InsightSuite is the first solution to deliver inventory forecasts based on forward-looking “big data” from consumers
PITTSBURGH, PA-- (July 31, 2014) – First Insight, the world’s leading provider of technology solutions that empower retailers and manufacturers to introduce the right new products at the right price, today announced a new addition to its cloud-based InsightSuite platform: InsightPlanning. Adding to the InsightSuite offering, InsightPlanning offers retailers and manufacturers valuable data derived from consumer insights so they can make informed decisions on product production and inventory quantity. With more direct and forward-looking insights –rather than just industry-standard historical-trend analysis—the predictive analytics employed by InsightPlanning can result in net retailer margin gains of 3-9 percent, and First Insight guarantees these results.
Inaccurate inventory planning based on modeling historical data currently costs the retail industry over $818 billion each year.[1] InsightPlanning, with the company’s proprietary QuantiBuy™ process at its core, empowers retailers and manufacturers to make informed and accurate inventory decisions based on customer preference. First Insight uses gamification to collect data from the consumer population, identify a knowledgeable group of tastemakers and tap into their expertise. As consumers play online games, First Insight’s solution collects preference and pricing data from thousands of consumers on hundreds of items within 72 hours. It then applies a predictive analytic algorithm to identify the most relevant responses, equipping customers with the forward-looking data they need to make key design and purchasing decisions.
Using InsightPlanning, retailers and manufacturers can now:
- Ensure the right level of inventory or production on top-selling products, anticipating demand early-on and avoiding inventory depletion
- Minimize excess inventory on slower moving products
- Maximize overall gross margin of a specific category of products
“First Insight uses gamification and predictive analytics to help the retail industry better understand the quickly changing preferences of consumers,” says Greg Petro, CEO of First Insight. “The resulting data has proven to be invaluable for selecting products and setting pricing, but one problem remained: how much product should they buy or produce? By adding forward-looking demand modeling to our predictive analytics platform we’ve effectively solved this problem.”
In conjunction with the release of InsightPlanning, First Insight is also releasing the results of a proprietary study on fitness and social wearables, revealing key insights on customer opinion and pricing effects on soon to be released 2014 products. The data highlights key front-runners to watch this fall, like the Nabu Razer Smartband and the coin-sized Goccia fitness tracker, and points to a gap between consumer expectations and preferences and the companies’ planned pricing strategy. The full report and more information on the predictive algorithm used to test these wearables can be found here.
First Insight has also announced expanded global capabilities. Retailers can now implement First Insight’s crowd-sourced market insight tests across the UK, Mexico, Italy, France, Spain, Germany and Poland, and First Insight’s seamless currency conversion will allow them to instantly understand market insights and pricing recommendations in their native currency.
About First Insight, Inc.
First Insight empowers retailers and manufacturers to drive new product success by introducing the right products at the right price. Through the use of online consumer engagements, the First Insight cloud-based solution gathers real-time consumer preference and pricing data and applies a predictive model to create actionable insights, which inform new product decisions. Companies use the First Insight solution to select the most profitable new products for improved sales, margins and inventory turnover. Implementing First Insight’s predictive analytic solution gives retailers guidance for product design, buying, assortment planning, pricing and marketing decisions. Customers include leading department stores, specialty retailers and manufacturers. For further information, please visit www.firstinsight.com.
Media Contact
Gina Giachetti
Highwire Public Relations
415-963-4174 ext. 17
firstinsight@highwirepr.com
[1]“2012 Inventory Distortion Study”, IHL Group, 2012
