Retail Sales Process Improvement Using Data (Quality)

Over the last year or so, I've noticed improvements in Costco's point of sale process. First, they noticed that items under the shopping cart were sometimes overlooked by checkers, so I saw them install bar codes on the front of each shopping cart- just inches off the ground between the front two wheels. Each checker had to scan the bar code to show that they had checked the bottom for items and scanned them. This seemed to be an improvement and I imagine that this bar code could also be used to inventory the carts as well.

Representation and Spatial Data Quality Issues Found on San Diego Beach

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 This summer I took a working vacation to San Diego, California. Having spent a week there each year, for many years, I was impressed with the significant increase in number of app-based transportation rentals available all over the streets.

Lady Time at the Bus Stop

They often refer to Time as a female character. Indeed, she plays a significant role in the theatric drama we call Data Quality. A while back, I was in a hurry to get some updated retirement account balances and had to reset my password in order to get into my account. I provided my email account and requested the password reset, expecting an email to shortly follow with instructions and a hyperlink to change my password. The problem was that I didn’t get the email, with the link to reset the password, until the next day (long after I needed the information).

Homeless Count Offers Great Example of Data Quality Principles

From January 23-25, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) conducted their annual count of unsheltered homeless with the help of more than 8000 volunteers. On the evening of the 24th, I joined the #TheyCountWillYou effort in Los Angeles to count the homeless in the city of Cudahy. As you’ll see in the description of steps conducted the process is thorough and intentional.

Fall Harvest Time Reveals Geospatial Data Quality Example

During a family visit to a local pumpkin patch (Uesugi Farms) this fall, I was looking for a gas station. The corner, just across from the Farm (yellow arrow below), was identified as a gas station on my car's GPS, but that was just a dirt parking lot. Google's satellite imagery shows this as well in the image below. There was, however, a Valero gas station just down the street, but even that didn't show up in Google's list of local gas stations (blue arrow).

416 Miles per hour in a Dollar rental car

In October, during my travels to the International Conference on Information Quality (ICIQ), held at the University of Arkansas Little Rock (UALR), I rented a Toyota Yaris from the Dollar rental car company. When I returned the Yaris, the friendly staff member casually asked if I had just driven around town, and I said yes, but asked why they were asking me.

Unclean data at the Dry Cleaners

The best data quality examples are those that we encounter daily. Today I went to the dry cleaners to pick up my suit and what did I find? A great example of unclean data at the dry cleaners! I handed my ticket to the lady, who I later found out was the owner, and she initiated a friendly conversation about the name on the ticket while advancing the dry cleaner conveyor (the rack that holds hundreds of garments that have been cleaned and are ready for pickup). As #110 on the conveyor arrived, she verbally acknowledged that my suit was not there- which I clearly saw with my own eyes.

Lack of Data Quality for Point-of-Sale Can Lead to Unintended Privacy Breach

We all shop for goods and professional services at local supermarkets, restaurants, doctor's offices, etc. Recently, new Point-of-Sale vendors (companies that provide hardware and services for retailers to process credit/debit card purchases), allow customers the option to provide their email address in order to have the retail purchase receipt sent to them digitally rather than (or in addition to) a paper copy. If you've ever eaten out for instance at a restaurant that uses Square, a point of sale service (Squareup.com) you'll be offered this feature.

Shippers Foretelling Future Deliveries!

In 2016 it was reported that customers do more shopping online than in the store. Forrester estimates that Amazon accounted for 60% of total US online sales growth in 2016 (1). So with these changes in how we shop, the delivery of goods to our houses has become more frequent and common place. One of our readers found a really good example of data quality relating to these changes in our lives so let's take a look at this in detail.