Books by Gary Hawkins

The fast moving consumer goods retail industry is rapidly approaching a crossroads. One path leading to an efficient, but coldly barren, shopping experience ruled by automation. The otherputs technology in service to retailers, helping them reclaim their customer heritage. Retail in the Age of ‘i’ returns the individual customer to center-stage, supported by big data intelligence, deep systems integration, immersive shopping experiences, and constant innovation. Amidst the tumult and disruption, Retail in the Age of ‘i’ provides retailers a path forward by focusing on the one constant: The customer.  

Customer Intelligence provides a fascinating – and powerful – look at retail today and presents a strong case for truly understanding the value proposition retail companies offer their customers. If you’re a retailer, chances are your most valuable customers are paying more than they should; few retail companies understand that their most profitable customers are actually subsidizing the customers seeking only deals. Customer Intelligence explains how retail companies can structure customer data, gathered through loyalty programs or other vehicles, so as to finally understand where their profits originate – in terms of both products and customers. 

For a handful of select retailers around the world, vast quantities of customer data provide new ways to measure and manage their business. These are the companies who understand that the next competitive arena lies not in product-related activities but in understanding their customers. Integrating customer metrics into their financial and management reporting, such companies now fully understand if their marketing and operational activities are increasing the numbers of customers shopping, encouraging customers to increase their spending or improving retention of valuable customers.

The understanding and use of customer information as gathered through retail frequent shopper programs has forever changed the retail playing field. Yet many retailers are not using this information strategically, putting themselves at a competitive disadvantage and leaving untold profits on the table. And many packaged goods and private label manufacturers have yet to grasp the powerful implications of this information for their own businesses. 

In this groundbreaking book, Gary Hawkins, a worldwide authority on information enabled retailing, takes you step-by-step through the concepts and techniques of building a customer specific enterprise. He shows you how your frequent shopper program can become a powerful vehicle to segment your customer base, target your marketing efforts and maximize your profitability. Key strategies such as Customer Category Management and Yield Management are discussed, complete with charts and graphs to illustrate key points.