Malaysian retailers projected to remain progressive in 2009

Opportunities abound within retail industry in making the best out of the economic crisis

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (Feb. 25, 2009) − SAS Malaysia, the leader in Business Analytics and the largest independent Business Intelligence Vendor, partnered with Retail Group Malaysia, to provide an update on the state of Malaysia’s retail industry in the midst of the current economic crisis.

Tan Hai Hsin, the Managing Director of Retail Group Malaysia, believes that although the Malaysian retail industry is projected to grow at a slower pace this year as compared to 5 percent in 2008, the actual competitive retail landscape in Malaysia will remain robust.

“Despite what retailers hear and fear about the economic crisis, there remain tremendous retail opportunities in 2009, and businesses can remain profitable if they can anticipate shifting trends in consumer spending”, Hai Hsin added.

Apart from providing insights on consumer behaviour in the country, Hai Hsin also gave a forecast for 2009 as well as the opportunities in the market despite the current difficulties that many retailers face today.

Also present at the press conference was Luke Soon, the practice leader of Customer Intelligence for SAS Asia Pacific. He emphasized the importance of applying analytics on customer data from loyalty programs to better understand shopper’s purchase insights.

“As competition between retailers heat up in trying to capture and retain customers at a time when wallets are being tightened, powerful analytics is becoming necessary in helping retailers better understand customer demand”, said Soon.

By leveraging predictive analytics, retailers are able to understand their customers’ needs more accurately through strategic customer segmentation. It also assists them in deciding on the next best offer of products and services to their customers in their cross sell and up sell activities.

“Customers today are more demanding, whereby they expect retailers to know what recommendations will match their interests. When that expectation is not met, a valuable opportunity is missed,” Soon added

Bernard Solomon, Director of Commercial Practice explained that by applying analytics for targeted marketing in their loyalty programs, retailers can better anticipate and cater to its customers’ needs with more relevant shopping campaigns.

The loyalty programs are also used to strengthen the customer relationship management (CRM) initiatives such as proactive customer retention to minimize the churn or attrition of their customers.

“The current economic climate has resulted in a shift in consumer’s buying behaviour. Retailers who have data recording these patterns and who know how to use it have immense possibilities,” he added.