Shri Vaishnav Institute of Management, Indore

Major Research
project
“IMPACT OF USE OF BUSINESS ANLYTICS FOR
INCREASING SALES IN RETAIL INDUSTRY”

Submitted To:
DEVI AHILIYA UNIVERSITY, INDORE
In partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the award of degree of
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (FULL TIME)
Business analytics and HR
Batch 2023-2025

SUBMITTED TO SUBMITTED BY
Mr. Ram Bhavesh Sharan Ishita Sharma
MBA FT IIISEM
 DECLARATION

I Ishita Sharma Enrollment Number – DC2017645 from MBA FT-III

Semester of Shri Vaishnav Institute of Management, Indore hereby
declare that the MRP entitled “An Analytical Study on Current Trends of
Internet Marketing Towards Online Shopping (With Special Reference to
Indore City)” is an original work and the same has not been submitted to
any other institute for the award of any other degree.

Date: Signature of student

Ishita Sharma.
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Ishita Sharma student of MBA (FT) III Semester
of Shri Vaishnav Institute of Management, Indore (DAVV) has
successfully carried out
the Major Research Project entitled, “IMPACT OF USE OF BUSINESS
ANLYTICS FOR INCREASING SALES IN RETAIL INDUSTRY ”
during the academic Year.

Date:

Mr. Ram Bhavesh Sharan

Associate Professor
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my sincere thanks to my guide Mr. Ram Bhavesh Sharan
for her continuous efforts during my research project. I have no words to express my
gratitude for all the suggestions and guidance which I received from my guide without
which it could not have been possible to complete this research project.

I also thank Dr. Sandeep Malu (Program Coordinator MBA FT) and Dr. Mandip
Gill (Head, Department of Management) for their guidance, motivation and support.
Last but not the least, I thank all the respected faculties of department of management
who helped me directly or indirectly to complete my research project on time.

Name of student – Ishita Sharma

MBA FT Sem –III

Enrollment Number – DC2017645

 ABSTRACT

Technologies have been used as a measure to improve business efficiency since the
beginning. Automation has played a considerable role in managing and performing multiple
tasks for large organizations. The unprecedented rise of the internet and information
technology has further boosted the performance of businesses. Business Analytics may be
defined as refining past or present business data using modern technologies. They are used to
build sophisticated models for driving future growth. A general Business Analytics process
may include Data Collection, Data Mining, Sequence Identification, Text Mining,
Forecasting, Predictive Analytics, Optimization, and Data Visualization. Every business
today produces a considerable amount of data in a specific way. Business Analytics now are
leveraging the benefits of statistical methods and technologies to analyze their past data. This
is used to uncover new insights to help them make a strategic decision for the future.
Business Intelligence, a subset of the Business Analytics field, plays an essential role in
utilizing various tools and techniques such as machine learning and artificial intelligence
technologies to predict and implement insights into daily operations. Thus, Business
Analytics brings together fields of business management, and computing to get actionable
insights. These values and inputs are then used to remodel business procedures to generate
more efficiency and build a productive system.

Keywords: Technology, Business Analytics, Data Analytics, Retail, Awareness, Skills and
knowledge.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTERS PARTICULARS PAGE NO.

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 01 - 14

CHAPTER 2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 15 – 16

CHAPTER 3 BRIEF PROFILE 17 – 24

CHAPTER 4 DATA ANALYSIS 25 – 30

CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 31 – 33

Reference & Bibliography 34 – 35

“IMPACT OF USE OF BUSINESS ANALYTICS FOR INCREASING
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INTRODUCTION

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY:

INTRODUCTION TO RETAIL INDUSTRY IN INDIA:

Indian retail industry has emerged as one of the fastest growing industries mainly
because of the entrants of new players recently. The emergence of Kirana stores (Provision
stores) can be considered as the archetype of retailing in the country. Once the Indian
government liberalised the economy in the 1990’s many companies vertically integrated their
operations to serve a larger customer base. After 2005, large domestic corporations opened
multiple stores especially in the food & general merchandise category and this led to the
growth of the retail industry in India. During the same period of time, many international
players entered the Indian retail market which further accelerated the industry’s demand.

India being one of the fastest growing economies in the world administers a strong
platform for manufacturers, distributors and customers. Retailers are continuously trying to
unlock the true potential of the industry by incorporating latest technologies such as Artificial
Intelligence based data analytics, CRM tools etc. Indian retail industry has emerged as one of
the most dynamic and fast-paced industries due to the entry of several new players. It
accounts for over 10% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and around 8% of the
employment. India is the world’s fifth-largest global destination in the retail space. India
ranked 73 in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's Business-to-
Consumer (B2C) E-commerce Index 2024.

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India is the world’s fifth-largest global destination in the retail space and ranked 63 in
World Bank’s Doing Business 2024. The sizeable middle class and nearly unexplored retail
market in India are the main enticing factors for international retail behemoths seeking to
move into newer markets, which will help the Indian retail business grow more quickly. The
urban Indian consumer's purchasing power is increasing, and branded goods in categories like
apparel, cosmetics, footwear, watches, beverages, food, and even jewellery are gradually
evolving into business and leisure that are well-liked by the urban Indian consumer. The
retail sector in India is expected to reach a whopping US$ 2 trillion in value by 2032,
according to a recent analysis by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). India is the world’s
fifth-largest global destination in the retail space. In FDI Confidence Index, India ranked 16
(after US, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, China, Japan, France, Australia, Switzerland,
and Italy).

RETAIL MARKET SIZE IN INDIA:

The retail industry in India ranks 4th in the world in terms of size and accounts for
10% of the overall GDP of the country. The industry’s market size in 2024 was
approximately USD 84,328.43 billion and is expected to reach USD 110,851.77 Billion by
2028. The retail industry is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 7.1%.

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The retail and wholesale market size is expected to see strong growth in the next few years. It
will grow to $110851.77 billion in 2028 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.1%.
The expansion projected in the forecast period can be attributed to the increasing population,
a growing number of middle-class consumers, the proliferation of e-commerce, technological
advancements, the impact of data analytics, and a consumer preference for local shopping.
Major trends expected in the forecast period include investments in innovative technologies,
the adoption of automation techniques, the establishment of brick-and-mortar stores,
collaboration with big data analytics providers, the integration of robotics, the provision of
unique shopping experiences, investments in drone deliveries, the implementation of omni-
channel shopping solutions, investments in sustainable products, the adoption of digital
platforms, investments in smart shelf solutions, investments in unmanned convenience stores,
the adoption of inventory management systems, investments in RFID technology, potential
collaborations with e-commerce players, the utilization of predictive analytics tools, the use
of AI platforms, investments in franchising, and the expansion of supermarket chains.

Numerous retailers and wholesalers are adopting a robust and integrated strategy for data
analytics in management. This technology is being utilized to improve supply chain
efficiency, streamline operations for customer engagement, and foster loyalty. Data has
become indispensable for the majority of retail operations. With the swift growth in retail
data and the availability of technologies for data analysis, retailers are expected to find it
easier to identify and fulfill the needs and expectations of their customers. This is anticipated
to propel the market forward.

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COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE:

India’s retail industry is highly competitive as it is majorly dominated by unorganised

retailers. There are approximately 13 million kirana stores and neighbourhood stores that sell
food & groceries. Organised retail segment consists of supermarkets or convenience stores,
Hypermarkets, Departmental stores, Cash & carry stores and Specialty stores. Reliance Retail
Limited leads the retail industry in India with over 12,000 offering various products.

GROWTH DRIVERS FOR INDIAN RETAIL INDUSTRY:

 Increase in Income Level:

An increase in income level generally means people have more purchasing power.
With rising income levels, a greater number of households are being added to the
consumption class. This leads to an increase in demand for retail goods.

 Increasing Awareness:

As a result of increased literacy levels in the country, exposure to the western culture,
foreign magazines, newspapers and other factors, there has been an increasing customer
awareness among Indians. Today’s customers are more selective over the brand and quality
of the products they purchase.

 Brand Consciousness:

The major portion of India’s population comprises Millennials making around 35% of
the total population. This set of customers are more conscious about brands and willing to
spend more to satisfy their needs.

 Growth of Shopping Malls:

The major portion of India’s population comprises Millennials making around 35% of
the total population. This set of customers are more conscious about brands and willing to
spend more to satisfy their needs.

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 Availability of Consumer Credit:

Consumer credit in terms of consumer durable loans or credit cards, offer customers
to pay the price of a product in several installments at a minimum rate of interest. As this
option provides the convenience of not paying the full amount in advance, this may create
demand for certain products in the retail sector.

CHALLENGES FOR INDIAN RETAIL INDUSTRY:

 Lack of Technology Adoption:

One of the major challenges is the availability, feasibility and adoption of technology
in the retail industry. Retailers use technology in payments, scanning the products etc. but the
scope is wider.

 Competition from Unorganized Retail:

Unorganized retail consists of small retailers including mom-and-pop and kirana

stores. They operate near to or in the residential areas. These stores do not pay taxes and
almost negligible real estate & human labour costs.

 Operational Cost:

Retailers in India incur high cost of operations. Expenses such as store rents, utilities,
labour cost, warehousing costs, taxes etc. cannot be transferred to the customers as the
majority are looking for low cost goods.

IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON INDIAN RETAIL INDUSTRY:

The coronavirus pandemic has forced governments all around the world to shutdown
the country for weeks to curb the spread of the deadly virus. Immediate closure of retail
outlets and manufacturing units caused an immediate fall of sales to an all time low. The
organised retail sector reported a loss of INR 90,000 Crore in the first two months of the
lockdown period.

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Retailers in the country witnessed a sales degrowth of 60-80% across high street
outlets and malls during the four months lockdown period from April to July, 2020.
According to a survey conducted by Retail Association of India(RAI), Home Furnishings and
Jewellery categories sales declined by 73% and 72% in 2020 when compared to the previous
year. Food & Groceries sales were down by 31%. The pandemic not only impacted the
retailers but also had a huge influence on brand perseverance. As supply chains were
distracted, well established brands were not able to meet the demand causing local brands to
gain more attention from customers.

INVESTMENTS/ DEVELOPMENTS:

 India’s retail trading sector attracted US$ 4.11 billion FDIs between April 2000-June
2022.
 According to data released by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation
(MoSPI), India’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) based retail inflation stood at 6.77%
YoY in October 2022.
 In November 2022, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd. entered into a strategic
partnership with the Galeries Lafayette to open luxury department stores and a
dedicated e-commerce platform in India.
 In August 2022, Louis Philippe, India’s leading premium menswear brand from
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd., announced the launch of its outlet in Vadodara,
Gujarat.
 In August 2022, Wipro Consumer announced the launch of traditional snacks and
spices as it forays into packaged foods.
 In July 2022, Reliance Brands Limited (rbl) partnered with Maison Valentino to bring
to India the most established Italian Maison de Couture.
 In June 2022, Reliance Brands Limited inks a JV with plastic legno spa to strengthen
toy manufacturing ecosystem in India
 In June 2022, Aditya Birla Group formally launches TMRW – a Digital First ‘House
of Brands’ venture in the Fashion & Lifestyle space
 In May 2022, Reliance brands limited (rbl) partnered with Tod’s S.p.A, the iconic
Italian luxury brand to become the official retailer of the brand across all categories
including footwear, handbags and accessories in the Indian market.

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 In April 2022, Wipro Consumer Care inaugurated its factory in Telangana. It has
invested in a state-of-the-art soap finishing line that runs on highest speed of 700 Nos
of soap /minute.
 In FY 2021-22 (till 20th March 2022) total number of digital payment transactions
volume stood at Rs. 8,193 crore (US$ 1.05 billion).
 In October 2022, UPI transactions were valued at Rs. 12.11 lakh crore (US$ 148.32
billion).
 In March 2022, Reliance Brands has bought the India franchisee rights and the current
Sunglass Hut retail network from DLF Brands.
 In November 2021, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade
announced that it is working on a regulatory compliance portal to minimize
burdensome compliance processes between industries and the government.

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES:

 In April 2022, the government approved PLI scheme for textiles products for
enhancing India’s manufacturing capabilities and enhancing exports with an approved
financial outlay of Rs. 10,683 crore (US$ 1.37 billion) over a five-year period.
 In October 2021, the RBI announced plans for a new framework for retail digital
payments in offline mode to accelerate digital payment adoption in the country.
 In July 2021, the Andhra Pradesh government announced retail parks policy 2021-26,
anticipating targeted retail investment of Rs. 5,000 crore (US$ 674.89 million) in the
next five years.
 Government may change Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules in food processing in
a bid to permit E-commerce companies and foreign retailers to sell Made in India
consumer products.
 Government of India has allowed 100% FDI in online retail of goods and services
through the automatic route, thereby providing clarity on the existing businesses of E-
commerce companies operating in India.
 The Minister of MSME announced inclusion of retail and wholesale trades as
MSMEs. Retail and wholesale trade will now get the benefit of priority sector lending
under the RBI guidelines.

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ROAD AHEAD:

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused changes in consumer preferences, habits, and
attitudes over the past two years. This has a significant impact on how people buy and
consume goods and services. Global retailers are now using cutting-edge business strategies
to take advantage of new retail opportunities. Consumers no longer distinguish between
offline and online consumption channels. Due to this, major companies are experimenting
with different ways to design seamless retail experiences that are integrated across all
channels. By utilising both established e-commerce platforms and traditional techniques,
retailers are also experimenting with revenue models to improve their customer value offer.

E-commerce is expanding steadily in the country. Customers have the ever-increasing

choice of products at the lowest rates. E-commerce is probably creating the biggest revolution
in retail industry, and this trend is likely to continue in the years to come. Retailers should
leverage digital retail channels (E-commerce), which would enable them to spend less money
on real estate while reaching out to more customers in tier II and tier III cities. Online retail
market in India is projected to reach US$ 350 billion by 2030 from an estimated US$ 55
billion in 2021, due to rising online shoppers in the country. Online penetration of retail is
expected to reach 10.7% by 2024 versus 4.7% in 2019. Nevertheless, long-term outlook for
the industry looks positive, supported by rising income, favourable demographics, entry of
foreign players, and increasing urbanisation.

FUTURE OUTLOOK:

The retail industry in India is currently undergoing a major transition from an

unorganized sector to a more organised one. The ongoing covid19 pandemic has fueled this
shift as most of the retailers in the country are forced to adopt technology to move their
business forward. Retailers are expecting a surge in revenge shopping as most people were
confined to their homes with many losing their jobs in 2020. As a result the sales numbers for
the retailers have plunged and we expect a v-shaped recovery for the industry in 2021.

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INTRODUCTION TO THE CONCEPT OF “SALES”:

Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted
time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. The seller, or the
provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in response to an acquisition,
appropriation, requisition, or a direct interaction with the buyer at the point of sale. There is a
passing of title (property or ownership) of the item, and the settlement of a price, in which
agreement is reached on a price for which transfer of ownership of the item will occur.

The seller, not the purchaser, typically executes the sale and it may be completed prior
to the obligation of payment. In the case of indirect interaction, a person who sells goods or
service on behalf of the owner is known as a salesman or saleswoman or salesperson, but this
often refers to someone selling goods in a store/shop, in which case other terms are also
common, including salesclerk, shop assistant, and retail clerk. In common law countries,
sales are governed generally by the common law and commercial codes. In the United States,
the laws governing sales of goods are somewhat uniform to the extent that most jurisdictions
have adopted Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code, albeit with some non-uniform
variations.

DEFINITION:

A person or organization expressing an interest in acquiring the offered item of value

is referred to as a potential buyer, prospective customer, or prospect. Buying and selling are
understood to be two sides of the same "coin" or transaction. Both seller and buyer engage in
a process of negotiation to consummate the exchange of values. The exchange, or selling,
process has implied rules and identifiable stages. It is implied that the selling process will
proceed fairly and ethically so that the parties end up nearly equally rewarded.

The stages of selling, and buying, involve getting acquainted, assessing each party's
need for the other's item of value, and determining if the values to be exchanged are
equivalent or nearly so, or, in buyer's terms, "worth the price". Sometimes, sellers have to use
their own experiences when selling products with appropriate discounts. Although the skills
required are different, from a management viewpoint, sales is a part of marketing.

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Sales often form a separate grouping in a corporate structure, employing separate

specialist operatives known as salespersons (singular: salesperson). Selling is considered by
many to be a sort of persuading "art". Contrary to popular belief, the methodological
approach of selling refers to a systematic process of repetitive and measurable milestones, by
which a salesman relates his or her offering of a product or service in return enabling the
buyer to achieve their goal in an economic way.

RELATIONSHIPS WITH MARKETING:

Marketing and sales differ greatly, but they generally have the same goal. Selling is
the final stage in marketing which puts the plan into effect. A marketing plan includes
pricing, promotion, place, and product (the 4 P's). A marketing department in an organization
has the goals of increasing the desirability and value of the products and services to the
customer and increasing the number and engagement of successful interactions between
potential customers and the organization. Achieving this goal may involve the sales team
using promotional techniques such as advertising, sales promotion, publicity, and public
relations, creating new sales channels, or creating new products.

It can also include encouraging the potential customer to visit the organization's
website, contact the organization for more information, or interact with the organization via
social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook and blogs. Social values play a major role in
consumer decision processes. Marketing is the whole of the work on persuasion made for the
whole of the target people. Sales is the process of persuasion and effort from one person to
one person (B2C), or one person to a corporation (B2B), in order to make a living resource
enter the company. This may occur in person, over the phone or digitally.

SALES AND MARKETING ALIGNMENT AND INTEGRATION:

Another area of discussion involves the need for alignment and integration of
corporate sales and marketing functions. According to a report from the Chief Marketing
Officer (CMO) Council, only 40 percent of companies have formal programs, systems or
processes in place to align and integrate the two critical functions. Sales, Digital Marketing
and Automated Marketing campaigns. With the increase of the use of the internet today, sales
functions of several enterprises are finding traditional methods of marketing quite old
fashioned and less efficient.

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Traditionally, these two functions, as referred above, have operated separately, left in
siloed areas of tactical responsibility. Glen Petersen's book The Profit Maximization Paradox
sees the changes in the competitive landscape between the 1950s and the time of writing as so
dramatic that the complexity of choice, price, and opportunities for the customer forced this
seemingly simple and integrated relationship between sales and marketing to change forever.
Petersen goes on to highlight that salespeople spend approximately 40 percent of their time
preparing customer-facing deliverables while leveraging less than 50 percent of the materials
created by marketing, adding to perceptions that marketing is out of touch with the customer
and that sales is resistant to messaging and strategy.

USES OF DATA ANALYTICS IN RETAIL:

Data analytics has become the most sought-after, critical detail required to help
businesses improve and thrive. Its application in industries of all kinds ranges from
uncovering operational inefficiencies to discovering new sales opportunities. In retail, where
the competition is fierce across borders and channels, data analytics has been disrupting the
industry for a while now. Leveraging meaningful insights, businesses can deliver more
targeted promotions, better-focused goods, and services and uncover continual opportunities
for growth.

 Understanding Customer Behaviors:

Data analytics that tracks customer behaviors help retailers to understand how their
customers are shopping, what they like and where they prefer to receive promotions. Using
this data they can optimize marketing efforts and create offers best suited for customers as
well as uncover tactics for retention and personalization that improve sales and lower costs.

 In-Store Experience Tracking:

For omni-channel and brick-and-mortar retailers, improving the in-store experience is

critical today. One way data analytics can improve merchandising is through tracking. To do
so, sensors, beacons, and mobile applications are used to track customer movements
throughout the store.

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 Better Promotions:

Improving conversion rates is essential in retail as online real estate for goods
continues to be flooded. With predictive analytics and targeted promotions, it’s possible for
retailers to uncover what offers and products are most popular, what’s being signed up for,
and more.

 Tracking the Customer Journey:

Perhaps one of the most critical facts about customers is their journey – an overall
look at their entire experience with the brand. From communications to the online and in-
store experience, purchases, and their interactions with ads. Getting a full view of this helps
reduce cart abandonment, increases the likelihood of closing a sale, and helps retailers
understand how to best guide customers to complete the buying process.

 Operational and Supply Chain Improvements:

Using analytics in the supply chain is one of the more recent ways retailers are upping
their game. The data can be used for everything from product tracking to improved quality,
real-time inventory management, and better forecasting. It’s also speeding up the delivery of
goods – something consumers have come to expect.

ADVANTAGES OF USING DATA ANALYTICS IN THE RETAIL

INDUSTRY:

 Predicts demand and managing inventory: Data analytics helps retail companies to
understand the customers’ buying needs and focus on areas that have high demand.
The conclusion derived from data helps the companies to forecast the demand and
accordingly manage the inventory.
 Enhances customer experience: Data analytics help retailers in analyzing how
customers shop and use this data to produce a seamless customer experience. From
choosing a product to buying it, data analytics focuses on providing personalized
attention to each customer.

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 Predicts Trends in the market: Amazon has a sale before every major festive
season. They have these sales because they have data that proves the worthiness of
having it. Marketers use the technique called sentiment analysis that helps them to
analyze the sentiments of the market.
 Finds opportunities with high ROI: Data analytics help retail industry to find
opportunities that have a high ROI. For example, retailers use predictive analysis to
measure the response of people to marketing campaigns and to understand their
willingness to buy a product.
 Determines location for new outlets: This is especially advantageous for retailers
who wish to open a new outlet in a particular location. Data analytics helps the retailer
to find out places where maximum people spend most of their time. Analytics also
provide information on the demographics, their spending power, and the market
conditions.

NEED OF THE STUDY:

Big data analytics helps retail companies outgrow their business at a large scale in a
dynamic environment. This technology helps retailers get a clear idea to take immediate
actions and enable great selling techniques. Retailers can observe and analyze the customer’s
needs and are able to increase the profit. Retail industry faces challenges such as lack of
security and data privacy. Additionally, there is also an issue of lack of skilled team to
decipher data and the inability of the companies to implementing the insights gained from
analytics into their business. However, with right skills and correct inference from retailers,
data analytics can help in increasing customer loyalty and boost their brand image by
delivering customer satisfaction. With technology taking a centre stage in retail industry, it
can safely be deduced that data analytics will remain a crucial part of it.

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RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY

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CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

 To study in detail about the Retail Industry in India.
 To study the benefits of using Business Analytics in Retail Industry.
 To know the impact of Business Analytics in increasing Sales in Retail Stores.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

The statement of the problem is to study the impact of using business analytics for
increasing sales in big retail stores. Retail analytics is the concept that uses big data to
optimize the price and supply chain while analyzing consumer behavior. Thus, a huge
amount of data is used to determine the patterns, trends, human behavior and their
interactions. In the retail industry, big data analytics helps companies collect and analyze
customer purchase history and preference data, which further helps them attract new
customers. he retail industry needs to collect a large amount of data for the sales of their
product and this includes a customers’ purchase history. Therefore, an attempt has been made
to study the impact of using business analytics for increasing sales in big retail stores.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND GOALS SET FOR THE PURPOSE

OF STUDY:
 To learn/ study about the concept business analytics, retail industry in India.
 To learn about the advantages of using data analytics in retail industry.
 To learn and understand the impact of using business analytics in increasing sales in
big retail stores in India.

METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY:

The study is descriptive in nature. It has been carried out with the help of secondary
data taken from various journals, text books, newspapers, magazines, internet sources and
online research reports and company website.

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BRIEF PROFILE

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CHAPTER 3: BRIEF PROFILE

BUSINESS ANALYTICS (BRIEF INTRODUCTION):

INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS ANALYTICS:

Business analytics (BA) refers to the skills, technologies, and practices for iterative
exploration and investigation of past business performance to gain insight and drive business
planning. Business analytics focuses on developing new insights and understanding of
business performance based on data and statistical methods. In contrast, business intelligence
traditionally focuses on using a consistent set of metrics to both measure past performance
and guide business planning. In other words, business intelligence focusses on description,
while business analytics focusses on prediction and prescription. Business analytics makes
extensive use of analytical modeling and numerical analysis, including explanatory and
predictive modeling, and fact-based management to drive decision making. It is therefore
closely related to management science. Analytics may be used as input for human decisions
or may drive fully automated decisions. Business intelligence is querying, reporting, online
analytical processing (OLAP), and "alerts". In other words, querying, reporting, and OLAP
are alert tools that can answer questions such as what happened, how many, how often, where
the problem is, and what actions are needed. Business analytics can answer questions like
why is this happening, what if these trends continue, what will happen next (predict), and
what is the best outcome that can happen (optimize).

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MEANING OF BUSINESS ANALYTICS:

Business analytics (BA) is a set of disciplines and technologies for solving business
problems using data analysis, statistical models and other quantitative methods. It involves an
iterative, methodical exploration of an organization's data, with an emphasis on statistical
analysis, to drive decision-making. Data-driven companies treat their data as a business asset
and actively look for ways to turn it into a competitive advantage. Success with business
analytics depends on data quality, skilled analysts who understand the technologies and the
business, and a commitment to using data to gain insights that inform business decisions.

EXAMPLES OF APPLICATION:

In healthcare, business analysis can be used to operate and manage clinical

information systems. It can transform medical data from a bewildering array of analytical
methods into useful information. Data analysis can also be used to generate contemporary
reporting systems which include the patient's latest key indicators, historical trends and
reference values.

 Decision analytics: supports human decisions with visual analytics that the user
models to reflect reasoning.
 Descriptive analytics: gains insight from historical data with reporting,
scorecards, clustering etc.
 Predictive analytics: employs predictive modelling using statistical and machine
learning techniques
 Prescriptive analytics: recommends decisions using optimization, simulation,
etc.

BASIC DOMAINS WITHIN BUSINESS ANALYTICS:

 Behavioral analytics
 Cohort analysis
 Competitor analysis
 Customer journey analytics
 Cyber analytics
 Enterprise optimization
 Financial services analytics

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 Fraud analytics
 Health care analytics
 Key performance indicators (KPI's)
 Market Basket Analysis
 Marketing analytics
 Pricing analytics
 Retail sales analytics
 Risk and credit analytics
 Talent analytics
 Telecommunications
 Transportation analytics

HISTORY:

Analytics have been used in business since the management exercises were put into
place by Frederick Winslow Taylor in the late 19th century. Henry Ford measured the time of
each component in his newly established assembly line. But analytics began to command
more attention in the late 1960s when computers were used in decision support systems.
Since then, analytics have changed and formed with the development of enterprise resource
planning (ERP) systems, data warehouses, and a large number of other software tools and
processes. In later years the business analytics have exploded with the introduction of
computers. This change has brought analytics to a whole new level and has brought about
endless possibilities. As far as analytics has come in history, and what the current field of
analytics is today, many people would never think that analytics started in the early 1900s
with Mr. Ford himself.

CHALLENGES:

Business analytics depends on sufficient volumes of high-quality data. The difficulty

in ensuring data quality is integrating and reconciling data across different systems, and then
deciding what subsets of data to make available. Previously, analytics was considered a type
of after-the-fact method of forecasting consumer behavior by examining the number of units
sold in the last quarter or the last year. This type of data warehousing required a lot more
storage space than it did speed.

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COMPETING ON ANALYTICS:

Thomas Davenport, professor of information technology and management at Babson

College argues that businesses can optimize a distinct business capability via analytics and
thus better compete. He identifies these characteristics of an organization that are apt to
compete on analytics:

 One or more senior executives who strongly advocate fact-based decision making
and, specifically, analytics
 Widespread use of not only descriptive statistics, but also predictive modeling and
complex optimization techniques
 Substantial use of analytics across multiple business functions or processes
 Movement toward an enterprise-level approach to managing analytical tools, data,
and organizational skills and capabilities

HOW BUSINESS ANALYTICS WORKS:

Before any data analysis takes place, BA starts with several foundational processes:

 Determine the business goal of the analysis.

 Select an analysis methodology.
 Get business data to support the analysis, often from various systems and sources.
 Cleanse and integrate data into a single repository, such as a data warehouse or
data mart.

Initial analysis is typically performed on a smaller sample data set of data. Analytics
tools range from spreadsheets with statistical functions to complex data mining and predictive
modeling applications. Patterns and relationships in the raw data are revealed. Then new
questions are asked, and the analytic process iterates until the business goal is met.

Deployment of predictive models involves a statistical process known as scoring and

uses records typically located in a database. Scores help enterprises make more informed,
real-time decisions within applications and business processes. BA also supports tactical
decision-making in response to unforeseen events. Often the decision-making is automated
using artificial intelligence to support real-time responses.

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TYPES OF BUSINESS ANALYTICS:

Different types of business analytics include the following:

 Descriptive analytics, which tracks key performance indicators (KPIs) to

understand the present state of a business;
 Predictive analytics, which analyzes trend data to assess the likelihood of future
outcomes; and
 Prescriptive analytics, which uses past performance to generate
recommendations for handling similar situations in the future.

Some schools of thought also include a fourth approach, diagnostic analytics, which is
like descriptive analytics. It analyzes the state of a business and diagnoses why certain events
or outcomes happened.

BUSINESS ANALYTICS VS. BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE:

The terms business intelligence (BI) and business analytics are often used
interchangeably. However, there are key differences. Companies usually start with BI before
implementing business analytics. BI analyzes business operations to determine what practices
have worked and where opportunities for improvement lie. BI uses descriptive analytics. In
contrast, business analytics focuses on predictive analytics, generating actionable insights for
decision-makers. Instead of summarizing past data points, BA aims to predict trends. The
data collected using BI lays the groundwork for BA. From that data, companies can choose
specific areas to analyze further using business analytics.

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BUSINESS ANALYTICS VS. DATA ANALYTICS:

Data analytics is the analysis of data sets to draw conclusions about the information
they contain. Data analytics does not have to be used in pursuit of business goals or insights.
It is a broader practice that includes business analytics. BA involves using data analytics tools
in pursuit of business insights. However, because it's a general term, data analytics is
sometimes used interchangeably with business analytics.

BUSINESS ANALYTICS VS. DATA SCIENCE:

Data science uses analytics to inform decision-making. Data scientists explore data
using advanced statistical methods. They allow the features in the data to guide their analysis.
The more advanced areas of business analytics resemble data science, but there is a
distinction between what data scientists and business analysts do. Even when advanced
statistical algorithms are applied to data sets, it doesn't necessarily mean data science is
involved. That's because true data science uses custom coding and explores answers to open-
ended questions. In contrast, business analytics aims to solve a specific question or problem.

COMMON CHALLENGES OF BUSINESS ANALYTICS:

Businesses might encounter both business analytics and business intelligence

challenges when trying to implement a business analytics strategy:

 Too many data sources. There is an increasingly large spectrum of internet-

connected devices generating business data. In many cases, they are generating
different types of data that must be integrated into an analytics strategy. However,
the more complex a data set becomes, the harder it is to use it as part of an
analytics framework.
 Lack of skills. The demand for employees with the data analytic skills necessary
to process BA data has grown. Some businesses, particularly small and medium-
sized businesses (SMBs), may have a hard time hiring people with the BA
expertise and skills they need.
 Data storage limitations. Before a business can begin to decide how it will
process data, it must decide where to store it. For instance, a data lake can be used
to capture large volumes of unstructured data.

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BUSINESS ANALYTICS EXAMPLES AND TOOLS:

There are several BA and BI tools that can automate advanced data analytics
functions and require few of the specialized skills or deep knowledge of the programming
languages used in data science. These tools help businesses organize and make use of the
massive amounts of data that modern internet of things and enterprise cloud applications
generate. These applications may be part of supply chain management, enterprise resource
planning and customer relationship management applications. Below are some business
analytics tools on the market:

 Dundas BI, with automated trend forecasting and a user-friendly interface;

 Knime Analytics Platform, which has high-performance data pipelining and
machine learning;
 Qlik's QlikView with data visualization and automated data association features;
 Sisense, known for its dynamic text-analysis features and data warehousing;
 Splunk, which has intuitive user interface and data visualization features;
 Tableau, which has advanced unstructured text analysis and natural language
processing capabilities; and
 Tibco Spotfire, which offers powerful, automated statistical and unstructured text
analysis.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN BUSINESS ANALYTICS:

Business analytics professionals' main responsibility is to collect and analyze data to

influence strategic decisions that a business makes. Some initiatives they might provide
analysis for include the following:

 Identifying strategic opportunities from data patterns;

 Identifying potential problems facing the business and solutions;
 Creating a budget and business forecast;
 Monitoring progress with business initiatives;
 Reporting progress on business objectives back to stakeholders;
 Understanding kpis; and
 Understanding regulatory and reporting requirements.

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DATA ANALYSIS

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CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS

OUTCOMES OF THE STUDY:

 Make better business decisions:

o Business analysts understand the organization’s goals and use analytics to guide data-
driven business decisions.
o The past data of the company, current market situation, and product performance are
leveraged to predict future trends and accordingly design strategies.

 Monitor progress and performance:

o Business analytics can be used to track the progress of the organization over the years.
It can also identify the performance of a product or a strategy in the market.
o Based on these reports, it can be deduced what is working well for the organization
and what isn’t. As a result, updated decisions and methodologies can be implemented
to improve the stats.

 Reduce risks:
o One main advantage of business analytics is its ability to mitigate risks. It helps in
tracking the mistakes made by the organization in the past and understanding the
factors that led to their occurrence.
o With this knowledge, analysis is done to predict the probability of the reoccurrence of
similar risks in the upcoming future, and therefore, the corresponding measures can be
taken to prevent the same.

 Enhance customer experience:

o All successful businesses have figured out the secret to success – making their
customers happy! Organizations today, identify their customer base, understand their
needs and behaviors and correspondingly cater to them.
o This is possible because of the statistical tools and models used in business analytics.

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 Lack of Commitment:
o The business Analytics process can be extremely costly as well as time-
consuming. Although the solutions can be easily achieved, the time and cost
factors leave people feeling disinterested and therefore less trusting.
o This eventually leads to the complete failure of the business.

 Low-Quality Data:
o Organizations have a lot of data. But the real question is how much of this data is
actually correct and accessible.
o Having poorly constructed, heavily complicated or insufficient data is a huge
limitation and can hinder the business analytics processes.

 Privacy Concerns:
o Companies collect customer data to analyze it and make better business decisions.
But this can lead to a breach of the customer’s privacy.
o There have been instances when one company shares its collected user data with
another company for mutual benefit.
o This data can be used against a particular user in any way possible.
o Therefore, it is essential for organizations to collect only vital information and
work on maintaining the security and confidentiality of the data collected.

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BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS:

The Business Model Canvas is an excellent tool to create a business model and
present your ideas. It gives a clear picture of how you will make money and sustain your
business. The Business Model Canvas will challenge you by making you answer tough
questions about your business which would help you to be more prepared to start a business.
The Business Model Canvas should come before your business plan. The Business Model
Canvas consists of nine essential parts: Customer Segments, Value Proposition, Revenue
Streams, Channels, Customer Relationships, Key Activities, Key Resources, Key Partners,
and Cost Structure. Let’s take a look at each section of the Business Model Canvas.

 Customer Segments:

Depicts the different groups of people or organizations an enterprise aims to reach and
serve. Customers comprise the heart of any business model. Without (profitable) customers,
no company can survive for long. In order to better satisfy customers, a company may group
them into distinct segments with common needs, common behaviors, or other attributes. A
business model may define one or several large or small Customer Segments. An
organization must make a conscious decision about which segments to serve and which
segments to ignore.

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 Value Propositions:

Depicts the bundle of products and services that create value for a specific Customer
Segment. The Value Proposition is the reason why customers turn to one company over
another. It solves a customer problem or satisfies a customer need. Each Value Proposition
consists of a selected bundle of products and/or services that caters to the requirements of a
specific Customer Segment. In this sense, the Value Proposition is an aggregation, or bundle,
of benefits that a company offers customers.

 Channels:

Depicts how a company communicates with and reaches its Customer Segments to
deliver a Value Proposition. Communication, distribution, and sales Channels comprise a
company's interface with customers.

 Customer Relationships:

Depicts the types of relationships a company establishes with specific Customer

Segments. A company should clarify the type of relationship it wants to establish with each
Customer Segment. Relationships can range from personal to automated. Customer
relationships may be driven by the following motivations:

 Key Resources:

Depicts the most important assets required to make a business model work. Every
business model requires Key Resources. These resources allow an enterprise to create and
offer a Value Proposition, reach markets, maintain relationships with Customer Segments,
and earn revenues. Different Key Resources are needed depending on the type of business
model.

 Key Activities:

Depicts the most important things a company must do to make its business model
work. Every business model calls for a number of Key Activities. These are the most
important actions a company must take to operate successfully. Like Key Resources, they are
required to create and offer a Value Proposition, reach markets, maintain Customer
Relationships, and earn revenues.

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 Key Partnerships:

Depicts the network of suppliers and partners that make the business model work.
Companies forge partnerships for many reasons, and partnerships are becoming a cornerstone
of many business models. Companies create alliances to optimize their business models,
reduce risk, or acquire resources.

 Cost Structure:

Depicts all costs incurred to operate a business model. This building block describes
the most important costs incurred while operating under a particular business model. Creating
and delivering value, maintaining Customer Relationships, and generating revenue all incur
costs. Such costs can be calculated relatively easily after defining Key Resources, Key
Activities, and Key Partnerships. Some business models, though, are more cost-driven than
others. So-called “no frills” airlines, for instance, have built business models entirely around
low Cost Structures.

 Revenue Streams:

Depicts the cash a company generates from each Customer Segment (costs must be
subtracted from revenues to create earnings). If customers comprise the heart of a business
model, Revenue Streams are its arteries. Each Revenue Stream may have different pricing
mechanisms, such as fixed list prices, bargaining, auctioning, pricing mechanisms, such as
fixed list prices, bargaining, auctioning, market dependent, volume dependent, or yield
management.

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DISCUSSION AND
CONCLUSION

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CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

LEARNING EXPERIENCES:
 Opportunity to learn new concepts.

 Opportunity to get explore new insights.

 Added value to the learning.

 Learned professional communication.

 Learned to collect relevant information.

 Learned to be persistent to complete the task.

 Learned to create a balance between collaborative and individual work.

 Learned to work independently.

 learned about the methods and issues.

 Learned about the concept business analytics.

 Learned about the retail industry in India.

 Learned about issues and challenges in business analytics.

 Learned about the benefits of using business analytics in retail industry.

 Learned about the impact of use of business analytics in increasing sales in big retail
stores in India.

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CONCLUSION:
Business analytics is a rapidly growing field. It transforms data to recover insights,
identifies patterns, predicts upcoming trends, and recommends the most optimal solutions for
organizations. This has helped a number of companies improve their outcomes and reach
their desired goals. Business analytics is a highly lucrative technique and it’s high time now
that businesses understand and adopt its principles. Today, businesses are moving forward in
a fast-paced environment. Newer technological solutions are offering more effective
solutions for organizations than ever before. Business Analytics is one of the significant
factors that has contributed significantly to guiding businesses towards more success. The
analytics field has evolved from just displaying the facts and figures into more collaborative
business intelligence that predicts outcomes and assists in decision making for the future.
Business Analytics has been applied to a wide variety of applications. Descriptive analytics is
thoroughly used by businesses to understand the market position in the current scenarios.
Meanwhile, predictive and prescriptive analytics are used to find more reliable measures for
businesses to propel their growth in a competitive environment. In the last decade, business
analytics is among the leading career choices for professionals with high earning potential
and assisting businesses to drive growth with actionable inputs.

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REFERENCE &
BIBLIOGRAPHY

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REFERENCES:
 Rigdon, E.E. (1998), “Structural equation modeling” in Marcoulides, G.A. (Ed.),
Modern Methods for Business Research, Erlbaum, Mahwah, pp.251–294.
 Sallam, R.L., Richardson, J., Hagerty, J. and Hostmann, B. (2011), Magic Quadrant
for Business Intelligence Platforms, Gartner Group, Stamford, CT.
 Savenye, W.C. and Robinson, R.S. (2005), “Using qualitative research methods in
higher eduction”, Journal of Computing in Higher Education, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp.
 Wixom, B.H. and Watson, H.J. (2001), “An empirical investigation of the factors
affecting data warehousing success”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 25 No. 1, pp. 17–41.
 Wong, K.K. (2011), “Book review: handbook of partial least squares: concepts,
methods and applications, by V. Esposito Vinzi, W.W. Chin, J. Henseler & H. Hwang
(Eds)”, International Journal of Business Science & Applied Management.

BOOKS:
 Appanaiah Reddy, (2010), Business Research Methods, Himalaya Publishing house.
 Deepak Chawla and Neena Sondhi, (2011), Research Methodology Concepts and
Cases: Vikash publishing house Pvt ltd., New Delhi.

E-RESOURCES:
 https://www.slideshare.net
 https://www.researchgate.net
 www.wikipedia.com

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 WORK DAIRY

WEEK TOPICS DISCUSSED SIGNATURE

Discussion of title of the study, objectives of

Week 1 the study, statement of the problem, and
need of the study.

Discussion of research methodology, tools

Week 2
for data collection.

Discussion about retail industry in India,

business analytics, benefits of using business
Week 3
analytics in retail stores, impact of use of
business analytics in increasing sales in big
retail stores and business model canvas.

Discussion of outcomes of the study,

Week 4
learning experiences and conclusion.