Data cleaning is a massive part of data pre-processing and model building for machine learning algorithms so it's something you can never miss.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: data is essential for AI but also all kinds of business intelligence and analytics in the "traditional" world of eCommerce for example. The post brings up some of the elements to consider when planning to cleanse data. Not a trivial task to perform automatically.
Sometimes the centre of gravity in tech is very clear, but as we enter 2022 there are lots of areas where trillion dollar questions are wide open. These are the questions I wonder about today, from crypto to cars to fast fashion - there are others.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: this list of technology questions for 2022 feels like an answer to the question "what is digital disruption?".
We have reached a moment in time where old technologies - eCommerce or videoconferencing for example - are finally breaking into established industries. And the impact, at scale, cannot be found in technology but rather in every single industry it disrupts.
Klipfolio connects with virtually any data source behind your business, giving you real-time visibility into your core performance, growth, and efficiency metrics that signal your health and success. Get started now.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: interesting reference of key eCommerce metrics. Moreover if you are a shopify store the solution appears to be free (to be validated).
IN THIS GUIDE YOU’LL LEARN - How moving beyond dashboards can uncover new growth opportunities - Tactics for deeper analysis based on churn, product, and pipeline data - What type of solutions inspire faster, more collaborative analytics workflows - How top companies use Mode to accomplish these goals
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: read this short paper to convince yourself you need to go way beyond dashboards to understand the customer behaviours.
Josh Evans talks about the chaotic and vibrant world of microservices at Netflix. He starts with the basics- the anatomy of a microservice, the challenges around distributed systems, and the benefits. Then he builds on that foundation exploring the cultural, architectural, and operational methods that lead to microservice mastery.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: an outstanding presentation on what it takes to create a microservice architecture at scale - here for Netflix. More interesting than the technical details - which are plentiful - are the explanations of the work required to change an architecture "in flight", while the solution is running and expanding globally. Plus with a n outstanding speaker. Must listen.
Discover 6 ways tech will change the grocery store experience, from text-based customer service to micro-fulfillment to virtual kitchens.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: grocery technology evolution is difficult so I take this journey as a guide for technologies that will enhance or improve the shopping experience, not replace it altogether - at least not in short term.
2021 was the year of broken supply chains, Amazon aggregators, more advertising, Shopify's almost-marketplace, and one unanswered question - did the pandemic boost e-commerce after all? For now, the world of marketplaces revolves around Amazon - it has doubled in size in two years. No one will challenge it directly, but a different paradigm might.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: a must read article that summarizes very well the state of ecommerce marketplaces.
This year's State of the API report covers the largest and most comprehensive survey on APIs, ever. More than 28,000 developers and API professionals shared their thoughts on a range of topics, including their organizations' development priorities, how they get their work done, and where they see the industry going. We combined this data with data we've observed on the Postman API Platform to build a robust picture of the current state—and the future—of APIs.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: in the report you'll find this useful landscape of API solutions. Biaised because of its source - postman is an API tool provider - nevertheless is useful.
This year, customers will do a lot more than window shop, so we’re gathering the data and statistics and putting the insights on display. Download the Holiday Forecast 2021 report to understand when, how, and what consumers plan to spend money on this season, and use our findings to create shopping experiences your customers want. We know you’re excited. So come, take a close-up look, but hands off the glass, please.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: 2021 eCommerce shopping holiday continues to move from in-store to on-line shopping with covid-related impacts still apparent: high demand, high prices, inventory shortage and BOPIS curb-side pickups are to be expected.
Choose more than one vendor solution, if necessary. Vendors in the enterprise search functionality segment have cognitive search solutions that apply to the widest number of use cases and include website search and digital commerce. However, the actual features offered by these vendors vary greatly and may not be the best choice for digital commerce. For example, some vendors in the digital commerce functionality segment have sophisticated tools for merchandising that many more general-purpose solutions lack. It is reasonable and not uncommon for enterprises to have more than one cognitive search solution depending on use cases, data sources, content types, and other factors.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: interesting review of cognitive search solution - read AI-driven. What sparked my interest most is the note from Forrester that companies should "choose more than one vendor solution" as it probably means that the field remains immature. I'll know soon as I need to pick a solution from the list - or maybe multiple? ;-)
The majority of US online adults want retailers to provide advanced site search features — and will reward merchants that do so with greater loyalty and lower operational costs (e.g., lower returns and fewer contact center calls). To provide the best in product findability and consumer convenience, merchants must explore how new relevance tools powered by AI and machine learning (ML) can boost KPIs for engagement, conversion, and loyalty.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: search is clearly an essential component of eCommerce sites. With the move to small screen mobile devices and marketplaces with millions of products, finding what you need is not a question of browsing categories or keyword searches. eCommerce sites need AI-driven search solutions that enable users to ask questions in natural language and get personalized results in return. At least this is the claim here. With the rise of privacy, this is not easy . But data seems to suggest that users will give very personal information if and only if it delivers value to them, and indirectly for the retailer (higher conversion, etc.). Anyways, very interesting read.
As B2B buyers become more digitally savvy, they prefer less human interaction and expect more from their digital interaction. COVID-19 has accelerated this expectation. B2B buyers expect a similar shopping experience to B2C buyers. This means B2B buyers expect the digital commerce platform to understand them and anticipate their needs as a sales representative might do. They expect better tools for researching and comparing products. They want to engage with organizations digitally without having to resort to a call or email to get a quick response and a good deal.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: B2B clearly is the next frontier for eCommerce. Underlying this is the need to gain customer understanding and possibly direct connection, especially for manufacturers.
In this article we introduce earned growth as the accounting-based counterpart for the Net Promoter Score, one that will reinforce the effectiveness of NPS, providing firms with a clear, data-driven connection between customer success, repeat and expanded purchases, word-of-mouth recommendations, a positive company culture, and business results.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: NPS is widely known and used in eCommerce and retail in general. The new version based on earned growth is described here as NPS 3.0. It is interesting to see how it is calculated and should make a lot of readers wary that their internal legacy systems (from POS and ERPs to their newer eCommerce websites and mobile apps) lack the information to compute the new NPS metric...
Less than 20% of retail sales occur online today, and the proportion of retail sales happening online is expected to be 21% in 2023*. Shoppers indicate that they want engaged in-store experiences with deep personalization and smooth transitions between online and physical stores – an omnichannel experience. The retail store is highly relevant for many shoppers as it affords a visceral experience and provides instant gratification on a purchase impulse. The ability to touch and feel a product before buying and taking it home are key factors for many shoppers – as indicated by the fact that just 5% of grocery sales occur online. While the retail store is here to stay, the nature of shopper-seller interactions is undergoing profound change.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: an overview of retail technologies that live on the edge in retail stores. A good overview of what's possible. Waring, this is a Dell infomercial so much biais is expected.
In his new book ‘Make to Know,’ ArtCenter College of Design President Lorne Buchman reveals how Apple’s iconic retail store design owes less to the visionary genius of Steve Jobs than to a collaborative process of iteration, experimentation, and improvisation.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: amazing read, and a great demonstration of the power of iterative improvements applied outside of the software industry...
Succeeding in the fast-growing food-delivery ecosystem will require understanding how overlapping economic forces affect a complex web of stakeholders.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: unit economics of eCommerce is always interesting to me. Here, an in depth analysis of the food delivery business, as seen by the restaurants, the delivery platform (think doordash) and the consumer. Full of good data tables. Summary: tough to make money if you are in the restaurant business, but possible.
Technology has emerged as the primary disruptor and value creator across all sectors.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: this tech trends is different than other "lists" in that it analyses a number of topics and provides useful data trends to understand the issues. Well done and very useful. I highlight the change in buying behaviour in the chart I extracted (buyers know what they want more than in the past but sellers have yet to adapt to this new normal) - but I guarantee the report has a bunch more.
With new tech-enabled features, the store of the future will be able to provide a more frictionless and personalized experience that meaningfully engages shoppers. The following infographic visualizes the expected 2030 in-store journey for a customer named Rachel. Here are some of the technologies and innovations that will impact each step of her shopping experience.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: 2 of 2 interesting visualizations in this short post - unfortunately the full report is for members only ;-(
Investments in digital commerce continue to grow as companies adapt to new business models and sales processes prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This research evaluates the viability of 17 digital commerce platform vendors to help application leaders make informed decisions.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: eCommerce growth continues, especially regarding B2B (see market overview, as usual it contains good insights). I always question the tool selection (17 over 140 solution gartner says it tracks) so read with huge grain of salt. Legacy solutions with serious technical limitations show up in leader quadrant (sap, salesforce), and niche solutions are positioned because I assume they have market penetration. So use other sources when selecting eCommerce solution but questions vendors in the quadrant on the PROs and CONs gartner highlights.
This report answers questions about navigating vendor and tech selection and internal change management to use commerce technologies for efficiency, agility, and growth.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: an interesting guide to help select the right tools and solutions in a world of rapidly evolving solutions.
The shift to digital channels is happening at the speed of “a decade in days.” Our research suggests that the change will be sticky: a majority of consumer categories will continue to project more growth in e-commerce than in other channels over the next several years.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: digital impacts all industries including those are more dependant on "relations" like wellness.
Where Primark has strayed furthest from the fashion pack is in its refusal to sell anything online, which it sees as unfeasible at its price points. That has kept margins plump as the company avoided a wodge of spending on developing apps and fulfilment capabilities. The lack of an online presence meant that Primark lost up to 100% of sales as the pandemic shut shops around the world. Extended closures, especially in Britain, home to about half of its 380 outlets, cost it £3bn in sales and perhaps £1bn in profit.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: much interesting short read from TheEconomist about Primark which sells dirt cheap apparel at rock bottom prices without any eCommerce and relying exclusively on physical store. The inverse of Amazon!
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WHY IT MATTERS: data is essential for AI but also all kinds of business intelligence and analytics in the "traditional" world of eCommerce for example. The post brings up some of the elements to consider when planning to cleanse data. Not a trivial task to perform automatically.