Retailers are only now catching up with the CRM revolution, according to a new poll by Blue Martini Software.
Less than half can identify their most profitable customers and create personalized campaigns based on that data, the survey found. And the majority lack "retail CRM solutions."
But all of the retailers surveyed plan to invest in CRM this year, and most are gathering at least some data on customers.
Blue Martini surveyed 1,300 registrants of the National retail Federation Show in New York.
The CRM lag is due to the fact that most retailers have spent the bulk of their IT budgets over the past decade on "supply chain optimization and merchandising systems—basically, SKU and inventory management solutions designed to support the buy-side processes," said Monte Zweben, CEO of Blue Martini Software, in a statement.
The survey also found that roughly half of the respondents conduct direct mail campaigns and loyalty programs. Forty percent send e-mail campaigns.
Most retailers have Web sites, but only one in ten conduct online promotions based on customer data.
The CRM investments slated for 2002 will be split into several areas. Direct mail was given priority by 68% of the respondents. E-mail was cited as critical by 55%, and loyalty programs by 50%.
Another 32% said online promotions were key, and 23% pointed to in-store promotions.
Of those firms that do gather customer data, 71% use it to drive sales.
