Every day, merchants collect, store and analyze a variety of data pertaining to their operations. This can be information about their financial processes, their marketing strategies or inventory procedures, to name a few. One type of data that is especially crucial for retailers are the details relating to their customers, such as name, address, past purchases and preferred communication channels. While businesses may gather this kind of information already, there's a strong chance that they are not fully leveraging it to enhance their customer management methods.

Patron information gives merchants the ability to get a better look at who is buying products, how they like to pay at point-of-sale and through which platforms they like to interact with companies. Having this knowledge and the ability to collect and analyze it is vital if retailers want to see their operations succeed.

It's all about personalization
There are many advantages of keeping track of customer data, but perhaps the biggest benefit is increasing retail sales through personalization. By collecting information, analyzing it to determine how to best reach consumers and then putting those plans into action, merchants can significantly boost their sales by making shoppers feel more valued through personalized content and interactions.

Internet Retailer reported that research from Infosys revealed that personalization is what customers want, and it is an important part of their decision to make future purchases from brands. More than three-quarters of respondents (78 percent) to the survey stated they would be willing to continue to buy merchandise from a business that provided them with offers relevant to their interests, needs and past purchases. Seventy-one percent said location-based discounts and deals would sway them to frequent a brand, the source noted.

What to avoid when going personal
As merchants begin to see the vital role that personalization strategies can play for their customer retention and loyalty methods, they will start to develop their own techniques for making more personal connections with shoppers. However, what patrons want from personalized interactions differs from company to company. The good news is that there are several things that retailers should avoid when making the move to personalization, as suggested by iMediaConnection.

The source advised that first, businesses should not use customer information without permission. Doing this could result in a lost patron or a damaged brand reputation. Next, the source recommended that frequently revisiting personalization strategies to make changes and improvements is needed. As consumer demands change, so too will their preferences toward interactions with retailers.