retail case study examples

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Case Study: Can Retailers Win Back Shoppers Who Browse then Buy Online?

• Thales S. Teixeira
• Sunil Gupta

A brick-and-mortar retailer searches for a response to “showrooming.”

Bertice Jenson couldn’t believe how shameless they were. Right in front of her in the Benjy’s superstore in Oklahoma City, a young couple pointed a smartphone at a Samsung 50-inch Ultra HD TV and then used an app to find an online price for it. They did the same for a Sony and an LG LED model, as the Munchkins from The Wizard of Oz danced across all three screens.

• TT Thales  S. Teixeira  is the co-founder of Decoupling.co, a digital disruption and transformation consulting firm. He is the author of  Unlocking the Customer Value Chain: How Decoupling Drives Consumer Disruption  and a panel judge in CNBC’s Disruptor 50 annual startup competition. Previously he was a professor at Harvard Business School for ten years and now teaches at the University of California.
• SG Sunil Gupta is the Edward W. Carter Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.

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How to Improve Your Brand: Retail Store Case Study

I remember the first time I stepped into a Vans store. I was on vacation with my family in California and we happened to stumble upon one of their stores in San Francisco. I had never seen anything like it before. The store was so cool and hip, and the staff was so friendly and helpful. It felt like a completely different world from the stuffy, boring retail stores back home. Ever since then, I’ve been fascinated by Vans’ unique approach to retailing – which is why I decided to write about retail store case study!

Retail store case study Explained

A retail store case study is a customer research method used to investigate a retail store in order to understand its operation and performance.

A case study of retail outlets can provide insights into the stores’ customer service, product selection, and marketing techniques.

It can also reveal problems and challenges that the store faces, which can be used to improve its operations.

Case Studies Prove Experiential Retail Is The Future

Physical shops are in decline, but experiential retail stores are on the rise.

Millennials are the biggest spenders on experiential shopping, with 52% of their total expenditures going towards these types of products. This has introduced the term ‘Retailtainment’.

Experiential Retail in Action

Brands have to stay creative in order to keep up with their competitors. By providing unique, fun, and immersive experiences, retailers are able to provide their customers with memorable shopping experiences that set them apart from the pack.

Stores are moving away from the features-and-benefits approach to retail sales , and focusing more on creating a memorable customer experience.

To be a successful retailer, you must provide your customers with a pleasant, convenient, and enjoyable experience.

Here are 3 great examples of how experiential retail is being implemented.

Marvel: Avengers STATI-O-N

The Marvel’s Avenger: The Science Behind The Super Heroes is an interactive exhibition that tours around the world.

It’s appeared all over the world, including in New York, Las Vegas, and South Korea.

Based on Disney’s blockbuster Avengers movies, this store has actual costumes and props that were used in the films, as well as interactive exhibits.

The (Marvel): (Avengers) (STATI-O) (project) is not about (selling) (T-shirts) and (mugs). (The goal) of the project is (to deliver) (an in-person) (experience) to fans and (bring) (the brand) (to life).

The Marvel Avengers: S.T. A. T. I. O. N. exhibit at Discovery Times Square is an excellent example of interactive and immersive entertainment.

Fans of the MCU can immerse themselves even further into the fictional world that they enjoy, further cementing their allegiance to the Marvel brand and their love of the franchise.

For a brand as successful as Marvel, it would be easy for them to rest on its laurels. But, they continue to impress fans through creative marketing strategies, such as turning their stores into entertainment centers.

Farfetch: Creating a Retail Experience of the Future

The e-commerce site, farfetch.com, is for high-end boutiques that are looking to create a unique shopping experience for their customers.

The founder of online fashion retailer, FarFetch, believes that the future of shopping lies in using technology to enhance the shopping experience. He predicts that by 2025, 80% of retail sales will still take place in a physical store, but that this percentage will decline as online shopping becomes more popular.

Farfetch’s Store of the Future

The CEO of RetailNext, Robert Neves, envisions a future where consumers can have more human interaction with retailers.

He developed an augmented reality solution called “Store of the Future” that linked offline and online shopping experiences. The “store of the future” featured interactive, touch screen-enhanced mirrors that allow shoppers to virtually try on clothes, as well as digitalized, sensor-enabled, smart-racks that allowed customers to digitally browse items.

The sign-in page at FarFetch gives retail sales reps access to a customer’s order history, wishlist, and profile information.

The mirrors in the changing room allow customers to instantly request different items, sizes or payment methods without having to leave the fitting rooms.

This revolutionary approach to retail allows customers to enjoy the best of both worlds: the personalized experience of shopping in boutiques with the speed and convenience of online shopping.

Huda Beauty: Cosmic Experience in Covent Garden

The luxury cosmetics company, Huda Beauty, created one of a kind immersive shopping experience in London’s Covent Garden. The pop-up gave customers a chance to try on products, learn about the company, and shop the newly launched line.

To launch their new product, the cosmetics company, Huda Beauty, created a futuristic pop-up shop in London. This allowed them to reach a new audience and showcase their products in a unique and memorable way.

The outside of the building featured various geometric and mirror-like shapes and designs. Inside, there were even more reflective surfaces, as well as more ‘spacey’ and ‘cosmic’ features.

At the London launch of her makeup line, the cosmetics queen herself, @hudabeauty, sat on the throne that she used in her marketing materials. This was all part of the effort to get as many likes and shares on social media as she could.

The introduction of the pop-up store was hugely successful. It introduced a whole new set of customers to the brand.

If you’re looking for a retail store case study that will make you think, look no further than Vans. This post dives into the company’s unique shopping experience and how it can be used to improve your own business. From their cool and hip stores to their friendly and helpful staff, there’s a lot we can learn from Vans about creating a great customer experience. So next time you’re thinking about ways to improve your retail business , take some inspiration from this iconic brand!

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Retail Design Case Studies

See how we’ve helped clients across the globe with projects big and small. View our portfolio of projects that includes entire omni-channel experiences , creative retail display ideas , interactive kiosks, and more to help engage consumers and achieve their goals. 

Here is a compilation of top three case studies on retail management.

1. Case Study on Tiffany & Co:

“Tiffany’s global retail operations once again demonstrated the ability to generate strong operating earnings growth despite weakness in certain individual country markets. Our continued expansion throughout Asia and Europe should contribute to increasingly consistent and resilient long-term earnings growth,” says Michael J. Kowalski, the chairman.

Tiffany & Co. is a holding company that operates through its subsidiary companies (“company”). The company’s principal subsidiary, Tiffany and Company, is a jeweler and specialty retailer, whose merchandise offerings include an extensive selection of jewelry, as well as timepieces, sterling silverware, china, crystal, stationery, fragrances and accessories. Through Tiffany and Company and other subsidiaries, the company is engaged in product design, manufacturing and retailing activities.

Tiffany was founded on September 18, 1837 when Charles Lewis Tiffany opened a stationery and fancy goods emporium at 259 Broadway in New York City. Every article was marketed with a non-negotiable selling price, a revolutionary policy that made headlines.

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The first day’s store sales were total five dollars in downtown Manhattan. Soon after the company was founded a distinctive shade of blue was chosen to symbolize the company’s renowned reputation for quality and craftsmanship.

Tiffany as a Brand:

The company adopted the color for it’s for use of boxes, catalogues, shopping bags, brochures, as well as advertising and for other promotional materials. Over time, this lustrous color became an identify mark for Tiffany & Co., universally recognizable as the Tiffany blue. Tiffany blue boxes and shopping bags evoke images of elegance and exclusivity, as well as lush bounty. The Tiffany blue box was later to become an American icon of style and sophistication.

Distribution of Tiffany & Co:

The company’s channels of distribution are through: U.S. retail (50% of fiscal 2006 sales) consists of retail sales transacted in Tiffany & Co. stores in the United States and sales of Tiffany & Co. products through business to business direct selling operations in the United States; International Retail (38% of fiscal 2006 sales) consists of sales in Tiffany & Co. stores and department store boutiques outside the United States and, to a lesser extent, business- to-business, internet and wholesale sales of Tiffany & Co. products outside the United States.

Direct marketing (seven per cent of fiscal 2006 sales) consists of Internet and catalog sales of Tiffany & Co. products in the United States; and others (five per cent of fiscal 2006 sales) consists of worldwide sales of businesses operated under trademarks or trade names other than Tiffany & Co. (i.e., Little Switzerland and Iridesse). Others also include wholesale sales of diamonds obtained through bulk purchases that are subsequently deemed not suitable for Tiffany’s needs.

Growth Strategies Adopted by Tiffany & Co:

The company’s key growth strategies are to selectively expand its channels of distribution in important markets around the world without compromising the long-term value of the Tiffany & Co. trademark; to increase sales in existing stores by developing new products; to increase its control over product supply and achieve improved profit margins through direct diamond sourcing and internal jewelry manufacturing; to enhance customer awareness through marketing and public relation programs; and to provide customer service that ensures a superior shopping experience.

The company’s shares are traded on The New York Stock Exchange with the symbol TIF. Headquartered at 727 Fifth Avenue in New York, Tiffany has more than 8,000 employees around the world.

Smaller Format:

Tiffany & Co. announced plans to open a smaller-format store in Glendale, California, in mid-October 2008. The approximately 2,600 sq. ft. store was to be located in The Americana at Brand, a new 900,000 sq. ft. retail and residential environment developed by Caruso Affiliated.

Covering 15.5 acres that’s beautifully landscaped with fountains, plazas and walkways, the expansive property is designed as an ultimate lifestyle and leisure destination, with shops and boutiques, casual cafes, fine dining, and luxury residences.

The store’s clean, ultra-modern environment invites relaxed browsing and interaction with contemporary Tiffany & Co. collections, ranging from diamond jewelry in platinum and gold to an array of sterling silver jewelry.

“We are pleased to be the first retail environment in the world to unveil this new concept shop by Tiffany & Co.” stated Rick J. Caruso, CEO of Caruso Affiliated. “Rich in history and true luxury, Tiffany & Co. is simply the finest purveyor of diamonds, jewelry and gift items.”

Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) reported results for the three months (“second quarter”) and six months (“first half”) that ended on July 31, 2008. Strong net sales growth in Asia- Pacific and Europe led to an 11% increase in worldwide net sales in the second quarter.

Combined with a higher operating margin, this resulted in a 21% increase in net earnings from continuing operations and a 31% increase in earnings per diluted share in the quarter. These results enabled the company to slightly increase its earnings expectation for the full year.

Net sales in the second quarter increased 11% to $732.4 million. On a constant-exchange-rate basis which excludes the effect of translating foreign-currency-denominated sales into U.S. dollars (see attached “Non-GAAP Measures” schedule), worldwide net sales rose to seven per cent and comparable store sales declined one per cent. In the first half, net sales rose 11% to $1.40 billion. On a constant exchange-rate basis, sales increased seven per cent and comparable store sales rose one per cent.

Promotion Strategies Used by Tiffany & Co:

The world has been infatuated with the Tiffany style since the early twentieth century. From Hollywood premieres to Centre Court at Wimbledon, celebrities choose Tiffany for its urban sophistication and glamor. Design that is innovative, unique and stunningly beautiful is, by definition, irresistible.

For this very reason, Tiffany’s timeless jewelry pieces are seen prominently on the world’s most beautiful people. Movie stars, fashion models and women of achievement embrace Tiffany’s spectacular beauty and superlative craftsmanship.

Tiffany plans to enter into Indian market because of the ideal growth prospects. The Indian jewelry sector, one of strongest retail segments of India, has an estimated total domestic market size of Rs. 52,000 crore. The organized jewelry retail sector accounts for just about three per cent of the total market size at Rs. 1,450 crore.

While the overall jewelry retail sector has grown by 9.2% in 2006 over the Rs. 47,600 crore market in 2005, the organized segment has shown a nearly 32% growth in 2006 over the Rs. 1,100 crore organized market in 2005. The share of organized jewelry retail has grown from two per cent in 2004 to nearly three per cent over the two-year period. The Indian jewelry sector’s current global standing is estimated at over US $90 billion.

According to industry sources, in India 65% of the jewelry is bought during weddings, with gifting contributing around 26%. Global players will look to establishing a foothold in this market in view of the sheer size of the domestic market and because India’s expertise in the trade is well recognized across the globe.

Competitors of Tiffany & Co:

An analysis of some of the major organized jewelry retailers indicates that in terms of increase in retail outlets there was equal growth (39%) in 2005 and 2006 whereas the growth in retail space was more in 2005 than in 2006.

1. Tanishq:

Tanishq, from the Tata Group, was started in 1995 and is one of the most diversified business conglomerates. Ten years ago it challenged the established family jeweler and introduced new rules in the precious jewelry segment.

Tanishq marked the beginning of jewelry chains in the country, as against the single store norm of the category traditionally. It has witnessed steady growth over the last two years. From a retail presence in 55 cities with 69 stores across 1,01,290 sq.ft. of retail space in 2004-05, it currently has 92 stores across the cities.

2. D’Damas:

In 2003, the Gitanjali Group and Damas LLC Dubai — the largest jewelry retail chain in the Middle East came together to form D’damas — a contemporary collection of gold and diamond jewelry. D’Damas’ gold jewelry is endorsed by the World Gold Council (WGC) and its diamond brands by DTC. Some of the most successful brands of the group are Gili, D’damas, Giantti and Sangini diamond Jewelry.

It owns 20 standalone stores across 15 cities in India. A part of the Rosy-blue Group, it has metamorphosed into a brilliant entity. Today, the group has cast its glow over 14 countries across the globe and is among the largest sight holders and India’s largest diamond and platinum retailer.

4. Intergold:

Intergold, another rentuse from the Rosyblue Group, was started in 1996, and works in close association with DTC (De Beers), World Gold Council and Platinum Guild International. It the one of the largest diamond jewelry retail chain in India with over 20 stores across India.

Carbon has two exclusive stores, one each in Bangalore and Delhi. Since its launch in 1998, it is also present in 58 shop-in-shop formats. By 2007 end, Carbon planned to have 20 stores across India.

2. Case Study on Hindustan Oil XtraPower Fleet Card Program:

Introduction to Hindustan Oil XtraPower Fleet Card Program:

About 50% of high speed diesel sales of the transport sector are through highways. This was a thought which brought about the concept of gaining loyalty from this segment of customers capable of giving huge purchases from Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL).

The introduction of fleet cards and network loyalty programs was meant to be an extension of the pre-existing customer loyalty program. Even here B.P.C.L. was the pioneer, launching SmartFleet in February 2001, followed by IOCL’s Power-Plus in January 2002. These programs gave fleet owners the option of giving drivers pre-loaded cards which allowed better MIS, transaction tracking and points earning.

With the launch of a co-branded card with MyShoppe, a network loyalty program with a number of retail chain affiliates by IOCL, network loyalty came into the picture. The IOCL XtraPower Fleet Card was launched in March 2004 and at present accounts for 10% of the company’s diesel sales, 13% of the sales on the highways and 22% of the fleet market share.

XtraPower Fleet card program is the largest fleet card program in India with around 12.25 lakh cards issued till March 07. It has a total of 3.2 lakh customers under its umbrella. Regular users are less than a lakh. The average customer usage is less than two per cent. A large amount of resources have been deployed for this program since it is one of the biggest revenue generators for India’s highest ranked fortune 500 company.

No other oil company offers such a vast network as Indian Oil. This makes the Indian Oil Program a clear winner amongst fleet card program in the country bringing it a revenue of more than 25 crores a day.

Rewards Obtained by Hindustan Oil XtraPower Fleet Card Program:

On every purchase of fuel/lubes through Xtrapower fleet card (except for cards with interest free credit limit facility), the owner earns Xtra points. With the points accumulated by a card, the member can redeem a choice of reward items from the Xtrapower rewards catalogue including fuel/lubes. For every Rs.100 one earns five Xtra points which gives 40 paise as a reward value. It means for every purchase of Rs.10, 000 the member earns Rs.400.

Inspite of all these benefits the program leaves much to be desired. In the entire program only 21.5 % cards are active out of the total of 12.25 lakh cards issued till March 07. Lack of knowledge to the customer about the program benefits is a constraint which has to be overcome.

Also the fact that in terms of benefits there is not much to choose between the fleet card programs of various oil companies in India, this would require a major customer communication program.

Indian Oil Xtrarewards is India’s first on-line rewards program that seeks to inculcate the habit of redeeming points. The loyalty program rewards customers who pay by cash, credit and debit cards. Each transaction is confirmed on-line through a charge slip and customers can earn points on fuel/lube purchases by participating at Indian Oil retail outlets.

Additional points can also be earned outside the Indian Oil network, covering prominent FMCG, food, automobile, travel, entertainment, apparel and hospitality sectors. Xtrarewards is currently active in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Mysore, Coimbatore and Chennai. It will be shortly available in other markets like Delhi.

Apart from redeeming the accumulated points instantly on fuel/SERVO lubes at participating retail outlets, the card holder can also redeem the points to get some exciting gift items from a catalogue.

The redemption on gifts can be registered either from the participating retail outlets or from the comfortable confines of one’s home through the 24 x 7IVRS Help Line number. The program continuously provides the cardholder with privileges, benefits and offers from alliance partners like Domino’s Pizza, Subhiksha, Rediff Shopping, Kumaran Silks, Dhabba Express, Chennai Corporate Club and Archana Sweets.

As loyalty programs become ubiquitous, some interesting dynamics will evolve in the loyalty marketplace. Companies will continue to look for ways to differentiate their loyalty programs, while balancing program revenue and costs to achieve favorable economics. How will the loyalty program evolve? It has been slow but future economic, demographic and legal landscapes could accelerate company attention to customer retention.

3. Case Study on Vimal :

Vimal suiting is one of the brand which comes under Reliance. Vimal suiting, one of the oldest and most respected iconic textile brand of India is languishing some-where in the attic of the mega corporation Reliance. The brand which started off as a saree brand developed itself into a mega textile brand for women, men and even for furniture (Vimal harmony is one of the largest furnishing brands).

Vimal suiting was launched in 1980 after the successful Vimal range of sarees. At that point of time, Reliance was predominantly a textile company. This brand was carefully positioned as a premium men’s suiting brand. The brand which was handled by Mudra was promoted heavily by Reliance. At that time the major competitors being Bombay Dyeing and Raymond.

The Vimal Suiting Brand was Developed in Six Stages:

1980 saw the making of Vimal’s suitings brand. It was a challenge for the agency since the consumer was already exposed to quite a few venerable and longstanding brands. Loyalties ran high with little or no tolerance for newcomers. It was against this backdrop that Vimal launched their suitings brand. They had one major advantage over the existing players—product superiority.

And this is exactly what the advertising cashed in on for their launch. It was unusual for a textile brand to be sold as a consumer durable. In fact the first campaigns of Vimal actually carried insets of the machinery! And quite naturally it drew considerable criticism from the advertising pundits of the time. But the brand’s courage of conviction eventually won the day. Slowly and surely the brand moved forward and upward in a series of well-orchestrated moves.

Established the superiority of Vimal suitings backed by, technology endorsements.

Achievers endorsed the caliber of the brand.

And yes, it was a most unusual take on the conventional celebrity endorsement route.

The brand achieved enough momentum to dictate fashion, and to be taken seriously.

Saw Vimal firmly established as ‘The Style Guru’.

Yet another first for textile advertising- Cricketers as celebrities.

The brand continues with its passion for fashion.

The brand was targeted at the young ambitious people who are challengers to the CEOs. The brand personality was stylish, and inspirational. Vimal was promoted using the famous tagline “Only Vimal” created by Frank Simoes. The tagline is said to be personally approved by Dhirubai Ambani himself. It was a premium brand and the ads were catchy. Reliance also opened exclusive Vimal showrooms as part of brand promotion.

Later in the 1990’s, the Reliance business model changed. The company changed from textiles to petrochemicals and Vimal was not fitting into the reliance business plans. It was the only retail brand of Reliance (now we have RIM) and the company never focused on Vimal.

As far as a marketer is concerned, Vimal was a great brand with huge potential. Late 90’s also saw the shift in the consumer’s preference towards ready-mades. Although Reliance had a readymade brand “Reance” it was a half-hearted move which resulted in a flop.

Vimal was known for its quality and style and people still people remember its simple baseline “Only Vimal”. Lack of marketing support had virtually killed the brand. Vimal is now owned by Raymond’s and Reid & Taylor.

Rebirth of Vimal:

After a decade long sleep, Vimal is making a comeback in a new avatar with a:

1. New Logo :

2. New Designing :

The Company hired a famous Italian designer Maurizio Bonas to train the Indian tailors on the latest in global styles and to launch a special range of premium apparel called Vimal Black.

3. New Product Offerings Along with different Pricing Strategy :

Created three sub-brands that straddle all price points:

1. Vimal Red offers basic formal wear for the popular segment (formal shirts for Rs. 699-899).

2. Vimal White, which is trendier apparel, is the mid-price range (Rs. 799-1,099).

3. Vimal Black is the company’s premium offering (Rs. 999-1,800).

Thus, targeting new and various segments of customers with different brands, the new look Vimal is planning to roll out 16 stores in the next financial year. However, it will take more than a suit maker for that reason, even an Italian suit maker, to help Vimal regain its once iconic “Only Vimal” status.

New Distribution Channel :

Ready to wear range will be sold in the company’s exclusive stores and the franchisees. It is also counting on Reliance Retail’s own stores to help promote the men’s wear brand, especially Vimal Red.

Already, fabric sales have been initiated at Reliance Trendz and Reliance Mart stores. Reliance’s Vimal did its homework very well in every aspect i.e. advertising, promotion and distribution channel but don’t you think it will be very difficult for Vimal to establish its brand as it was in the late 80s and early 90s?

New Advertising Campaign :

A 60-second commercial by Grey Worldwide shows the root values of company. The ad shows a father readying his son to take over his business empire. He picks his own brand Vimal, of course, and it ends with the original theme tune and tagline.

It was first time at any textile company showed its machinery etc. in ads to boast that Vimal fabrics were made in the most modern plant in India. The company spent Rs. 40 crore on promotion through television, radio spots and print ads, apart from extensive point-of-sale promotions for high visibility.

Major Competitors of Vimal:

Vimal is facing good competition from established players like Park Avenue from Raymond, Madura Garments (Louis Phillipe, Allen Solly, and Van Heusen), Arvind Brands (Arrow), Zodiac and Reid & Taylor and premium international brands like Brioni, Alfred Dunhill and Ermenegildo Zegna have also entered the Indian market.

Madura Garments :

Madura Garments, a division of Aditya Birla Nuvo, is India’s leading apparel and retail company. It enjoys market leadership in the branded garments business through its power and popular lifestyle brands — Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and Peter England.

Recently, the company has entered into a distribution agreement with the international brands like Esprit, Marks & Spencer’s Tommy Hilfiger, Polo and several other discerning international buyers. Madura Garments products are sold through a network of more than 130 exclusive franchisees and over 2,000 premier multi-brand outlets as well as leading departmental stores within India and overseas.

It has exclusive showroom space, which includes several large format brand outlets of world-class standard, providing top quality retail experience to the consumers. It also has a highly visible presence in large department and multi-brand stores. The thrust is on brand building through development of innovative new merchandise, exciting communication campaigns and enhancing the product portfolio.

The overall marketing strategy has been to move from a ‘Wardrobe’ brand to a ‘Lifestyle’ brand. Fashion brands have 95 showrooms which exclusively sell Louis Phillippe/Van Heusen/Allen Solly and SF jeans. Popular brands have 160 showrooms and 600 shops-in- shops and 800 multi-brand outlets spread across 250 towns in India.

Planet Fashion:

Madura Garments has successfully launched Planet Fashion showrooms in India and SAARC and Middle East countries with further expansion plans. With over 3,000 square feet of space, the planet fashion showrooms promise an ambience of sheer luxury. Today 45 Planet Fashion Showrooms have been opened up in 20 cities nationwide.

This format was designed by renowned French architect Jan Claude Pannighetti. Plant Fashion hosts some of the best know menswear brands like Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Peter England & SF Jeans and also provides a wide range of fashion accessories to complete a man’s wardrobe.

Each store stocks about 6,000 garments with the store theme of world class shopping experience delivered through 500 square feet of shopping area in each store where individual brands are merchandised.

Trouser Town:

It is a whole new concept in retailing as it is the only store in India dedicated solely to readymade trousers. Presently TT has nine showrooms across seven cities nationwide.

1. Louis Philippe:

Louis Philippe’s range of superbly crafted garments make an exclusive fashion statement that is accepted as a status symbol, recognized by its distinctive icon — The Upper Crest.

2. Van Heusen:

Van Heusen has redefined corporate attire through continuous product innovation and exclusive collections.

3. Allen Solly:

Allen Solly popularized the Friday dressing concept in India. It has won the IFA Images 2001 Best Brand Award in the readymade menswear apparel category. With the launch of its women’s wear in December 2001, Allen Solly has made a successful foray into the growing women’s work and casual wear market.

4. Peter England:

This mid-segment shirt brand has effectively penetrated the mini metros. It has won several awards, including Shirt of the Year 2000 and India’s Most Admired Menswear Brands in 2001.

With a turnover of Rs. 395 crore, Madura Garments is one of the leading and fastest growing branded apparel companies in the country. The company enjoys a 30% market share in the premium segment for all brands. The company is a preferred global supplier for international brands such as Marks & Spencer’s, Tommy Hilfiger, Polo Ralph Lauren and several other international buyers.

Madura Garments was expected to report revenue of a round Rs. 600-650 crore in FY’07, and is currently a clear leader in the domestic apparel space with annualized growth of 20% in recent years. Its total turnover is projected to touch Rs. 650 crore, in line with a planned 20% growth for itself while the market grows at 15%.

5. Raymond’s:

The Raymond Group was incorporated in 1925 and within a span of a few years transformed from being an Indian textile major to being a global conglomerate. Today, the Raymond group is vertically and horizontally integrated to provide the customers total textile solutions. Few companies across the globe have such a diverse product range of nearly 12,000 varieties of worsted suiting to cater to customers across age groups, occasions and styles.

Raymond’s turnover is US$ 500 million and the group is today one of the largest players in fabrics, designer wear, denim, cosmetics & toiletries, engineering files & tools, prophylactics and air charter services in national and international markets.

For over 80 years, Raymond has been one of the world’s premier manufacturers of worsted suiting fabric in fine grade wool, in the same league as the finest in Europe has to offer. Today, the Raymond product range includes pure wools, blended wool with exotic fibres like camel hair, cashmere and angora and innovative blends of wool with polyester, linen and silk offering suiting and trouser fabric for all occasions and needs.

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Six incredibly effective retail case studies from The Digitals

It’s awards season here at Econsultancy as the entries detailing inspirational case studies from a huge range of companies continue to roll in, and it’s still not too late for your team to enter.

The Digitals 2014  are designed to showcase the finest work from the global digital and ecommerce community, but not just from individuals, we want to put the whole team centre stage in order to celebrate and truly reflect the collaborative culture of our industry.

You have till 24 September 2014 to enter, and in order to give you inspiration for your own entry we’ve rounded up some of the best retail case studies we received in 2013.

For more advice on how to write your entry, read David Moth’s  10 tips for writing a stand out awards entry for The Digitals .

Argos wished to cement its position as a leader of multichannel retail with an expanded channel proposition including an iPad app, fully transactional m-commerce site and innovative web functionality.

The cornerstone of this strategy was the re-launch of its Argos.co.uk site  providing solid foundations for growth whilst delivering enhanced experiences and commercial returns. 

Equally important are the new mobile capabilities offering convenience and market-leading immediacy to new customers, providing competitive advantage in attracting customers on the move. 

The store refurbishment programme has also been designed for the multichannel customer and the iPad app begins to reposition Argos from a catalogue-led business to a digitally-led business, whilst digital and social marketing continue to play a significant role in customer engagement and acquisition.

The work involved building the new website, a mobile optimised website, iPhone app, iPad app, Android phone app and an Android tablet app. Customers can now easily start their journey in one place and pick it up in another. Responding to customer calls for speed, ease and immediacy, customers now have the options to check in-store product availability and Check & Reserve or 1-Click reserve for immediate collection. 

Improved navigation and product information is now available through the Argos.co.uk redesign, and thousands of customer reviews are available to help narrow choice. With a new national same day delivery service, customers can now choose between 14 combinations of order and fulfilment to meet their needs. The new iPad magazine showcases the broad range and inspires new customers. Channel breadth and market leading functionality have resulted in doubling of Facebook fans YOY.

The results:  

• Multichannel sales penetration has increased to over 50% of total sales, with Argos.co.uk receiving 440m visitors per year. 
• The internet now accounts for 42% of total company sales and Check & Reserve is Argos’ fastest growing channel. 
• The iPhone app has been downloaded over 2.5m times, the Android app over 625k times and the iPad app over 450k times. 
• The iPad app has already exceeded sales targets, achieving more than double the target set at launch and contributing to the 12% of total company sales now accounted for through mobile channels. 

For more on Argos from the blog check out how referral traffic from eBay to Argos is up 28% thanks to click-and-collect .

House of Fraser

House of Fraser wanted a digital advertising campaign that would support its Summer Sale activity in the ‘Women’s and Men’s Clothing’ and ‘Home and Garden’ categories ad increase its following across House of Fraser’s online and offline channels (including 62 House of Fraser bricks-and-mortar shops, the House of Fraser ecommerce site and House of Fraser’s direct outlet on ebay.co.uk)

The campaign sought to engage with its target market through highly targeted adverts, served on ebay.co.uk. It used eBay’s real-time transactional, search and geographical data to identify and target those shoppers who would be most interested in hearing about special offers from House of Fraser.

House of Fraser leveraged eBay’s Online Retail Media (ORM) proposition to increase campaign advertising awareness and sales across multiple sales channels, including offline.

In fact, despite all advertising being linked directly to House of Fraser’s eBay outlet, 72% of sales took place on House of Fraser’s own ecommerce site while there was a very positive impact on visiting and purchasing intentions in bricks-and-mortar stores. In particular, a high uplift in intent to visit stores (16%) and a 14% increase in propensity to purchase.

The results:

A survey of 2,700 eBay Advertising users showed:

• Increased advertising campaign awareness: 44% uplift in advertising campaign awareness among eBay users within first week of the campaign, which was maintained throughout.
• Uplift in visit and purchase intention: Campaign had significant impact across all sales channels, with visit and purchase intention each respectively seeing an uplift of: 25%/ 12% in House of Fraser’s eBay outlet; 16%/ 14% in store; and 25% each on House of Fraser’s website.
• Shoppers also exhibited an increase in positive brand associations, in particular ‘high quality’ up 16%, ‘offers attractive products’ up 12% and ‘good women’s clothes’ up 10%.

Bravissimo/Pepperberry 

The temperamental British weather has a huge impact on what consumers search for and purchase online. Bravissimo/Pepperberry trialled Fast Web Media’s weatherFIT, a weather-activated ad management tool for Google AdWords to control online advert output based on real-time weather conditions.

The brief:   

• Increase revenue from online paid search campaigns by 20% during three month trial campaign 
• Increase PPC click through rate by 20% for swimwear and 10% for dresses during three month trial campaign. 
• Increase ecommerce conversion rates by 10% for swimwear and 3% for dresses during three month trial. 

By analysing local weather data against ecommerce data, it became apparent that there was a strong correlation between weather and conversion rates.

Bravissimo/Pepperberry recognised the need to explore new online marketing methods to increase PPC revenues across its seasonal campaigns so agreed to trial weatherFIT for two of its campaigns – its Bravissimo swimwear range and its Pepperberry dresses range – in a three-month campaign running through March, April and May 2012

Following the trial, Fiona Lomas, Senior Marketing Manager at Bravissimo Ltd, said:

The results of our first campaigns using weatherFIT really speak for themselves, helping us to drive a major increase in PPC revenues. Using it to fine-tune our PPC advertising and promotions by taking into account local weather conditions really boosted sales in the crucial run-up to the holiday season – especially as the poor weather earlier in the year meant that consumers were spending more time at home.

Johnlewis.com required modernisation to deliver a multichannel strategy. The re-platforming project needed to provide enhanced user experience, better scalability and a foundation for the future.

Project EPIC needed to be able to achieve a huge amount of objectives, including:

• Enabling business growth by supporting a three-fold growth in the volume of orders, develop an increasingly personalised customer experience and support John Lewis in becoming the leading multichannel retailer in the UK. 
• Drive online revenue by refreshing and simplifying the online user experience, using personalisation, implementing tools to improve basket size whilst ensuring there was no customer impact during the project.

The approaches taken to reduce delivery risk were as follows:

• Iterative delivery, from an initial ‘executable architecture’ to prove feasibility and iterative enhancements developed through prototypes.
• Beta launch to a significant customer base.
• Remove complexity and rationalise legacy data structures.
• Develop an infrastructure that supports automation.
• Build automated deployment mechanisms for all environments early. 

John Lewis can now track products and services across online and offline, know what customers bought or were interested in, and manage all orders, products and information seamlessly across all channels. The increased accuracy of data for both consumers and John Lewis partners is central to enhancing the relationship with customers, and helps make the John Lewis promise relevant across all age groups both in-store and online.

The growth in online volume enabled by the new platform resulted in the following:

• Support growth of ecommerce to be 40% of total revenue 
• Significant increase in peak order volumes that can be supported 
• Increased conversion rates across mobile channels 
• Portability of shopping basket across channels 
• Significant improved ability to provide personalised customer experience 
• Transition was completed with no discernible negative impact on revenue and the first full day resulted in more than £2m gross revenue.

For more on John Lewis from the blog, check out these 14 reasons behind John Lewis’ 44% increase in online sales .

Fortnum & Mason 

How do you digitise a 300-year-old brand?

Fortnum & Mason has a long-term business objective to grow the business and audiences in new media channels and build an online community to help endorse the company and future products.

Working with Bell Pottinger it found creative ways of turning a 300-year old brand social, while staying true to its prestigious brand values and more traditional customer base, as well as driving sales.

Its campaign objectives were as follows:  

• Improve digital communications 
• Launch and manage social channels 
• Drive sales via store and online website 
• Increase organic non-branded search results 
• Drive engagement across all social channels 
• Support in-store activity and PR activity via social channels 
• Achieve 10,000 likes on Facebook in 2012

Fortnum & Mason began with Facebook and once proven successful, moved on to Twitter and activity around the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. From there it developed Facebook apps for specific campaigns, Twitter competitions and supported PR campaigns through the digital channels. 

Business objectives were exceeded with the successful launch of the brand online, increasing engagement and endorsement with customers, ultimately securing a big increase in online sales over key periods as well as across the year.

• Total number of fans following: 80,440 
• Social Reach: 11,580,952 
• Total referrals to fortnumandmason.com from social media: 39,339 
• !0,000 Facebook Likes by 31st December 

Co-op Energy

Co-operative Energy needed to raise awareness that it is a viable alternative energy provider at a key time. Working with Mediacom it used digital communications to gain market share in a turbulent market by reaching individuals who are researching and who may be actively looking for a new provider and Deliver a Cost per New Customer of less than £60.

Co-op’s strategy consisted of: 

• Raising awareness with customer ‘look a likes’ for maximum impact – profiling post codes of existing customers and using this data to geo-target the activity. 
• Reach those already in market through pull based channels – taking an aggressive approach to paid search to capitalise on the increased interest in the sector. 
• Promoting to those not yet in market but showing an interest – target those through display media who have visited news articles on the price increases, visited money saving tips content, and home moving websites. 
• Reaching bargain hunters who will be particularly responsive to the pricing message – gain coverage on voucher code and cash-back websites to reach this audience.

Every channel included in the activity had a specific role to play and how it was utilised matched this role perfectly. The level of targeting applied to the activity meant it achieved maximum effectiveness and reach the right audience for the product with the right message to promote engagement, awareness and customer generation. 

A voucher code and cash-back activity enabled it to reach price sensitive consumers and offer additional incentive to become a Co-op customer.

The timing and aggressive approach taken meant the Co-op was able to gain huge in roads in market share and capitalise on the actions of competitors in a manner completely in fitting with the Co-op proposition.

Results:  

• In the three months of activity, the activity generated over 6000 new customers, exceeding the acquisition target by over 270%. 
• The activity generated a cost per new customer of £14.74 across the three month period, 75% lower than the target set by the Co-operative. 
• The cost per new customer was as low as £1 at the peak of the activity.

Enter  The Digitals  and showcase your finest work, your team and your clients to the global digital marketing and ecommerce community.

For more inspiration, check out these  six inspirational B2B case studies from The Digitals .

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3 In-Store Analytics Case Studies Every Retailer Should Read

May 10, 2023

Case studies are invaluable in providing insight into how theory becomes practice. These studies offer on-the-ground information about how advanced analytics technology comes to life in a real store environment. This makes them a critical read for other retailers looking to drive efficiencies, make improvements, and foster a company culture of innovation. We’ve rounded up three unique case studies that each highlight an integral element of incremental improvement for modern retailers.

Below you’ll learn more about how The Vitamin Shoppe said goodbye to labor-related guesswork, how Camper empowered employees to make data-driven decisions, and how Megane no Tanaka Optical was able to develop a culture of performance in stores!

Optimizing Labor With The Vitamin Shoppe

Since its founding in 1977, The Vitamin Shoppe® (TVS) has grown into the premiere global destination for health and wellness solutions, supporting millions of customers annually on their journeys of lifelong wellness. Based in Secaucus, New Jersey, the company offers a comprehensive assortment of nutritional solutions and natural beauty products.

In the U.S., the company conducts business in over 700 directly-operated retail stores under The Vitamin Shoppe and Super Supplements™ banners. Globally, The Vitamin Shoppe serves customers in select Asia, South America, and Central America markets through local omnichannel partners.

The Challenge 

Optimize labor scheduling to contend with rising national resignation rates;

Establish performance baselines across the TVS fleet; 

Identify areas for improvement and opportunity.  

The Solution

Previously, TVS manually scheduled its store staff resulting in mismatched labor per shoppers. This also created additional tasks for stores shift schedules were being manually created. The brand subsequently started piping data into its scheduling tool, using the RetailNext data as the main source for labor forecasts . TVS stores were able to see labor forecasts based on historical and predicted performance, paired with labor sales goals, etc. for approximately 3500 employees in the field.

The Results 

TVS ultimately improved profitability across the chain through the reallocation of labor based on traffic trends . Idle labor at some stores was reallocated to other stores with higher traffic volumes. In doing so, TVS was able to drive sales at stores with higher foot traffic while removing the expense of idle labor at other locations. In just two years, this has resulted in significant improvement in the payroll rate to sales.

READ THE FULL CASE STUDY: Driving Payroll Efficiency Amid ‘The Great Resignation’  

Increasing Traffic With Camper

Founded in 1975 in Mallorca, Spain, Camper was created by Lorenzo Fluxa in response to the demand for a new and fresh style of footwear. With a rich heritage in shoemaking, this unique brand was created full of diversity and contrast which is now admired the world over. Camper's shoes are still designed and developed in the rural heart of Mallorca, with a young creative team working alongside artisans to create approximately 500 models each season. 

Now in its fourth generation, the brand's footprint has stretched around the globe with more than 400 stores. Each store has its own personality that infuses Camper’s core brand identity with new perspectives. From the first store in Barcelona in 1981 to date, Camper has always sought to create a shopping environment that is lively and engaging.

Providing high-quality store data that would help employees enhance the brand's in-person experience at various locations worldwide;

Developing a layered and contextual understanding of the in-store experience.

By reviewing the in-store conversion rates on the RetailNext suite, store managers had key insights on performance metrics in comparison to last year, peers, and goals. Based on metric performance, the RetailNext platform recommended actions to the Camper team to implement in stores to increase results. Furthermore, Camper was able to accurately identify top performers for reward and recognition, as well as make sound business decisions to improve underperforming areas.

Implementation has provided Camper with exceptional ROI through a unified internal culture, improved customer service, staff scheduling, and increased marketing efficiency and productivity.

READ THE FULL CASE STUDY: The Secret To Camper’s Global Success

Driving Performance With Megane no Tanaka 

Founded in Hiroshima, Japan in 1913, Megane no Tanaka Optical has built a history of excellence in eyewear for over 100 years. With over 100 locations, their expertise and professionalism in eyewear, hearing aids, and contact lenses are renowned throughout Japan. At the heart of Megane no Tanaka Optical’s success is its ability to celebrate the uniqueness of each individual by providing a memorable customer experience tailored just for them. 

A lack of comprehensive data about shopper journeys in stores and the effectiveness of in-store marketing strategies; 

Unable to define the traffic power hours and the number of employees to be scheduled per hour; 

Sales targets were not quantified. 

The Solution 

By investing in the RetailNext platform, this retailer was able to access accurate and actionable data that enabled them to pinpoint areas for improvement and removed the guesswork from making strategic business decisions. By reviewing traffic and conversion analytics , the brand developed a performance-based culture. Best practices were identified among top performers while underperforming stores were earmarked for improvement. Megane no Tanaka Optical also identified a trend that required the company to address the quality of staff training, store layouts, and merchandising.

Empowered by in-store analytics, the retailer’s performance-based culture found its stride in 2021. On the customer experience front, improved staff scheduling helped match customer demand, which ultimately boosted the customers’ in-store experience. There is now also increased efficiency as the brand measures the impact of store layouts, product placements, and other merchandising decisions on shopper engagement and performance metrics like conversion, average transaction value (ATV), and shopper yield. But perhaps most significantly, RetailNext has helped Megane no Tanaka Optical adopt a more analytical approach to all things brick and mortar. 

READ THE FULL CASE STUDY: How Japan’s Leading Eyewear Retailer Drives Performance

These three case studies illustrate a few key examples of how our technology has helped brands achieve real, measurable results. To view more Literature, you can visit our dedicated case study archive . We are proud to have partnered with a wide array of forward-thinking retailers from around the world to address varying business challenges and goals. 

Founded in 2007, RetailNext is the first in-store analytics platform specifically built to help navigate the ever-evolving retail landscape. We’ve helped over 400 brands optimize their in-store operations and achieve sustainable growth. Our purpose-built software is intuitive, cost-effective, and trusted by industry leaders. Please reach out to us should you have any questions or require more information about how we can help you reinvigorate your retail business. 

About the author:

Ashton Kirsten , Marketing Communications Coordinator , RetailNext

Ashton holds a Master's Degree in English and is passionate about starting conversations through impactful content and executing data-driven creative strategies. She is based in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she can be found reading, writing and researching.

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Small Business Case Studies Showcasing Successful Retail Consultant Strategies

Access My FREE 5-Part Retail Sales Training Email Course!

Here are several business makeover case studies from some of the smallest retailers to some of the largest who've used me as their guide to growing their sales.

While I don't rely on a sales staff or cold-calling to get new business, use these case studies to familiarize yourself with my work.

I help various sizes of businesses, and these case study successes are theirs.

At Eklund’s, a Business Makeover Story of Astonishing Retail Transformation

Retail Business Makeover – The Importance Of Owning Your Own Space [Case Study]

Country Market & Nursery Makeover [Case Study]

This family business reinvention was completed in the first quarter of 2013. Discover this 3-part blog featuring Black Horse Farms, which includes great lessons on attracting customers to your store and getting them to return.

Creating Buzz For Your Small Business [Case Study]

To generate sustainable buzz in your business that leads to higher profits, you must be a business worthy of buzz. That means you have to earn your customers' trust. This is the transformation story of one of my first clients, Polly’s Gourmet Coffee, with lessons on how to grow your retail business.

How to Attract Customers to Your Retail Store

Is location a problem? This case study spotlights the results of creatively leveraging your retail location. So many times, the thing that can most attract a customer - or make them drive right on by - is the exterior of your store.

Retail Consultant Sales Training Results In Double-Digit Increase

This case study featured a custom program developed to incorporate a new store design. The program included custom phone scripts, sales training, personal coaching, and role-playing for owners and their salespeople.

Retail Consultant Success Changing A Regional Chain's Culture

This case study spotlights changing a company's entire culture from nurturing to nurturing and selling . From the CEO, "We had become bogged down in survival. And it wasn’t a healthy place to be… Not for me as the leader or my team. I needed someone to help me work on a new direction for my business and help me hear and observe what was going on. I was looking for a shift change in who we were."  

What Retailers Can Learn From A Hotel Makeover [Case Study]

This 3-part study of a culture change shows how the client focused on a remarkable experience for their customers. And the revenues followed.

How Brand Identity Makes Your Marketing Easier [Case Study]

Knowing your brand identity - what it is based on and who it is targeting makes your marketing job much easier.

Best Retail Consultant Success: Changing A Toy Store Retail Sales Culture [Case Study]

The Surprising Conclusion To A Small Business Makeover [Case Study]

5 Signs Your Retail Store Needs A Makeover

15% Increase in Retail Sales: a Success Story

The search for operational optimization and productivity has always been a priority for retailers. Simultaneously, recent consumer trends have highlighted the need for shop teams to always be available to the customer. The balance between profitability and customer service is an eminent challenge in retail. Improving the convenience and quality of customer service without increasing costs starts by ensuring process efficiency, transforming shop teams from operational teams to customer-focused teams.

The company

A leading retailer with a growth strategy focused on price competitiveness, product diversity and quality with a strong brand and loyalty programmes.

The business model encompasses a network of more than 700 shops, including hypermarkets, supermarkets, local stores and an e-commerce platform.

The challenge

Personalization and convenience are common trends across retail sub-sectors. Customers are looking for an experience tailored to their preferences and expect products to be available at the right time, in the right quantity and with the right quality. To respond to these consumer demands, there is a need to free up the teams’ time for customer service and simultaneously guarantee the robustness of the logistical processes that ensure the availability of products.

In this context, a project team was established involving elements from the different areas of the shop. The objective of the project team was to increase the productivity of logistical tasks, eliminating the number of shop disruptions and freeing up the teams’ time so they could be more dedicated to customer service.

The approach

To meet the proposed challenge, the team began by analyzing the processes and tasks, which allowed them to identify the potential for improvement, followed by the design of the solution.

Root causes analysis

– Stockouts and low team productivity

The lack of consistency between the organization of the shop’s back warehouse and the shop’s layout proved to be one of the causes of productivity loss and increased stockouts, due to the excessive handling of products. This mismatch, despite allowing each location to be optimized, causes many losses during replenishment, since it requires longer journeys and empty runs.

On arrival of material at the shop warehouse, opportunities were immediately identified regarding the stock organization and amount ordered. Excessive stock of items makes its storage difficult, which consequently contributes to increased stock shortages and loss of productivity in handling. Palletized storage complicates not only handling but also ergonomics at the time of replenishment.

The identification and resolution of stockouts on-shelf are carried out in an ad-hoc way . This leads to a loss of productivity for the team as they leave the tasks they were carrying out to urgently respond to unanticipated replenishment needs.

– Poor customer service

If a stockout is not prevented, and store teams aren’t reacting to its occurrence, there is a large chance that customers have been affected by the unavailability of the product and that this has resulted in lost sales for the retailer.

Through observations on the shop floor, it became clear that workforce sizing was not meeting demand fluctuation throughout the day , as there were long checkout queues and customers were struggling to find a salesperson to assist their shopping journey.

All of these factors have a direct or indirect negative impact on the three most important indicators of shop operations: sales, productivity and customer service. Thus, the solution design contemplated initiatives to boost productivity, reduce or eliminate stockouts and increase retail sales.

Solutions design

How to increase retail sales and productivity, while reducing stockouts

All of the solutions below were implemented, tested, and validated in pilot shops, and then extended to the entire network with the necessary customization.

Store warehouse and in-bound flow  optimization

The first step was to review the layout of the back warehouse , considering the frequency of consumption and the configuration of the shop itself, to make the picking sequence in the warehouse coincide as much as possible with the replenishment sequence on the shelves. This ensures, on the one hand, rapid accessibility to higher rotation articles and, on the other, the optimization of replenishment routes, minimizing empty runs and unnecessary returns.

The implementation of a sorting process at the reception has enabled unnecessary handling to be minimized: on leaving the lorry, the articles are sorted according to their point of destination (storage rack or replenishment aisle) into standardized load units (pallets or trolleys, respectively).

To reduce excess stock, the inventory management algorithm was refined by considering consumption in real-time. To cope with variability in demand, the delivery frequency to the stores was increased. On the one hand, this solution levels the material replenishment and, on the other hand, reduces the risk of stockouts and inventory errors.

Shopfloor replenishment

To ensure the efficient movement of material, routes that set the pace for the replenishment operation were implemented. The frequency of the replenishment routes was determined by matching on-shelf capacity (in product units) with demand profile throughout the day. These cyclical routes, with a defined timetable and circuit , together with the use of trolleys, survey the replenishment needs and the replenishment of the products. In this way, the replenishment is guaranteed evenly throughout the day, prior to the occurrence of a stockout, with minimum impact on the customer’s experience. To allow this process to flow smoothly, a stock area with easy access for the replenisher was designed, close to the shopfloor and replenished according to consumption.

Workforce sizing, team scheduling and checkout

Team sizing was one of the store managers’ concerns. To correctly size the resources needed throughout the week and day, an analysis of the operational processes needed to be carried out by matching this with the customer flow patterns , the fluctuation of workload was made clear.

With the correct data in hand, it was possible to design and implement a workforce management algorithm for workforce sizing and daily resource scheduling , to effectively meet demand, while minimizing checkout and counter queues, and leaving availability to assist customers in the shopping journey.

The checkout area was also redesigned to promote a more pleasant experience and reduce the perceived waiting time.

Customer service and team skilling

Having freed-up time for the team to assist the customer, it was crucial to make sure that this assistance was valuable. Teams were trained in sales, customer service, and in the product portfolio.

All the new processes had to be deployed through the large network of stores . To successfully carry out this skilling effort, a group of team leaders were trained within the scope of the pilot store. They understood the challenges of implementing the new processes and experienced first-hand the benefits that they provided. This transformed the team leaders into efficient change agents. With detailed support material and follow-up sessions, they were able to deploy new ways of working in their stores and multiply the benefits for the company.

The retailer achieved significant gains in all target indicators: overall productivity of the operations team increased by 25%, while damaged goods and stock levels fell by 21% and 12%, respectively. Customer satisfaction surveys show an increase of 7% mainly due to a reduction in shelf turnover and due to a general improvement in convenience and in-store experience.

The combined effect of the operational indicators resulted in an impactful increase in retail sales, with a confirmed growth of around 15%. It is estimated that in the months following the project, the company’s market share increased by around 2.2%.

There is now greater stability and predictability in logistical processes, and an increase in the reaction speed of the teams in the shops.

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• Retail Case Study

Case Study: Retail

A case study on how we helped our partners uncover previously hidden insights in their data, the obstacles we faced along the way and the results of the analytic process.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO ACHIEVE...

Unlock Hidden Insights

When we first met our partners in 2021, the company was unaware of the drivers that were shaping their business as they remained hidden within their transactional data. We knew we could offer them something more. By taking a deep dive into the transaction data from just one of their 30+ outlets, we were able to uncover a wealth of information that was previously hidden from view.

Measure Key Performance Indicators

Our partners have 40+ outlets all over Nepal. However, they cannot be considered as one entity, but rather 40+ individual businesses that need to be analyzed separately. This is where having Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) and deep data analytics comes in handy. KPI’s help to isolate the performance of each store and identify areas of improvement that are often hidden in plain sight. 

Turn Data Into Decisions

Having followed KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) from offline (brick-and-mortar) stores for a few months, our customers realised that their existing loyalty program needed an upgrade to better serve a changed customer dynamic. Within a few weeks, we were able to come up with suggestions and within months, our partners rolled out a new loyalty program as a part of their mobile application.

17 Brilliant Case Study Examples To Be Inspired By

Lead generation is complex, which means that your best bet is to have multiple touchpoints on different channels designed to capture as many leads as possible.

While you’re setting up your lead generation funnel , remember that you need to have different touchpoints on your site itself, too. It’s not enough, after all, that they’ve landed on your site on their own; you need to convince them to convert as a lead or even as a customer once they’re there.

Case studies can help with this, allowing you to prove what kind of results your brand, product, or service can offer to real clients. You can back up what you’re promising, and show the how, what, who, and why questions that customers may have. They can help generate more leads and accelerate revenue quickly.

We’ve got some great resources on how to get the information on how to conduct great case study interviews and what makes case studies valuable , but today we’re going to look at 17 individual and diverse case study examples and talk about how to write great B2B case studies.

These examples all do something exceptional and approach their case studies a little differently, but they all have outstanding final results. 

Ready to get inspired and get some actionable tips to write your own B2B case studies? Let’s get started.

How to Write Great B2B Case Studies 

Before we start looking at different B2B case study examples, we want to first talk about what makes B2B case studies valuable and effective.

What All Great B2B Case Studies Accomplish 

Case studies are most often used to build trust by proving that you’ve gotten a specific result for clients and that you can do the same for your existing leads. In many cases, case studies should:

• Establish a persona or audience segment that the client fits into (which, in many cases, leads will relate to)
• Explain what the client’s problem was before they started working with your brand
• Detail what solution you offered to help the client (which should include some level of detail regarding the strategies, products, or tactics that you used)
• Share the results, ideally the more specific (and numerical) the better; statistics that show improvements are golden 
• Feature a client impact statement or a testimonial if possible 

You can use this as a guide post (or almost like a template) of how to get started with the content that you need to cover in your case study. 

B2B Case Study Best Practices 

When writing B2B case studies, you always want to follow these best practices:

• Try to stick to a consistent template, that way as you create a fleshed-out case study section on your site, it will be scannable and familiar to leads 
• Tell a story, using a client’s problems and pain points to connect with potential leads and highlighting how you can help; think of the problem as the beginning of the story, the solution as the climax, and the results section as the resolution of the story 
• Be as detailed as you need to be, but as brief as possible; while B2B case studies can certainly trend much longer in length than most B2C case studies, you also want to make sure you’re offering value because if it goes too long, your customers will lose interest 
• Always include hard facts. Statistics, tactical solutions, and quantifiable data reign supreme here. They carry a case study, and they give you a nice impressive title to draw in the clicks, too.
• Rely on great formatting. Do not write a case study that’s nothing more than a giant block of text. Use great formatting to keep the entire case study scannable and easy to read. Break it up with visuals whenever possible. 

1. Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs has a number of content-based case studies on our site, and you know we had to feature these case studies first! 

These case studies both accomplish everything we’ve discussed above; they detail a client’s problem and pain points, explain the solution, and share the results and client testimonials. All the major boxes are checked.

What these case studies do differently than most, however, is they use a content-focused approach. The case studies aren’t just boasting about the amazing results our clients have seen, but they actually share enough actionable information for other clients to replicate their success, too. 

Let’s look at our case study, How to Reduce Your SLA by 99% . It discussed how a single client did reduce their SLA by 99%, but it also gives enough information that other users can discover how to use lead scoring to reduce SLA successfully themselves. 

The case study is downloadable, which a “Download” button at the top of the page next to “Request Demo” and “Start Free” CTAs. It also features a well-formatted “What you’ll learn” section to engage users and assure them that they won’t just be reading about a client story, but they’ll walk away with something helpful.

One other thing to note here is that some B2B case studies can feel, for lack of a better word, a little cold. The client’s business name is mentioned, but pain points are relatively clinical and the tone is dull. That’s not the case with the Breadcrumbs case studies, where individual client contacts are referred to by first name and are written in a more conversational tone. It feels much more personal, and at the end of the day, we’re not just selling to businesses—we’re selling to the people who work for businesses. 

2. AdEspresso

Want to turn your case study into a lead magnet? This case study example from AdEspresso is an excellent demonstration of how to use case studies not only to pique users’ but to actually convert them to leads.

Here’s how it works:

• People go to the case study part of the site, find it through organic search, or are referred there by email, paid social ads, or blog posts
• They read the title and the description, which mentions the company name, what was accomplished, a brief explanation of how (here, it’s split testing, targeting new and existing audiences, and AdEspresso)
• The description gives a concrete result–“GlobeIn doubled its revenue”
• They encourage users to download the PDF 

While most of the case studies that we’re looking at are published on their brands’ sites, this one works as a lead magnet. When users click the “Download PDF” CTA, they’re taken to a landing page with a lead form. 

The landing page touches more on what results were achieved, but still requires users to download the PDF to find out exactly which strategies were used. This works because the case study isn’t just stating “our tool gets more results,” it also offers strategic insights similar to a blog post that readers can leverage to improve their own campaigns. 

If you create case studies that get strategic and are heavily content-based instead of just sharing results, they can act as a different kind of touchpoint in the digital sales funnel .

3. Freshbooks

Most businesses have multiple different buyer personas and audience segments that they’re targeting at any given point in time. When you want your case studies to really be effective, publishing diverse content that really speaks to each of those segments is crucial.

Freshbooks ’ case study examples really showcase how you can do that well. Their case studies feature brief customer stories from “relatable” small businesses (aka not mega CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, who are not Freshbook’s core Facebook target audience) talking about how their business used the tools to benefit.

You can see the different personas represented here. One is an agency that wanted to scale quickly; one case study example featured a growing franchise. Another was for a small business that needed help with tax prep, and the last pictured here is a freelancer who uses the invoicing software’s time tracking features to measure productivity and assess rates. 

These are four very different types of businesses, and it shows potential leads in each audience segment that there’s a reason they should use this tool. By highlighting different use cases, it can increase lead generation for all high-value audiences by appealing to their specific needs instead of just highlighting general stories that would appeal to all.

4. Disruptive Digital

Disruptive Digital is a paid social agency while a high-level holistic approach to advertising. Instead of looking at “general best practices” that you could find on ten other blogs in five seconds or less, they offer strategic insights that showcases how they really get their customers result. They make case study examples a central part of a large number of their blog posts.

They’ll write a blog post about a high-level topic like “how to calculate your target ROAS,” and then show a case study with real client data to walk you through the process. This is more powerful than hypotheticals when you’re talking about data-driven PPC campaigns, and they always use it to back up their arguments as well as teach a strategy. 

While these case study examples aren’t on a dedicated landing page, they work by appealing to users more towards the top of the funnel . It helps to build trust and establish credibility early while setting their blog posts apart. It’s good for their content marketing and lead generation efforts. 

5. CoSchedule

CoSchedule is a well-known SaaS content and social media planning and organization tool, and their case studies are phenomenal. 

They do a few things well. The first is by featuring different types of clients in their case studies. In the case study example below, they’re showcasing not a brand, but a University alumni group. 

Their formatting is also great. The first thing you see is “This 5-Person Marketing Team Managed 12x More Work While Working Remotely” in bright blue across the top of the page. They’ve also got a quick-reference, quick-facts bar on the side of the case study that lists the brand name, the brand’s site, the industry, company size, and marketing team size. Here, you can download a PDF of the case study, and immediately under there is a CTA to request a demo (also in blue, ideally to have the eye go from the headline to the CTA).

The case study itself is well written, and you can read the full study here . It breaks things down by sharing the challenge, the solution, and the results. As you can see below, they have a graph in bright colors to showcase exactly how impactful those results were, with the results in bolded text underneath it. They finish it off with a quote from a key team member to really drive it home.

As far as case study examples go, this one is pretty perfect. The design is excellent, with quick-reference data, important facts highlighted, great design elements to draw the users’ eye and attention where you want it, and a customer quote. They also have a strong CTA to get in touch, which can get the process moving quickly, or the option to download the case study (turning it into valuable content and a lead magnet) if the customer chooses.

6. ONESOURCE

ONESOURCE  is a tax preparation product from Thomas Reuter’s, and the site features the below case study of The Cheesecake Factory—a major American brand—to help showcase value and generate sales. 

As far as design goes, this case study is clean, organized, and condensed. It’s like a digital brochure, with all the information cleanly broken down into bullet points, key quotes and statements, and subheadings. 

They share only the core information that’s needed (including what products were used, what was accomplished, and data about the Cheesecake factory’s tax department) and nothing that isn’t. It’s to the point and highly effective.

Slack is one of the most popular instant communication chat tools available right now, and especially after everyone had to work from home during the pandemic, we’re guessing a large number of readers are familiar with the platform.

Their case studies are, as you’d expect, strong and well-written. They’re longer and read almost more like a story-driven blog post than studies like CoSchedule’s fast-facts, brief-and-to-the-point content. But this works for this brand; storytelling is powerful, after all, and it’s memorable and relatable.

In this case study, they use storytelling to really highlight the company’s pain points, focusing on how shopping habits changed and impacted businesses during COVID-19. They focus on Shipt, a grocery-delivery company that was thrust into high demand quickly. 

The case study talked about how Shipt had been using Slack for years, but how they really embraced advanced features and integrations during COVID to get the most out of the platform. They then share how the company uses it, and share data and statistics about usage . 

There’s a quote from the director of IT in there, too, to stress the importance, and you’ll see they have a “quick facts” tab on the side with a powerful quote that highlights the value, key integrations that were featured, and a CTA to both contact the sales team and to try Slack for free. 

They have a full page of case studies available, all of which state what Slack helped accomplish in a storytelling format as opposed to going hard with the data upfront. This feels more casual, but is just as powerful.

8. Culture Amp

We’re going meta. We just looked at case study examples from Slack, and now we’re going to look at a case study example about Slack. 

Culture Amp helps brands maintain and facilitate their desired communication culture through feedback and communication response.

This case study features my favorite quick facts tab, sharing the brand name featured in the case study, a sentence each about the challenge, solution, and result. And there is, of course, that “request demo” CTA. 

The case study does a few things that you don’t see a lot. They introduce two of the key figures in the Slack department who worked directly with Culture Amp, giving it a more personal touch and adding more credibility to the study.

It’s also well-written and engaging to read. Sentences like “Company culture is Slack’s North Star” aren’t your standard technical and almost clinical “just the facts, ma’am” approach to case studies. The case study is longer than some others, but the creative writing can keep you hooked, and it thoroughly explains how the single brand used the product and services to excel.

9. KlientBoost 

We’ve already looked at one case study from a marketing agency, but the way KlientBoost has their case studies set up, it’s well worth taking a look at another.

Their numerous case studies are found under the “Results” tab on their site, making them all readily visible and easy to locate. It also increases the odds that users will stumble across the case studies on their own, even if they weren’t intentionally looking for them.

And one thing worth noting: They’ve got a sorting feature to “show me clients who” meet certain qualities like “are worth billions, “got acquired,” “have small budgets,” and “have crazy complex offerings.” 

This is an easy way to tell all of their potential clients that “yes, we take clients like you and get results!” while making it simple for them to find proof. 

The case study itself is of course well-written and designed, too. You’ve got a bold, color-contrasting header at the top in large text that lays out core benefits (x results in just three months), with more detailed results visible on the side.

They also break down the different advanced advertising features they used, a customer quote, and an image of what the ads looked like to bring the whole thing together. This shows prospective clients exactly what they can expect when working with the agency, and it builds a massive amount of trust. 

10. Omnivore 

Omnivore.io is a menu management tool designed specifically for restaurants that integrate with other tools to streamline the guest experience.

The content we’re going to look at is a great example of case study creation for hyper-niche industries that have specific needs. 

It’s presented as a standard blog post, but the H1 title says exactly what benefits the company achieved, and they still have a “more seating options, more problems” header to present the challenge in a creative way. 

They then explain how the TableUp app works with Omnivore’s tech and other integrations to be able to offer additional services to customers like adding their party to a restaurant’s waitlist, joining email lists for points, making to-go orders, and more. 

They also shared an example of how a real client (Budweiser) used the feature, and included a blurb about the integrating tool. 

You’ll notice that this case study looks a little different from others that we’ve looked at. It doesn’t have a lot of hard numbers or super detailed examples, but it works because it showcases a specific integration and details specific uses. 

This is, in many cases, going to be an audience focused on use case value more than just statistics; if the tool can do what’s needed, that’s what they’re going to care most about. So this formatting works. 

11. Pepperi

We’re on a food-themed case study roll right now! Next, we’re going to look at a case study of how Chex Finer Foods worked with the Pepperi omnichannel B2B Commerce. 

This case study is long . It’s much longer than the others that we’re looking at, with 6 total pages of content (though some are heavily dominated by images). See the entire case study by clicking above. 

Here’s why it works though: They keep the “Challenges” brief and the client breakdown visible right upfront to show users why they should care. 

The solutions section is also brief, explaining how Pepperi solved the company’s challenges. That all happens within the first page of the case study. 

The rest of the study has five pages that look like this, showing visuals that highlight the exact product that users received when working with Pepperi. There’s no hypothetical mock-up; you get to see the mobile app design , the site, the home page here. Other pages show how search results work for brands with extensive inventories, along with features like analytics, multi-product views, and more. 

For customers who really want to understand what they’re getting and why they should choose this particular service, there’s no doubt. They can see what the interface looks like, and what real clients’ platforms offer. 

12. DOTVOX 

DOTVOX sells hosted VoIP business lines to their clients.

There are a few reasons I really liked this particular case study.

First, they do a great job showcasing how their specific technology can benefit a specific type of client: a multi-site company that needs help with business communications. This is niche enough that some other tools may not be able to help (or that may be a concern that some customers have). 

They also focused the case study on a business in the financial industry, letting other clients in that niche know that they offer secure communication options suited for banks, mortgage lenders, and more. These are high-value clients, so it’s a solid choice. 

Later on in the case study, they break down the individual results, services, and solutions achieved. The “Feature-rich” part is my favorite; they detail unique features that other tools may not offer and explain briefly how they work. 

Potential leads reading this can get a good idea of what’s possible. 

13. PortaFab 

Last but not least, we’ve got this case study from PortaFab . 

The reason I really wanted to look at this particular case study is that it’s not selling a service or a SaaS tool; it’s a physical product being sold to businesses. That automatically changes things up a bit. 

They, of course, have a brief overview of what the project entailed, but it’s organized a bit differently. They featured the challenge on the right side of the case study and the project overview and benefits provided on the left. 

Underneath this, however, they’ve got their solution featured, along with an extensive photo gallery showing the finished project. 

Allowing customers to easily visualize the end result is important for physical goods, so this was a smart call. 

14. Strands Retail

Strands Retail sells personalization and product recommendation software to eCommerce brands. Their case study below features the work they did for mega-brand Chewy.

Featuring this particular client was smart. Chewy is highly regarded for the exceptional customer service experiences they provide, so linking themselves to the brand is a good move. It’s also a massive company, and since the case study focuses on the fact that Chewy needed a solution that scaled with their brand, it gives them outstanding credibility in terms of the potential to serve enterprise-grade clients.

The case study is visually solid and well-designed, too. Since not all leads want to read the details and just want a few quick stats, featuring a few impressive key stats at the top in contrasting colors or with graphics (which they do here) can get the point across quickly and really exemplify how beneficial the product was. 

15. Codeless.io 

Like Breadcrumbs, Codeless.io takes a content-heavy approach to the case studies they feature on their site. 

They don’t just want to show results (which are crucial for a content marketing agency to do in order to leverage trust), but they want to prove that it wasn’t just luck. They got their clients real, sustainable results with careful processes, and they can do the same for you, too. 

Let’s look at an example. Their Loomly case study boasts an impressive 827% increase in CTR by updating the client’s existing content. This is smart, because it highlights a service many agencies may not offer and demonstrates the value of the service to clients who may be reluctant to spend on updating existing content. 

The case study itself is written and formatted almost like a blog post and case study hybrid. You’ve got the essential details about the company listed off to the side, but there’s also an entire H2 section that details more about the business in question. 

They also are incredibly transparent in the processes they used to help their client obtain impressive results, and this is something you won’t see many agencies do because they don’t want to “give away their secrets.” This builds trust, however, because clients can see that there is an actual strategy and that the company can help them, too. Everyone walks away from the case study without a doubt that Codeless was responsible for these results, not luck. 

16. WizeHire 

WizeHire is a hiring platform that helps businesses find the types of applicants they’re looking for, and their case studies do an outstanding job showcasing exactly how their products work and how they impact clients.

This case study , in particular—which features their client over at Mazda—is a great case study example to look at.

Their formatting is a little different than some of the others on this list, but it’s still undeniably effective. Towards the top of the case study, they have a “How We Helped” section. It introduces the point of contact, the client’s past pain points, and basic “before and after” points to highlight the value of the tool. This is a great quick overview to introduce readers to high-value concepts quickly. 

They also use multiple media here, including images, video, and diverse text formatting. This makes the case study visually appealing and more engaging. If you want to just skim quickly through bullet points you can, but there’s also a video where the client raves about their experience.

And, of course, you’ve got a detailed results section highlighting how the client received long-term value from the product, featuring great statistics and a strong client testimonial. 

Kosli is a highly technical tool for software developers and dev ops teams, and their case studies are a great example of how to discuss extraordinarily technical topics in an approachable way.  

Let’s look at this case study , which promotes how their client Firi delivered over 100,000 changes without worrying about compliance. The case study itself is relatively short, but that’s okay, because it doesn’t need to be long to be effective.

It efficiently stresses that Firi operates in Norway, which has some of the most demanding sets of regulatory standards across the globe. That automatically assures customers that no matter where they’re based, this tool can help, making this client selection for the case study a great choice. They also explain the value upfront—100,000 changes and a proven audit trail if needed. 

The formatting of this case study is smart, cleanly listing common challenges and then solutions. They had a “counterpart” solution, if you will, for each challenge listed, showing how they were able to help the client directly. 

And while there isn’t a long list of statistics or improved performance in this case study, that’s okay, too; not every case study absolutely needs that. Instead, they have an explanation from their client (a CTO of the company), who explained why the software was so invaluable for their needs. 

Final Thoughts

Case studies can be powerful tools used to generate and convert leads, boosting your overall revenue. And as you can see above, there’s no one-size-fits-all requirement for what an effective case study looks like or even where it should appear on your website . Take some time to think about what information you want to present and how it would be most effectively portrayed to your leads. This is a good starting point, and make sure to remember to get your design team’s input, too, so it looks and reads well. 

Ready to get more conversions from the case studies you’re creating? Make sure your sales team is ready to nurture incoming leads with lead scoring! Book your free demo of Breadcrumbs today.

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Hacking the Case Interview

We’ve compiled 50 case interview examples and organized them by industry, function, and consulting firm to give you the best, free case interview practice. Use these case interview examples for practice as you prepare for your consulting interviews.

If you’re looking for a step-by-step shortcut to learn case interviews quickly, enroll in our case interview course . These insider strategies from a former Bain interviewer helped 30,000+ land consulting offers while saving hundreds of hours of prep time.

Case Interview Examples Organized by Industry

Below, we’ve linked all of the case interview examples we could find from consulting firm websites and YouTube videos and organized them by industry. This will be helpful for your case interview practice if there is a specific consulting industry role that you are interviewing for that you need more practice in.

Aerospace, Defense, & Government Case Interview Examples

• Agency V (Deloitte)
• The Agency (Deloitte)
• Federal Finance Agency (Deloitte)
• Federal Civil Cargo Protection Bureau (Deloitte)

Consumer Products & Retail Case Interview Examples

• Electro-light (McKinsey)
• Beautify (McKinsey)
• Shops Corporation (McKinsey)
• Climate Case (BCG)
• Foods Inc. (BCG) *scroll to bottom of page
• Chateau Boomerang (BCG) *written case interview
• PrintCo (Bain)
• Coffee Co. (Bain)
• Fashion Co. (Bain)
• Recreation Unlimited (Deloitte)
• Footlose (Deloitte)
• National Grocery and Drug Store (Kearney)
• Whisky Co. (OC&C)
• Dry Cleaners (Accenture) *scroll to page 15
• UK Grocery Retail (Strategy&) *scroll to page 24
• Ice Cream Co. (Capital One)

Healthcare & Life Sciences Case Interview Examples

• GlobaPharm (McKinsey)
• GenCo (BCG) *scroll to middle of page
• PrevenT (BCG)
• MedX (Deloitte)
• Medical Consumables (LEK)
• Medicine Company (HackingTheCaseInterview)
• Pharma Company (Indian Institute of Management)

Manufacturing & Production Case Interview Examples

• Aqualine (Oliver Wyman)
• 3D Printed Hip Implants (Roland Berger)
• Talbot Trucks (McKinsey)
• Playworks (Yale School of Management)

Social & Non-Profit Case Interview Examples

• Diconsa (McKinsey)
• National Education (McKinsey)
• Conservation Forever (McKinsey)
• Federal Health Agency (Deloitte)
• Robinson Philanthropy (Bridgespan)
• Home Nurses for New Families (Bridgespan)
• Reach for the Stars (Bridgespan)
• Venture Philanthropy (Bridgespan)

Technology, Media, & Telecom Case Interview Examples

• NextGen Tech (Bain)
• Smart Phone Introduction (Simon-Kucher)
• MicroTechnos (HackingTheCaseInterview)

Transportation Case Interview Examples

• Low Cost Carrier Airline (BCG)
• Transit Oriented Development (Roland Berger)
• Northeast Airlines (HackingTheCaseInterview)
• A+ Airline Co. (Yale School of Management)
• Ryder (HackingTheCaseInterview)

Travel & Entertainment Case Interview Examples

• Wumbleworld (Oliver Wyman)
• Theater Co. (LEK)
• Hotel and Casino Co. (OC&C)

Case Interview Examples Organized by Function

Below, we’ve taken the same cases listed in the “Case Interview Examples Organized by Industry” section and organized them by function instead. This will be helpful for your case interview practice if there is a specific type of case interview that you need more practice with.

Profitability Case Interview Examples

To learn how to solve profitability case interviews, check out our video below:

Market Entry Case Interview Examples

Merger & acquisition case interview examples.

Growth Strategy Case Interview Examples

Pricing case interview examples.

New Product Launch Case Interview Examples

Market sizing case interview examples.

To learn how to solve market sizing case interviews, check out our video below:

Operations Case Interview Examples

Other case interview examples.

These are cases that don’t quite fit into any of the above categories. These cases are the more unusual, atypical, and nontraditional cases out there.

Case Interview Examples Organized by Consulting Firm

Below, we’ve taken the same cases listed previously and organized them by company instead. This will be helpful for your case interview practice if there is a specific company that you are interviewing with.

McKinsey Case Interview Examples

BCG Case Interview Examples

Bain Case Interview Examples

Deloitte Case Interview Examples

Lek case interview examples, kearney case interview examples, oliver wyman case interview examples, roland berger case interview examples, oc&c case interview  examples, bridgespan case interview examples, strategy& case interview examples, accenture case interview examples, simon kutcher case interview examples, capital one case interview examples, case interview examples from mba casebooks.

For more case interview examples, check out our article on 23 MBA consulting casebooks with 700+ free practice cases . There additional cases created by MBA consulting clubs that make for great case interview practice. For your convenience, we’ve listed some of the best MBA consulting casebooks below:

• Australian Graduate School of Management (2002)
• Booth (2005)
• Columbia (2007)
• Darden (2019)
• ESADE (2011)
• Fuqua (2018)
• Goizueta (2006)
• Haas (2019)
• Harvard Business School (2012)
• Illinois (2015)
• INSEAD (2011)
• Johnson (2003)
• Kellogg (2012)
• London Business School (2013)
• McCombs (2018)
• Notre Dame (2017)
• Queens (2019)
• Ross (2010)
• Sloan (2015)
• Stern (2018)
• Tuck (2009)
• Wharton (2017)
• Yale (2013)

Consulting casebooks are documents that MBA consulting clubs put together to help their members prepare for consulting case interviews. Consulting casebooks provide some case interview strategies and tips, but they mostly contain case interview practice cases.

While consulting casebooks contain tons of practice cases, there is quite a bit of variety in the sources and formats of these cases.

Some practice cases are taken from actual consulting interviews given by consulting firms. These are the best types of cases to practice with because they closely simulate the length and difficulty of an actual case interview. Other practice cases may be written by the consulting club’s officers. These cases are less realistic, but can still offer great practice.

The formats of the practice cases in consulting casebooks also vary significantly.

Some practice cases are written in a question and answer format. This type of format makes it easy to practice the case by yourself, without a case partner. Other practices cases are written in a dialogue format. These cases are better for practicing with a case interview partner.

MBA consulting casebooks can be a great resource because they are free and provide tons of practice cases to hone your case interview skills. However, there are several caveats that you should be aware of.

• Similarity to real case interviews : Some cases in MBA consulting casebooks are not representative of actual case interviews because they are written by consulting club officers instead of interviewers from consulting firms
• Quality of sample answers : While consulting casebooks provide sample solutions, these answers are often not the best or highest quality answers
• Ease of use : Consulting casebooks are all written in different formats and by different people. Therefore, it can be challenging to find cases that you can consistently use to practice cases by yourself or with a partner

Therefore, we recommend that you first use the case interview examples listed in this article and wait until you’ve exhausted all of them before using MBA consulting casebooks.

Case Interview Examples from HackingTheCaseInterview

Below, we've pulled together several of our very own case interview examples. You can use these case interview examples for your case interview practice.

1. Tech retailer profitability case interview

2. Airline profitability case interview

3. Ride sharing app market entry

4. Increasing Drug Adoption

How to Use Case Interview Examples to Practice Case Interviews

To get the most out of these case interview examples and maximize your time spent on case interview practice, follow these three steps.

1. Understand the case interview structure beforehand

If case interviews are something new to you, we recommend watching the following video to learn the basics of case interviews in under 30 minutes.

Know that there are seven major steps of a case interview.

• Understanding the case background : Take note while the interviewer gives you the case background information. Afterwards, provide a concise synthesis to confirm your understanding of the situation and objective
• Asking clarifying questions : Ask questions to better understand the case background and objective
• Structuring a framework : Lay out a framework of what areas you want to look into in order to answer or solve the case
• Kicking off the case : Propose an area of your framework that you would like to dive deeper into 
• Solving quantitative problems : Solve a variety of different quantitative problems, such as market sizing questions and profitability questions. You may also be given charts and graphs to analyze or interpret
• Answering qualitative questions : You may be asked to brainstorm ideas or be asked to give your business opinion on a particular issue or topic
• Delivering a recommendation : Summarize the key takeaways from the case to deliver a firm and concise recommendation

2. Learn how to practice case interviews by yourself 

There are 6 steps to practice case interviews by yourself. The goal of these steps is to simulate a real case interview as closely as you can so that you practice the same skills and techniques that you are going to use in a real case interview.

• Synthesize the case background information out loud : Start the practice case interview by reading the case background information. Then, just as you would do in a live case interview, summarize the case background information out loud
• Ask clarifying questions out loud : Just as you would do in a live case interview, ask clarifying questions out loud. Although you do not have a case partner that can answer your questions, it is important to practice identifying the critical questions that need to be asked to fully understand the case
• Structure a framework and present it out loud : Pretend that you are in an actual interview in which you’ll only have a few minutes to put together a comprehensive and coherent framework. Replicate the stress that you will feel in an interview when you are practicing case interviews on your own by giving yourself time pressure.

When you have finished creating your framework, turn your paper around to face an imaginary interviewer and walk through the framework out loud. You will need to get good at presenting your framework concisely and in an easy to understand way.

• Propose an area to start the case : Propose an area of your framework to start the case. Make sure to say out loud the reasons why you want to start with that particular area
• Answer each case question out loud : If the question is a quantitative problem, create a structure and walk the interviewer through how you would solve the problem. When doing math, do your calculations out loud and explain the steps that you are taking.

If the question is qualitative, structure your thinking and then brainstorm your ideas out loud. Walk the interviewer through your ideas and opinions.

• Deliver a recommendation out loud : Just as you would do in a real case interview, ask for a brief moment to collect your thoughts and review your notes. Once you have decided on a recommendation, present your recommendation to the interviewer.

3. Follow best practices while practicing case interviews :    

You’ll most likely be watching, reading, or working through these case interview examples by yourself. To get the most practice and learnings out of each case interview example, follow these tips: 

• Don’t have notes or a calculator out when you are practicing since you won’t have these in your actual interview
• Don’t take breaks in the middle of a mock case interview
• Don’t read the case answer until you completely finish answering each question
• Talk through everything out loud as if there were an interviewer in the room
• Occasionally record yourself to understand what you look like and sound like when you speak

4. Identify improvement areas to work on

When the case is completed, review your framework and answers and compare them to the model answers that the case provides. Reflect on how you could have made your framework or answers stronger.

Also, take the time to reflect on what parts of the case you could have done better. Could your case synthesis be more concise? Was your framework mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive? Could your math calculations be done more smoothly? Was your recommendation structured enough?

This is the most important part of practicing case interviews by yourself. Since you have no partner to provide you feedback, you will need to be introspective and identify your own improvement areas.

At the end of each practice case interview, you should have a list of new things that you have learned and a list of improvement areas to work on in future practice cases. You’ll continue to work on your improvement areas in future practice cases either by yourself or with a partner.

5. Eventually find a case partner to practice with

You can only do so many practice case interviews by yourself before your learning will start to plateau. Eventually, you should be practicing case interviews with a case partner.

Practicing with a case partner is the best way to simulate a real case interview. There are many aspects of case interviews that you won’t be able to improve on unless you practice live with a partner:

• Driving the direction of the case
• Asking for more information
• Collaborating to get the right approach or structure
• Answering follow-up questions

If you are practicing with a case partner, decide who is going to be giving the case and who is going to be receiving the case.

If you are giving the case, read the entire case information carefully. It may be helpful to read through everything twice so that you are familiar with all of the information and can answer any question that your partner asks you to clarify.

As the person giving the case, you need to be the case expert.

You should become familiar with the overall direction of the case. In other words, you should know what the major questions of the case are and what the major areas of investigation are. This will help you run the mock case interview more smoothly.  

Depending on whether you want the case interview to be interviewer-led or candidate-led, you will need to decide how much you want to steer the direction of the case.

If your partner gets stuck and is taking a long time, you may need to step in and provide suggestions or hints. If your partner is proceeding down a wrong direction, you will need to direct them towards the right direction.

Where to Find More Case Interview Examples

To find more case interview examples, you can use a variety of different case interview prep books, online courses, and coaching. We'll cover each of these different categories of resources for more case interview practice in more detail.

Case Interview Prep Books

Case interview prep books are great resources to use because they are fairly inexpensive, only costing $20 to $30. They contain a tremendous amount of information that you can read, digest, and re-read at your own pace.

Based on our comprehensive review of the 12 popular case interview prep books , we ranked nearly all of the case prep books in the market.

The three case interview prep books we recommend using are:

• Hacking the Case Interview : In this book, learn exactly what to do and what to say in every step of the case interview. This is the perfect book for beginners that are looking to learn the basics of case interviews quickly.
• The Ultimate Case Interview Workbook : In this book, hone your case interview skills through 65+ problems tailored towards each type of question asked in case interviews and 15 full-length practice cases. This book is great for intermediates looking to get quality practice.
• Case Interview Secrets : This book provides great explanations of essential case interview concepts and fundamentals. The stories and anecdotes that the author provides are entertaining and help paint a clear picture of what to expect in a case interview, what interviewers are looking for, and how to solve a case interview.

Case Interview Courses

Case interview courses are more expensive to use than case interview prep books, but offer more efficient and effective learning. You’ll learn much more quickly from watching someone teach you the material, provide examples, and then walk through practice problems than from reading a book by yourself.

Courses typically cost anywhere between $200 to $400.

If you are looking for a single resource to learn the best case interview strategies in the most efficient way possible, enroll in our comprehensive case interview course .

Through 70+ concise video lessons and 20 full-length practice cases based on real interviews from top-tier consulting firms, you’ll learn step-by-step how to crush your case interview.

We’ve had students pass their consulting first round interview with just a week of preparation, but know that your success depends on the amount of effort you put in and your starting capabilities.

Case Interview Coaching

With case interview coaching, you’ll pay anywhere between $100 to $300 for a 40- to 60-minute mock case interview session with a case coach. Typically, case coaches are former consultants or interviewers that have worked at top-tier consulting firms.

Although very expensive, case interview coaching can provide you with high quality feedback that can significantly improve your case interview performance. By working with a case coach, you will be practicing high quality cases with an expert. You’ll get detailed feedback that ordinary case interview partners are not able to provide.

Know that you do not need to purchase case interview coaching to receive a consulting job offer. The vast majority of candidates that receive offers from top firms did not purchase case interview coaching. By purchasing case interview coaching, you are essentially purchasing convenience and learning efficiency.

Case interview coaching is best for those that have already learned as much as they can about case interviews on their own and feel that they have reached a plateau in their learning. For case interview beginners and intermediates, it may be a better use of their money to first purchase a case interview course or case interview prep book before purchasing expensive coaching sessions.

If you do decide to eventually use a case interview coach, consider using our case coaching service .

There is a wide range of quality among coaches, so ensure that you are working with someone that is invested in your development and success. If possible, ask for reviews from previous candidates that your coach has worked with.

Summary of the Best Consulting Interview Resources

Here are the resources we recommend to land your dream consulting job:

For help landing consulting interviews

• Resume Review & Editing : Transform your resume into one that will get you multiple consulting interviews

For help passing case interviews

• Comprehensive Case Interview Course (our #1 recommendation): The only resource you need. Whether you have no business background, rusty math skills, or are short on time, this step-by-step course will transform you into a top 1% caser that lands multiple consulting offers.
• Case Interview Coaching : Personalized, one-on-one coaching with a former Bain interviewer.
• Hacking the Case Interview Book   (available on Amazon): Perfect for beginners that are short on time. Transform yourself from a stressed-out case interview newbie to a confident intermediate in under a week. Some readers finish this book in a day and can already tackle tough cases.
• The Ultimate Case Interview Workbook (available on Amazon): Perfect for intermediates struggling with frameworks, case math, or generating business insights. No need to find a case partner – these drills, practice problems, and full-length cases can all be done by yourself.

For help passing consulting behavioral & fit interviews

• Behavioral & Fit Interview Course : Be prepared for 98% of behavioral and fit questions in just a few hours. We'll teach you exactly how to draft answers that will impress your interviewer.

Land Multiple Consulting Offers

Complete, step-by-step case interview course. 30,000+ happy customers.

Regression: the Mother of all Models – Retail Case Study Example (Part 9)

The Olympics – by Roopam

Welcome back to our retail case study example for marketing analytics. In the previous 8 parts, we have covered some of the key tasks of data science such as:

In this part, we will learn about estimation through the mother of all models – multiple linear regression. A sound understanding of regression analysis and modeling provides a solid foundation for analysts to gain deeper understanding of virtually every other modeling technique like neural networks, logistic regression, etc. But before moving to regression, let’s try to put some fundamental ideas behind statistics in perspective by using the most followed event of the summer Olympics..

100 Meters Sprint

The first Olympic games I followed was in 1988 held in Seoul, South Korea. That was the same Olympics where Ben Johnson broke the then world record for 100 meters sprint by completing the race in 9.79 seconds. Later, Johnson was tested positive for consumption of performance enhancing drugs. He was disqualified from the race, and stripped of his gold medal. For a sporting event that lasts just close to 10 seconds, 100 meters sprint is arguably the most followed event of the summer Olympics. In 2012 Olympics, Usain Bolt created a new record by finishing the race in 9.63 seconds. The following is the list of medal holders for 2012 Olympics (source: Wikipedia)

Usain Bolt is widely regarded as the fasted man in the world. However, I must say that…

You Can Beat Usain Bolt in 100 Meters Sprint

Before I explain how, let us go back to the medal holders of 2012 Olympics. For Instance, if we make Usain Bolt run the 100 meters race one thousand times, he will finish each race with a different timing, mostly close to his record time in the Olympics. The same is also true for the other medal holders Yohan Blake, and Justin Gatlin. For argument’s sake, let’s assume the following distributions for race completion time for the three medal holders.  The following distributions are all normal or Gaussian distributions. Normal distribution is a good assumption for most natural phenomena like running speed of humans.

Using the above distributions the gold medal will still stay with Usain Bolt as the most likely case. However, there are still cases in which either sprinter can win the gold medal. This, according to me, is the foundation of statistical thinking.

Now coming back to our title for this section, if you compete with Usain Bolt Googolplex number of times then there is still a likely case that you will win at least one race against the fastest man in the world. Yay!

Regression Analysis – Retail Case Study Example

Now let’s come back to our case study example where you are the Chief Analytics Officer & Business Strategy Head at an online shopping store called DresSMart Inc. set the following two objectives:

Objective 1: Improve the conversion rate of the campaigns i.e. number of customer buying products from the marketing product catalog.

Objective 2:  Improve the profit generated through the converted customers

You have achieved the first objective in the previous few parts of this case study example. The classification models ( Part 5 , Part 6 ,   Part 7  &  Part 8 ) were used to estimate the propensities of customers to respond to campaigns. This leaves you with the second objective to estimate the expected profit generated from each customer if he/she responds to the campaign. This is a classical regression problem. To develop a regression model you will use the data for 4200 customers, out of hundred thousand solicited customers, those have responded to the previous campaigns. All these 4200 customers live in different locations that can be grouped into the following three categories

• Large Cities
• Mid-Sized Cities
• Small Towns

Incidentally, these customers are evenly divided into these three categories with 1400 customers in each group. The first thing you checked is the average value of profit generated from these three categories of cities. As you could see in the figure below average values for profits are different for these categories. Keep these average values in mind, they will come handy when we will develop our regression model.

Now  the second question is if these average values for profits are significantly different or not. This question is answered using the location category wise distributions of all the 4200 customers. The above figure shows a representation of these distributions (towards right). For our original data, the following are the location category wise density distribution for all the 4200 customers. Notice, profit is negative for some cases in this distribution because of returned products by customer, and other losses.

There are a couple of intuitive insights in the above plots:

• The large cities have a bigger average value for profits than the others because of higher earning capacity and disposable income for residents of the large metropolitan cities.
• The large cities also have a wider distribution of profit than other two categories because of greater socio-economic diversity for the large metropolitan cities.

Keeping the above insights in mind, let’s create our simple regression model with these categories as the predictor variables. The following is the results for our regression model:

The following is the linear equation for this regression model

Notice, that the model just has mid-sized and larger cities as the predictor variables. The information about small towns is absorbed in the intercept part. Also, these predictor variables are dummy variables hence they can have 0 or 1 as the only possible choices for values. For instance, if the location is a small town then mid-sized cities = 0, and large cities=0 hence the profit is:

Recall the above average figures, this is the same average value for small towns. Now, if the location is a mid-sized city then

Again this is the same as the average value for mid-sized cities. Finally, the estimated profit through the resident customer of a large city is:

Now the next question is : how good is this model? For this we will have to scroll up to the regression model results and look at the following three things:

• P values for individual coefficients: Look at the right most column for the coefficients – the value is really small <2e-16 this means that the model is almost 100% certain that the coefficients will not become zero. This is similar to your chances of beating Usain Bolt i.e. extremely low but not zero.
• Adjusted R-squared value: for our model which is 0.2065. This means that just the category of location explains about 20% of the variation in profit. This is not bad for a single categorical variable if we will keep adding more significant variables to the above model the value of Adjusted R -squared will keep increasing.
• F-Statistics:  Again the p-value here is really small i.e. 2.20E-16. This means the model has very low chance of being random similar to your chances of randomly beating Usain Bolt.

Sign-off Note

The following statements summarize the essential ideas behind the Olympic games. The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.

So go out, play well, and most importantly enjoy even if the opponent is the fastest man on the planet. See you soon with a new post.

9 thoughts on “ Regression: the Mother of all Models – Retail Case Study Example (Part 9) ”

very intuitive and one of the best effort to explain data science

Great article. Can you please elaborate bit more on how dummy variables will be assigned? I think we need to create two dummy variables one for mid-size city and other for large-size city. The values for small town is removed to avoid dummy variable trap. The removed dummy then becomes the base category against which the other categories are compared. In this case it is included part of intercept. Is this understanding right?

Yes Reva, your understanding is right. The intercept in this case is the average value for small towns. In case there were more than one dummy variables then the intercept will absorb the information for all the baseline values for these dummy variables.

Why is the chance to beat Usain Bolt one in a Googolplex number of times? And how can this be connected to the p value which is nowhere as close to even Googol at 2.20E-16. Could you please explain this concept in more detail Roopam?

R uses this notation (<2.20E-16) to denote very small probabilities - this is because of the computational limitation. Notice the 'less than' sign. This is kind of similar to -infinity in the mathematical terms. It is essentially a tiny probability. But for all practical purposes, it doesn't matter how small it is.

Thank you Roopam 🙂 this is super useful

Roopam Any chance u cld share the code. Thanks Sai

Hello Roopam,

Your blog is one of the best resources online and is helping me a lot. I am preparing for my interviews and your blog is a gold mine of information for case studies/projects etc.

Could you please provide the dataset and the code for this case study.

Thanks, Anand

When I clck on the link for past 2 or past 3 etc I am directed to you main page.

how do i reach to those page. 🙁

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AI in Retail: The 5 Ways It Can Empower Businesses

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming a lot of industries, and retail is no exception. By incorporating AI technology into retail, businesses get to revolutionize their operation through streamlined internal processes, automated customer service, and so much more. Not only can this boost productivity, but it can also enhance customer experience, establishing a better brand image.  

With this, the global value of AI in the retail market has reached $7.14 billion in 2023, according to Fortune Business Insights, and it is expected to grow at an annual rate of 31.8% , reaching $85.07 billion by 2032, reflecting the increasingly widespread adoption and growing potential of artificial intelligence in the retail industry.

How are Businesses Combining AI and Retail?

So how exactly is AI used in retail? Common applications range from customer analysis, shopping personalization, automated service, to operations management, and even in-store security.

Customer Analysis

The data produced by daily transactions, including customer purchase history, demographics, retail in-store footfall and heatmap, can offer a goldmine of insights, but analyzing them manually can be difficult. By leveraging AI, retailers can tackle this challenge head-on and go through a vast amount of data in the shortest period of time.  

To maximize the benefits of data-driven strategies, retailers can invest in UBX-510SL mini edge servers for each chain store to enhance operational efficiency and loss prevention. These edge servers provide real-time data processing and decision-making, crucial for applications like video surveillance and inventory management. They reduce network traffic and operational costs by optimizing bandwidth usage and maintaining local data storage, which bolsters security and compliance with data regulations. Additionally, edge servers ensure reliability during network disruptions and provide scalable, flexible deployment tailored to each store's needs.

Shopping Personalization

AI can be used to create a more engaging experience for each customer. For instance, just by analyzing a person’s purchase history and browsing behavior, AI can curate a personalized product suggestion list, saving the customers’ hassle and frustration of browsing items one-by-one.   

Additionally, AI goes beyond online experiences. In-store, AI-powered smart fitting rooms use cameras to recommend clothes that flatter a customer's figure, while smart mirrors allow virtual try-on, eliminating the need to physically change outfits. This gives the shopping experience a personalized touch and saves time as well! 

Automated Customer Service

According to Statista, up to 48% of retailers worldwide use AI for customer service . This is because AI can streamline customer support by providing 24/7 assistance through various channels. Some of the most common forms of this are the chatbots or virtual assistants you usually see on e-commerce stores and mobile apps. They offer immediate assistance by answering frequently asked questions, troubleshooting issues, and even directing customers to the appropriate resources. 

Retail operators also use voice AI-activated self-service kiosks to assist customers with finding products, checking prices, and obtaining information about additional service options. With the integration of Advantech UTC's all-in-one touch computer and virtual assistant application software, these AI-powered kiosks can even answer customer queries, provide product recommendations, and assist with orders to create frictionless customer services.

Operations and Inventory Management

Traditionally, managing inventory relied on past sales data and intuition. On the other hand,  integrating AI in inventory management can enhance accuracy, efficiency, and operational effectiveness. With AI-driven demand forecasting, automated stock replenishment, and real-time inventory monitoring, retailers can optimize stock levels, reduce excess inventory, and prevent stockouts.  

Moreover, Advantech’s employee communication touchscreen computers and digital signage solutions in modern retail warehouses further streamline operations by facilitating real-time information sharing and coordination among staff.  

With Advantech vision AI technology, retailers can also ensure critical area access control, thus enhancing security and reducing the risk of fraud or theft. The server system also supports secure, low-latency data processing to enable informed decisions and improved warehouse management. By leveraging these advanced technologies, retailers can achieve a seamless, integrated approach to inventory management, driving profitability and customer satisfaction.

In-Store Security

Retailers face a constant challenge in protecting their inventory and assets. A survey conducted by National Public Radio revealed that retailers have faced an estimated loss of $112 billion due to theft. AI-powered video analytics offer a powerful solution by enabling intelligent video surveillance, which goes beyond simple recording, as it analyzes video feeds in real-time to detect suspicious activity such as shoplifting or vandalism. 

For example, retailers may use AI to identify patterns of behavior that might indicate potential theft, such as someone lingering near a high-value product or concealing merchandise. Upon detecting such activity, the system will then trigger alerts, notifying security personnel for intervention. 

What’s more, AI can also be used to deter fraud at the checkout line, as it can analyze video footage and recognize suspicious actions like bill switching or coupon misuse, helping cashiers flag potential fraud attempts to prevent financial losses.

What are the Benefits of Using AI in Retail?

As you can see, the application of AI in shopping and retail translates into significant benefits for both retailers and customers, which includes:

Data-Driven Decisions for Enhanced Profitability

By leveraging AI for market analysis, retailers gain a deeper understanding of their customers, competitors, and the broader market. This empowers them to make data-driven decisions about everything, from product selection and inventory management, to marketing campaigns and pricing strategies. Ultimately, these well-informed decisions will result in greater efficiency, reduced costs, and increased profitability.

Enhanced Customers Engagement for Higher Satisfaction

The use of AI-powered product suggestions, smart fitting rooms, virtual mirrors, and interactive kiosks makes the shopping experience unique for each customer, creating a sense of engagement that traditional retail stores often lack. With this personalized touch, customers will be even more satisfied, allowing retailers to establish a better brand image and boost sales.

Seamless Multi-channel Experience

Nowadays, customers expect a unified experience regardless of the channels, whether they shop online, in-store, or through a mobile app. AI can bridge the gap between these channels, by synchronizing inventory levels across online and physical stores. This improves fulfillment efficiency while ensuring that customers have access to the products they want, no matter what channel they choose to shop from.

 Optimized Logistics and Supply Chain

Using AI to predict can prevent stockouts that frustrate customers and also minimizes the need to store excess inventory that ties up capital. It can even prevent spoilage and loss that may be caused by overstocking.  

Moreover, by optimizing delivery routes, AI can help retailers create an efficient order fulfillment process, allowing them to enhance customer satisfaction and streamline operations.

Prevent Financial Loss

With AI-powered video analytics, retailers can create a safer shopping environment for both customers and employees. This technology deters criminal activity, such as theft, vandalism, and fraud, reducing inventory shrinkage and associated financial losses. Even if such events do occur, AI systems can provide evidence with high accuracy for investigations.

Examples of AI in Retail by Leading Brands

With these benefits in mind, we will now showcase several use cases of AI in retail and see how leading brands put these concepts into action.

Amazon: Automated Store & Voice-Activated Shopping Assistant

Amazon Go is an innovative chain of cashless grocery stores that leverages a variety of AI technologies, including computer vision and sensor fusion. Shoppers simply have to walk in, grab the items they were looking for, and leave. The cameras and sensors will track the items taken and automatically charge the customers once they exit the store, eliminating the need to line up and pay. 

Amazon's voice assistant, Alexa, is another powerful example. Alexa integrates AI to understand spoken commands and answer questions, allowing customers to search for products, add items to carts, and even place orders directly through voice interaction. This hands-free approach to shopping reflects the convenience that AI can bring to the retail experience.

Timberland: Virtual Try-On Technology

In 2014, Timberland partnered with Lemon&Orange to create a virtual fitting room experience for customers at the Mokotow Gallery in Warsaw, Poland. They leverage AI technology that tracks body movements and gestures in real-time, letting customers try on various items from Timberland’s newest collection, including jackets, sweaters, trousers, and shoes. This allowed customers to conveniently experiment with different outfit combinations, creating an engaging and memorable experience.

Home Depot: Self-Service Checkout Systems

Home Depot, the home improvement giant, offers self-checkout options powered by AI.  These systems utilize AI for item recognition and weight verification. Customers merely have to place their items on the kiosk, whether it's a small box of nails or a basket full of heavy tools, then let AI do the rest. The system will instantly identify the product and ensure accurate billing, eliminating the need for manual scanning by cashiers. This optimizes the checkout process and reduces wait times for customers, creating a win-win situation.

The Future of AI in Retail

The limitless potential.

The potential of AI in retail is only beginning to be explored. New technologies and trends will continue to emerge and shape the future of retail. One of the things we can expect is the soon-to-be heightened level of personalization . Leading companies like Advantech have created hyper-personalized solutions, such as ObjectVA, to identify the products held by customers. Based on this, the system can trigger targeted advertising with interactive signage, promoting related products or offering personalized discounts to engage the customers even further.  

Retailers may even choose to take this a step further by incorporating the use of face recognition technologies like FaceMatch . Imagine a customer walking into your store to be greeted by name or receiving special loyalty program benefits made just for them. They can get whatever they want with minimal effort. Plus, this facial recognition AI can even be combined with the staff’s access systems in stockrooms or other areas to enhance in-store security. 

Furthermore, the prevalence of AI monitoring systems , such as Advantech’s PeopleCount can help retailers track the number of people entering the store, dwell times in different areas, and also abnormal crowd activity. With this data businesses can optimize staffing levels, improve store layout, and ensure a smooth shopping experience for their customers.

Ethical Considerations and Possible Challenges

While the potential benefits of AI in retail are vast, it's crucial to address the potential challenges, as AI algorithms are only as good as the data they are trained with. If the data is inaccurate or biased, these flaws will be reflected in the AI system. Thus, r etailers must train their AI algorithms with factual and diverse datasets , to avoid unideal outcomes. 

Besides, as AI plays a more prominent role in retail, it's also crucial for retailers to be transparent about how A I is used to avoid privacy issues. Customers have the right to understand how AI is influencing their shopping experience and how decisions are being made. 

By acknowledging these challenges and implementing AI responsibly, retailers can harness its power to create a future-proof and ethical retail environment that benefits both businesses and customers.

Advantech - The Top AI Solution for Retail 

AI in the retail industry is no longer a vague concept of the future, but a vivid innovation that exists in the present. By leveraging AI for data-driven marketing campaigns, enhanced customer experience, optimized logistics, and strengthened security, retailers can gain a competitive edge in the fast-paced industry and create a sustainable business model that can also satisfy the customers.

With Advantech’s AI powered solutions , you can unlock the full potential of this technology and transform your business. We offer a comprehensive selection of products specifically designed to empower retailers, including All-in-One Touch Kiosks , powerful and compact edge computers and servers , and so much more. Explore more sophisticated AI solutions at Advantech today!

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