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Report Summary

This Economist Intelligence Unit study, commissioned by Wipro, examines how retailers are reacting to, and how leaders are benefiting from, increasing volumes of data. It examines the role of data in the customer experience, the benefits it is delivering in omni-channel commerce and corporate strategy and the regulatory challenges facing retailers as they accrue greater and greater quantities of information. The report is based on a survey of 50 C-suite executives from retail businesses in North America and Western Europe.

"Retail is the classic business for data. We can analyse anything you like, in any direction, at any time. The question, though, is what does that really tell you?"

-Andrew Ware, Chief financial officer, Karen Millen 

Research Methodology

The report is based on a survey of 50 C-suite executives from the retail sector including groceries and food (24%), fashion and apparel (20%), and large mixed retail (20%). Respondents come from a range of functions, including finance (24%), technology (20%) marketing (16%) and strategy (12%, including CEOs and chief strategy officers). Respondents are based in North America (60%) and Europe (40%), with their corporate head offices similarly split (62% and 36% respectively, with the remainder from Asia). Those surveyed come from companies of all sizes: 46% represent businesses with less than US$1bn in annual revenue, while 16% work for those with more than US$5bn in annual revenue. To complement the survey, The EIU conducted in-depth interviews with senior retail executives, as well as extensive desk research.