In late December, Amazon patented a process for shipping products before shoppers buy them. The process, which the company calls "anticipatory package shipping," uses retail customer intelligence to streamline and expedite delivery services. 

The Wall Street Journal blog reported that by analyzing data about consumers' previous purchases, search history, wish lists, shopping carts, returns and cursor hover trends, Amazon believes it can discern customers' needs before they make a final decision. By adding this technology to its shipping drones and delivery lockers, Amazon makes one thing clear: To stay competitive, retailers need to find creative ways to take advantage of new technology, like Big Data analytics.

Although Amazon's idea is both patented and dependent on a large-scale operation, companies across all industries can use retail business intelligence to streamline their processes. For example, shoppers' online activity or in-store inquiries can be used to launch personalized marketing campaigns, and stores can identify items that consumers generally purchase together to organize their displays more effectively. 

At the same time, Amazon's efforts to get goods into consumers' hands faster could indicate the strength of omnichannel marketing, suggested Bob Hetu, research director at Gartner. Omnichannel stores have a home-field advantage when customers want instant gratification, he noted, and Amazon might feel pressured to compete with their combination of online and on-hand resources.