How does Data Quality maximize sales performance in physical stores?

In the age of omnichannel commerce, where the boundaries between digital and physical are becoming increasingly blurred, the quality of customer data is becoming a strategic issue for physical stores. The accuracy and reliability of information, particularly postal addresses, are no longer mere administrative details, but key criteria that impact the scope of marketing initiatives and sales performance.

In this article, Data Enso explores the challenges and opportunities of postal address management in the retail context, and discusses the importance of a rigorous approach to Data Quality for a remarkable phygital experience.

The postal address, a sensitive field for physical stores

For a physical store, which by definition relies on customer traffic, customer geolocation is a key performance factor. We go beyond simply collecting postal addresses, because it's all about understanding movements, buying habits and preferences in specific geographical areas, in order to streamline business decisions.

Postal address: what's the risk of error in a physical store?

There are many possible errors in the "postal address" field of the customer database:

• Incorrect entry by a store operator or by the customer: a simple mistake can render a postal address unusable, whether due to misinterpretation of handwriting or a typing error.
• Unrecorded changes of address: every year, three million French people move house, and nearly 8 million say they want to change their address (Homebox study). If your customers' moves go unrecorded, your database quickly becomes obsolete, with the consequences we'll see later in this article.
• Inconsistencies in formats: if you collect your postal addresses from different sources (forms, point of sale, telephone...), you'll probably have different formats, sometimes with separate fields (street name, street number, zip code, city, country) or a single field. Some sources may use abbreviations, others not. These variations create inconsistencies in your centralized database and make de-duplication and analysis difficult, not to mention the difficulty of processing by postal services who now use automated systems.

Incorrect "postal address" field: what are the consequences for a physical store?

Physical stores that work with databases polluted by incorrect, obsolete or non-standardized postal addresses are inevitably exposed to a number of malfunctions:

• Loss of mail and parcels: address errors can lead to the loss of important communications such as catalogs, promotions and products delivered to customers who, for example, wish to order in-store and receive the product at home (products unavailable at point of sale, for example).
• Delivery delays: inconsistencies in address formats can complicate processing by postal services, leading to delivery delays that frustrate customers and affect their perception of your brand. 
• Additional costs and impact on competitiveness: cleaning up a database that accumulates incorrect or obsolete postal addresses over several months or years will require significant resources. Also, working with such a database will increase the costs associated with returns management, forwarding and complaints handling.
• Impact on marketing campaigns: the inability to locate your target can distort data analysis and bias strategic decisions, such as targeting local advertising and planning promotional events.

Data Quality: a prerequisite for the phygital experience

While digital can sometimes be perceived as a threat to physical retail outlets, particularly local ones, it can also become a lever for sales performance, thanks to the opportunities offered by phygital. In fact, 56% of physical outlets surveyed by the ACSEL barometer claim that digital is a catalyst for sales. To succeed in creating this unified customer experience, which combines the best of the physical and the digital, the company will need to make its data reliable in real time.

In reality, data, when it is of "quality", provides the link between the online experience and the in-store experience. A customer who buys in-store and leaves his email address expects continuity in his experience with the brand. An erroneous address will inevitably lead to a loss of marketing opportunities (promotions, nurturing, cross-selling, satisfaction surveys) and therefore harm sales performance.

Conversely, a customer who buys mainly online and occasionally visits a store expects you to know their purchasing history and preferences. If the link is made via e-mail address and the latter is incorrect in your database or CRM, this loyal customer will not be treated as such, which can lead to frustration and possibly the loss of a good customer.

Data quality also plays a role in inventory management between the digital channel and reality on the ground. Poor data synchronization can lead to inconsistencies in product availability, with customers unable to find products at the point of sale even though the words "available in store" are displayed on the website.

Finally, Data Quality affects a store's ability to offer Click-and-Collect services. An error in the collection address or customer contact information can lead to delays and confusion, with a direct impact on the quality of the customer experience.

Data Enso: for reliable in-store customer data

Are you a retailer looking to mobilize your Data capital to enhance the customer experience and commercial performance of your physical store? Data Enso has developed a range of Data Quality Management solutions tailored to your point of sale.

Find out how our tools can help you cleanse, enrich and deduplicate your customer databases to maximize your brand's sales, both in-store and online. Put us to the test!