Chen Zhiwen continued: "In addition, I need you to pay attention to a special thing, which is the difference in the sales data of different products when they are placed together. I need to study the general shopping habits of users."
"Shopping habits?" Pierce thought for a while and said: "I also knew something before. Many supermarkets will put beer and snacks together, put children's toys on the bottom of the shelf so that children can see them, and put chewing gum at the checkout area. There’s a big sales improvement.”
"That's pretty much the logic, but these are just summaries of experience. I need a lot of data, real data, real statistics. In the future, we can use these as a basis to optimize the placement of supermarket products, thereby improving business. Efficiency." Chen Zhiwen said.
In the future, big data controls everything. People’s most inconspicuous consumption habits actually have big data patterns. As long as we master this data pattern, we can maximize the development of users’ shopping needs, because many times, consumers don’t know They know what they need, and if supermarkets have data, they can inform consumers to the greatest extent possible.
Although it is not as good as the big data push of the Internet, it can actually significantly increase supermarket sales and meet consumers' shopping needs.
"This is a very large amount of data, which requires a lot of statistics and a large computer to store. The cost will be very high." Pierce thought for a while and said.
"I know this. This can't be done in a few years. Let's make a plan first and start observing. When we have more supermarkets in the future, I will use a special amount of funds to do this." Chen Zhiwen nodded. said.
At present, personal computers have not yet appeared. Large calculators are commercial and very expensive. When personal computers begin to become popular in a few years or even 80 years later, they will be very suitable for statistics of supermarket data.
Statistics of these data also require a lot of labor, a lot of labor, and several years. In American terms, the cost is too high, and it is difficult to transfer people from Hong Kong. But as long as the mainland reforms and opens up, you can do it yourself. Finding a bunch of international students to do this can not only significantly reduce your own costs, but also help these people find a way to fill their stomachs.
As far as he knew, at that time, the students sent from the mainland to study in the United States only had a few dollars each. Fortunately, the American university provided accommodation, otherwise they would not be able to live in Qiaodong without quilts.
"Okay, I will ask the employees to observe and record it on a daily basis." Pierce nodded and said, the easiest thing to find is still easy to find, and this does not cost anything.
Chen Zhiwen continued: "Mr. Pierce, after I return to Hong Kong this time, I will set up a trading company. You will sort out the products that Fedmart and Costco will need in the future, mark the demand, and I will ask my trading company to find suitable cheap and high-quality products in Asia." Substitutes can then be sent here for testing.
Start with ordinary clothing, ordinary hardware products, simple electronic products, small household appliances, snacks and drinks. "
Trading companies in Hong Kong naturally give priority to sourcing from Hong Kong or nearby bays. Hong Kong's manufacturing industry is best at clothing, hardware products, and small electronic products.
Of course, we also need to add Midea fans, but it’s already August, and summer in the United States is over. Both air conditioners and fans are out of season. The refrigerator will send some. As for radios, these things can only be sold in the United States. If it were given to some homeless people, there would be no market for it.
"I have been prepared for a long time." Pierce smiled and said: "Mr. Chen said before that he would purchase from Hong Kong, so I sent someone to classify the company's purchased products and compiled a list of materials suitable for export from Hong Kong."
"Okay, you're interested." Chen Zhiwen smiled, took the list, and took a casual look. The top item was indeed clothing. There were items for men, women, and children, including socks, shoes, pants, clothes, and hats. At the same time, there are also some products such as sheets, which range from tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The quantity is not very large. After all, Fedmart's current annual turnover is only 180 million US dollars, and there are many varieties of clothing. , enough to feed many Hong Kong garment factories.
Below are some hardware products such as pliers and screwdrivers. Labor is expensive in the United States, so many things can only be done by yourself. Most families need a complete set of tools, so the sales of hardware tools in supermarkets are very large, but because they are not industrial supplies , does not have high quality requirements, is a low-end hardware product, and is very suitable for small hardware companies in Hong Kong.
There are not many others after that. When it comes to electrical products, any supermarket is very cautious. One is that it will be troublesome if it breaks down, and the other is safety related. Even if it is a supplier designated by the boss, it must be carefully reviewed to confirm that there is no problem before proceeding. Try to put it on the shelves in small batches, otherwise it will be very troublesome if something goes wrong. Besides, without a certain reputation, no one will buy it.
After accepting the list, Chen Zhiwen chatted with Pierce about some methods of supermarket operation. Although Chen Zhiwen had no experience in the supermarket retail industry in his previous life, with the help of the Internet, he knew much more about many things than he could only rely on. People of the era could only understand other things through television newspapers.
"Categorize users based on their purchasing habits and predict the products they need to buy in advance?" After hearing some of Chen Zhiwen's insights, Pierce thought for a moment and said, "When we were providing services to large customers before, we would also do this. Awareness, but for each customer, this number is too much, right?”
"Of course it's not for every customer, but roughly based on the type of goods the customer buys, we can judge his daily shopping habits and financial strength, divide it into several or dozens of categories, and then send different advertisements to them respectively. Flyers, this will have a much better effect." Chen Zhiwen explained.
Big data is difficult to mature in this era, but classification can still be achieved. At present, European and American supermarkets often send leaflets to customers during promotion periods, but the leaflets are exactly the same for every customer.
There are both limitations of the times and the problem of a wide variety of products. However, warehouse supermarkets are much simpler because there are not many types of products. At the same time, because customers are stuck with membership fees, the number of customers is not as good as that of Wal-Mart. Ordinary supermarkets, this makes targeted publicity possible.
This can be considered the most basic data analysis. In the 1980s, Wal-Mart spent a lot of money on data reform, which was one of the main reasons for its success. Although it is a bit early now, Costco’s special business model determines its success. The data to be processed is much smaller than that of a normal supermarket. Even the simplest classification of users into three or five categories is much more effective than sending advertising leaflets indiscriminately.
First make a rough analysis and make basic preparations. When personal computers appear in a few years and the cost of supercomputers drops significantly, you can start the data revolution a few years before Wal-Mart.
"You can try this, but I can't figure out how to operate it yet." Pierce said with a frown.
"There's no rush, just take your time." Chen Zhiwen smiled and said, "The first important thing now is to find a suitable venue for our new store."
