Our Retail Experience

Turning Business Challenges into Data Solutions

Partner With Datahub Consulting to Build Your Data Strategy

At Datahub Consulting, we specialise in creating data solutions to business challenges within the retail sector. We understand how to transforming data into actionable insights that drive growth, efficiency, and innovation.

With deep expertise across key sectors, we deliver tailored data solutions that solve real-world challenges. We understand that transforming data is not industry-specific, but we also understand that industries have their own unique analytical requirements. Whether you're looking to optimise operations, enhance customer experience, or meet regulatory demands, our team of data experts is here to help.

Ready to unlock your data potential? Contact us today.

Contact Us

Our Projects

Retailers today operate in one of the most competitive and fast-changing industries in the world. To succeed, they must balance customer expectations, supply chain complexities, and the pressure of delivering seamless omnichannel experiences. At Datahub Consulting, we bring deep expertise in helping retailers harness their data to solve these challenges and create measurable business impact.

We have partnered with retailers worldwide, from high-street chains to global e-commerce brands, enabling them to combine the power of data-driven insights with modern Microsoft technologies. Our projects span across inventory optimisation, customer analytics, real-time sales monitoring, and compliance with data protection laws.

By bringing together these capabilities, we ensure that retailers are not only able to optimise operations but also create stronger customer engagement, drive profitability, and stay ahead of competitors in a rapidly evolving marketplace.

Datahub Projects Include

Here are some of the ways we’ve helped retail organisations:

  • Build a 360-degree view of customers, including preferences, buying behaviours, and loyalty program insights.
  • Implement data protection frameworks to ensure compliance with modern data protection laws like GDPR, while still enabling advanced analytics.
  • Deliver inventory optimisation models that reduce both overstocking and stock-outs, ensuring products are available at the right time and in the right place.
  • Unify e-commerce and brick-and-mortar data to give decision makers a consolidated view of performance across all channels.
  • Integrate POS transactions into real-time reporting environments, allowing retailers to monitor sales performance as it happens rather than waiting for overnight batch processing.
  • Deploy real-time analytics solutions that enable store managers, supply chain leaders, and executives to make faster, more confident decisions.

Retail Data and Microsoft Fabric

Today’s retail environment demands near real-time data. Traditional ETL-driven data warehouses introduce delays, with today’s sales only visible tomorrow. For retail, that’s no longer good enough.

At Datahub Consulting, we help retailers adopt Microsoft Fabric and Lakehouse architecture to enable

  • Near real-time analytics directly from POS systems and stock databases.
  • A medallion architecture (Bronze, Silver, Gold layers) for structured, scalable, and governed data refinement.
  • High-performance ETL pipelines with PySpark for faster, parallel data processing.
  • Trusted insights available to everyone from store managers to executive leaders.

By combining Microsoft Fabric with our deep retail expertise, we ensure that decision-makers have immediate access to accurate, reliable insights—empowering them to take action faster than ever before.

Interested in Migrating Your ERP Data to MS Fabric

There are instances where manufacturers want to ingest their Dynamics 365 data onto the Microsoft Platform, either using MS Fabric or Synapse Serverless SQL Pools. This is achieved quickly and efficiently using MS Synapse Link or MS Fabric Link. Not sure of the benefits, then Datahub can advised on the best solution for your requirements.

Datahub can provide you with a Quick Start solution to get you going within 4 weeks, or a bespoke custom-built end to end solution that is designed around your business. With either solution Datahub will engage in a discovery workshop where we will define the requirements and deliverables of the project.  Engage with your team throughout the project to ensure continuity and communication. Provide a seamless handover with training and information to maximise your output.

What are the benefits of Fabric Link

Fabric link is a feature that connects Microsoft Dataverse (the platform underlying Dynamics 365 and Power Apps) directly to Microsoft Fabric, enabling users to access and analyze data from these sources within the Fabric environment without the need for traditional data replication or complex ETL pipelines.

Fabric Link provides manufacturing organisations with

  • Near real-time data available for reporting.
  • Cost effective implementation.
  • Utilising the latest technology from Microsoft.
  • All tables are in Delta parquet files providing fast read operations.
  • Compression provides cost-effective storage for Delta parquet files.

How Data Strategies Can Help Retailers

Data is the lifeblood of modern retail. When properly harnessed, it transforms day-to-day operations, improves profitability, and delivers exceptional customer experiences. Retailers that use their data effectively gain a competitive advantage by anticipating customer needs, streamlining supply chains, and creating truly personalised journeys.

At Datahub Consulting, we help retailers unlock these benefits by applying advanced analytics, AI, and cloud technologies. With the right foundations in place, data becomes more than just a reporting tool—it becomes a driver of growth and resilience.

Some of the immediate benefits our clients see include:

  • Personalised marketing and promotions – Using customer purchase histories, preferences, and behaviours to create campaigns that resonate and deliver higher conversion rates.
  • Customer loyalty and behaviour analytics – Understanding who your most valuable customers are, predicting churn, and improving loyalty program performance.
  • Unified e-commerce and in-store analytics – Bringing together data from physical and digital channels to provide a single, holistic view of performance.
  • Inventory forecasting and stock optimisation – Leveraging predictive models to reduce overstocking and minimise costly stock-outs.
  • Improved supply chain visibility – Detecting bottlenecks, optimising logistics, and enabling proactive responses to disruptions.
  • Enhanced customer lifetime value – Segmenting customers and targeting them with tailored experiences that increase retention and long-term profitability.

When applied consistently, these insights empower retail leaders to make smarter, faster decisions—from optimising product assortments to planning seasonal promotions.

The Future of Data in Retail

Looking ahead, data will become even more integral to the way retailers operate and compete. Emerging technologies and customer expectations are shaping the future of data in retail in several important ways:

  • AI-driven customer experiences – Retailers will use machine learning and generative AI to predict customer needs before they even arise, offering hyper-personalised recommendations in real time.
  • Real-time decision-making at scale – With platforms like Microsoft Fabric, near-instant analysis of POS, online transactions, and supply chain data will become the norm, enabling operational agility.
  • IoT and sensor-driven insights – Smart shelves, RFID tags, and connected devices will feed live data into central systems, helping retailers track inventory at the item level and automate replenishment.
  • Sustainability and ethical retailing – Data will play a central role in helping retailers measure carbon footprints, optimise energy use, and demonstrate compliance with sustainability regulations.
  • Advanced fraud detection and data protection – With greater reliance on digital commerce, advanced analytics will be used to prevent fraud, secure payment data, and ensure compliance with evolving privacy laws.

In short, the future of retail belongs to data-first organisations. Retailers that invest today in scalable, cloud-native, and AI-powered data platforms will be best positioned to thrive tomorrow.

Challenges & Opportunities the retail Industry Face

Retailers are facing increasing complexity, from fluctuating customer demand to global supply chain disruptions. The ability to anticipate and adapt quickly is what sets leaders apart from laggards.

Some of the key challenges include:

  • Rapid shifts in consumer behaviour
  • The need for seamless omnichannel integration
  • Margin pressures and competitive pricing strategies
  • Global supply chain disruptions

Datahub Consulting helps retailers turn these challenges into opportunities by deploying data-driven solutions such as:

  • Customer segmentation and churn prediction
  • Inventory forecasting and replenishment models
  • Promotion and pricing optimisation analytics
  • Real-time sales and performance dashboards

When applied effectively, these solutions not only address short-term operational issues but also build resilience and scalability for long-term success.

Why Choose Datahub Consulting as Your Data Partner

Choosing the right data partner is critical for retailers who want to stay ahead of the competition. At Datahub Consulting, we bring together industry expertise and Microsoft technology leadership to deliver measurable impact.

Our holistic approach ensures that retailers not only gain insights but also embed analytics into everyday decision-making across the business.

  • Datahub have experienced data engineers, data analysts, and a project manager that have all worked previously with retailers.
  • We are happy to travel globally to your headquarters to meet your team, understand your business, challenges, and requirements. We have previously delivered successful projects in UK, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Canada, and U.S.A
  • Experts in digital transformation to improve efficiency, reduce manual effort, reducing the risk of errors, automated monitoring and notifications.
  • Offices in the UK with our central London and Leicester offices. To our European office based located at a tech hub in Madrid, Spain.
  • Solutions Partner of Microsoft, where all of our data engineers and analysts have passed MS certification exams. Proving they are experts in their field of expertise. We also have Microsoft Certified Trainers (MCT) within the business allowing us to train your technical teams in the latest technology.
  • Datahub can deliver complete data solutions from implementing the latest data technology with our data engineers, meaningful insights with real-time reports and dashboards, take advantage of predictive analytics with our data scientists, advice and guidance on over 15 data protection laws with our compliance and legal experts.

Want to boost your retail performance with data? Let’s chat.

Talk to Our Experts

Frequently Asked Questions

Microsoft Fabric allows retailers to unify data from multiple systems (POS, e-commerce, inventory, supply chain) into one platform with near real-time insights. This means faster decisions and reduced dependency on overnight ETL processes.

Power BI empowers retail teams with interactive dashboards, enabling store managers, merchandisers, and executives to monitor KPIs like sales, stock levels, and customer behaviour—all in real time.

There are specific measures that relate to the retail industry, some of these are specific to brick and mortar stores, others relate to online stores. There is also measures relating to customers as well as general sales and inventory. We have listed measures that Datahub have implemented at retail organisations.

Measures by Brick and mortar stores (B&M)

  • Revenue per Square Metre (RPSM)
  • Footfall Conversion Rate
  • Average Transaction Value (ATV)
  • Revenue per store size
  • Revenue per employee
  • Shrinkage Rate

Measure for Online Retailers

  • Conversion Rate
  • Basket Abandonment Rate
  • Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
  • Click-Through Rate (CTR)
  • Bounce Rate
  • Return Rate

Customer

  • Repeat Purchase Rate (Indication of customer loyalty).
  • Net Promoter Score (Measures customer satisfaction and likelihood to recommend).
  • Customer Retention Rate
  • Customer Satisfaction Score
  • Customer Segmentation Scores (Groups customers by behavior, value, or preferences).
  • Demand Forecast Accuracy (Compares predicted vs actual sales).

General Sales & Inventory Measures

  • Sales Growth Rate
  • Sales by Product Range
  • Inventory Turnover
  • Out of Stock Rate
  • Sell-Through Rate
  • Days Inventory Outstanding

More and more customers are using online shopping. So for retailers they need to prioritise their data for online transactions. Datahub are seeing retailers wanting to capitalise on online orders over brick and mortar stores.

Other common challenges that we see include

  • Siloed data across systems. Some retailers have multiple POS systems to handle their transactional data. This could be different systems in various countries, or if they acquire a brand through an acquisition then this could lead to multiple POS systems.
  • Slow reports due to the poorly designed databases coupled with larger volumes of data.
  • Poor inventory visibility.
  • Ensuring compliance with data protection regulations.

Yes. We have strong expertise in data governance and compliance frameworks for retail. We ensure customer data is handled responsibly while supporting advanced analytics and AI initiatives.

Absolutely. We support retailers of all sizes from fast-growing e-commerce businesses to multinational chains. Datahub have worked with small boutique retailers by tailoring solutions to their scale, budget, and growth stage.

Find out how we can help

We do not employ salespeople; our team are all experienced technical specialists that can talk you through any of our services.

Contact us

Home / Our Retail Experience

We track how people interact with our online web content and resources, and some of that tracking involves storing cookies on your device. By continuing to use our site you accept that you agree to this. For more details see our Privacy Statement.

Dismiss