Narta is in the final stages of phase one of its MKTVUE data platform roll-out, providing its members and suppliers with a more accurate view of the consumer electronics market via live industry point-of-sale (POS) data on a weekly basis.
The cloud-based platform represents around 70% of the total consumer electronics market and up to 80% in some categories, to help members and suppliers better understand industry trends by providing visibility on actual sell-through and inventory performance from more than 1,000 shop fronts around the country across all Narta members and The Good Guys. In addition to Narta’s 82 core brands – both wholesale and agency – the data incorporates all brands supplying to participating retailers.
The platform concept was first presented at the Narta conference in 2018, pitched as a substitute to the GfK POS tracking service, and was extremely well-received. Following more than 12 months in development by Narta teams in Australia and Europe, MKTVUE was first rolled out to retailers in early 2020 and is now being presented to suppliers after months of rigorous security testing and simulation trials. Platform functionality was a collaborative project with both members and suppliers.
Actual POS Sales data from 2018, 2019 and 2020 to date has been made available and is fully updated on a weekly basis, comprising market share statistics, as well as inventory analysis such as stock on hand by location (postcode, region, or state) with members and suppliers only able to view their own performance. In addition, users are able to access price banding analysis, EOL and NPI tracking and management – insights which all assist product marketing as well as sales teams. There are currently 8 billion lines of data which is expanding by six million lines each week.
Although the platform is still in its infancy phase, the feedback and support has been impressive with a strong appetite for additional capabilities including Artificial Intelligence (AI). The next phase of the platform is expected to deliver prescriptive and descriptive analysis.