Retail Promotions: Gaining Advantage From Global Services

The Promotions Management Association reports that spending on retail promotions exceeds $300 billion, with in-store promotions accounting for $867 million. Promotional spending is expected to rise by at least 2 percent this year alone. Yet retailers are limited in their ability to optimize promotions by analyzing large volumes of real-time customer data. Services globalization offers retailers the opportunity to analyze more data more quickly while managing costs. Many retailers already have experience outsourcing information technology processes and transactional business processes offshore. The opportunity exists for retailers to improve promotions - and profitability - by outsourcing more complex business processes as well as knowledge processes.