Developing a Retail Analytics Strategy for Nigerian Supermarket Chains

Nigerian supermarket chains are generating large volumes of transaction data but lack formal strategies for extracting commercial value through analytics, creating a competitive gap relative to their international counterparts. This study developed a retail analytics strategy for two Nigerian supermarket chains operating in Lagos and Abuja. A professional strategy development methodology was applied, drawing on a data infrastructure assessment at both chains, structured consultations with 14 retail operations and marketing managers, and benchmarking against retail analytics maturity models from Gartner, KPMG, and published African retail analytics case studies. Assessment confirmed that both chains had operational POS systems generating structured transaction data but lacked analytics personnel, defined analytics use cases, and a data governance structure. The strategy developed specifies a three-year analytics maturity roadmap progressing from descriptive reporting to predictive personalisation. Priority use cases include market basket analysis, demand forecasting, price sensitivity modelling, and customer segmentation. Technology stack recommendations, analytics team structure, and make-versus-buy decisions for analytics tools are specified within Nigerian budget constraints. Expert review by ten retail management and data science specialists confirmed the strategy's commercial relevance and technical practicality. The study recommends establishing a joint data science team shared across the two chains as a cost-sharing pilot before in-house capability expansion, with ROI measurement anchored to inventory waste reduction and promotional lift as primary business metrics.

Keywords: retail analytics strategy, supermarket, Nigeria, customer segmentation, demand forecasting