Retailers can gain huge competitive advantages in an increasingly digital marketplace by leveraging consumer insights. That's according to “The JDA Voice of the Category Manager.” The report, from JDA Software Group, tapped nearly 100 professionals responsible for category management and merchandising activity. Among this group, their top investment priority in the next five years is big data and predictive analytics (4%), followed by investments in customer-driven data science (37%). This is promising, as the study also revealed that most companies currently lack the ability to mine and leverage important customer data, therefore failing to meet evolving shopping demands.
