Lidl’s plans for major IT investments point out the chain’s ambitions to analyze its customer data.
Deciding factor
The discount chain is currently investing millions into new IT systems to systematically analyze consumer behaviour, according to our German Lebensmittel Zeitung colleagues. Lidl confirmed the news to the paper, stating a modern and flexible “business intelligence” system will play an ever increasingly decisive role whether retailers are successful.
The receipts alone, spread across thousands of stores, are a huge source of information that the retailer wants to examine closely. When do people buy which items? Are there products that are bought alongside certain other items? Lidl even wants to draw in external information, like the weather, to better understand its own information.
Competitive edge
The goal is to optimize its product range, its pricing, its customer communication and its discounts in order to gain a competitive edge.
However, the weight of these investments (up to double digits) make it clear that the discounter aims to do more than a typical receipt analysis, Lebensmittel Zeitung feels. Possibly, the discounter may actually draw data from its web shops, mobile apps and social media to create simulations and forecasts.
