John Lewis slams ‘big data hype’

john-lewis-719618087-1John Lewis’ most senior technology chief has slammed the rise of “big data” as simply “big hype”, reaffirming what many in this industry – including godfather Clive Humby – have been saying for years.
Speaking at the Retail Business Technology Expo in London, John Lewis head of IT architecture Julian Burnett admitted that the company is being forced to come to terms with the masses of data its operations are generating.
“Retailers are awash with data,” he said. “But how do we make any sense of it? How do we bring to bear some of the value that is locked into the data we have?
He continued: “Big data is a big hype, but an organisation like John Lewis – and any other retailer – needs to get its head around how we bring together large amounts of structured and unstructured data in a quick and effective manner, in order to generate some level of insight for how to best serve our customers, and how to best select our products.”
Burnett said that retailers have witnessed widespread technological change in recent years in terms of customer facing systems. John Lewis’ multi-channel approach now includes click and collect services and mobile platforms helping to boost online sales.
New innovations being are likely to further increase the amount of customer data being generated, he said.
Burnett pointed to a trial of a ‘magic mirror’ augmented reality system involving the creation of a huge database of digital content, while a system to passively pinpoint customers in store to allow better planning of the retail space, is being looked at.
In order to keep up with the technological changes, he said that John Lewis would look to increasing its use of cloud services, including Google Apps to email and calendaring, where possible.
Late last year, DunnHumby co-founder and Clubcard guru Clive Humby said firms must start from the viewpoint of how data will benefit the customer; not how it will benefit the business.
He said: “The real challenge is creating value for the customer. It’s very easy with a loyalty card. Consumers use the card; then get a reward for using it, so it’s simple to incentivise. But they could find it alarming if they start getting offers they haven’t opted into.
“Big data is not scary if it’s done well – the key is relevance and consent. If consumers can see the benefit of handing over their data, they are much more likely to welcome it.”

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10 Comments on "John Lewis slams ‘big data hype’"

  1. As Julian Burnett and Clive Humby’s comments show, the objectives of data analysis have not changed at all. It’s still about delivering insights that can help brands create better value for their customers. 

    All that has changed is the landscape. There is so much more data available these days that traditional ways of handling it simply don’t cut it anymore. 

    We have reached a watershed moment – businesses that don’t find new ways of dealing with data will find their marketing and communications efforts slowly becoming paralysed. 
     
    For many marketers, the notion of Big Data has become something to fear. It’s an unknown territory, so how do you decide how much to invest and when? How do you calculate the risk?

    But surely the biggest risk is doing nothing at all. I think we are about to see a tipping point where businesses which take that leap of faith will discover innovative ways to process information and deliver better insights which will spin-off new benefits and opportunities (for brands and their customers). Success won’t happen overnight, but it is only by embracing the challenges of data that you can unlock its potential.

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