumers are considering products on store shelves, they typically face forward and focus on one spot directly in front...
Altruism at a tech startup: share your dream, not your money and time

Altruism at a tech startup: share your dream, not your money and time

by Erik Chelstad, Observa CTO Remember the classic and corny line that launched a thousand high-school graduation speeches — “Webster’s dictionary defines ‘blah’ as ‘blah blah blah’”? I was really tempted to kick things off with that when talking about altruism, but...
How to leverage data to sell more in retail

How to leverage data to sell more in retail

In the wise words of management guru W. Edwards Deming, “Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion”—and that is not the type of person who gets big deals with retail stores. Strong, factual data can show product success and be the key to winning over...
Not all product innovations work out

Not all product innovations work out

Just because an idea is fresh and new doesn’t mean it will succeed. The technology industry is littered with products and services that fell by the wayside as quickly as New Coke and it’s partner Crystal Pepsi, McDonald’s Arch Deluxe, and the Ford Edsel. Early...
Syndicated store data for retail

Syndicated store data for retail

Syndicated data, also called “consumption data,” is one of the key types of retail sales data you should know about. Starting from product-level data and expanding to the market level, syndicated retail data for brick-and-mortar stores measures consumer behavior based...