SXSW Interactive has come and gone in a whirlwind of tacos and coffee, and we’ve said our goodbyes (for now) to the inspirational and innovative city of Austin, TX.

From our time in the tech hub of the southwest, we saw emerging and long-established retailers in action on panels, at events and heard from the media’s leading journalists on retail innovation and what the future holds for the customer experience. Esteemed editorial director of RIS News, Joe Skorupa, (a fellow Ghost Economy panelist) posted an insightful and dynamic recap of the Interactive Conference and our session last week – a must read for anyone considering a presence at the festival next year!

Our Ghost Economy session shone bright in the mix of retail-focused programming, and we wanted to share with our blogosphere some highlights from the panel.

Inventory

The level of inventory distortion and sales lost in 2013 was pegged at $800 billion – imagine what that number looks like now, with ever-increasing amounts of data and an expanding volume of commerce via online and mobile channels! Retailers today are drowning in their efforts to streamline and organize inventory management in a way that boosts their bottom line, and it’s a tough code to crack. Our former CMO, Kevin Sterneckert, reiterated this is not just an ecommerce problem, but a brick-and-mortar issue as well. Complete inventory visibility and omni-channel planning is the only way to survive.

Marketing

A great example of a marketing and inventory disconnect discussed during the SXSW session was the Oprah endorsement dilemma. A number of years ago Oprah promoted a product of which the retailer had 15,000 units in stock, however her “blessing” sparked a 300,000-unit demand. This retailer clearly missed an opportunity to generate significant sales due to of a lack of communication between marketing, operations and supply chain teams.  Retailers can avoid these kinds of disconnects by working together to understand how initiatives in motion affect all departments.

Omni-channel

Cindy Lincks, VP of Direct at Brooks Brothers, said it best – “retailers need to get their butts out of their chairs” if they want to really improve cross-departmental omni-channel initiatives.  Through evaluating ratings and reviews, returns data and ecommerce vs. in-store interactions, retailers can develop a critical single-view of operations. With the proper technology support, retailers can take it a step further and benefit from actionable insights into the true problem and how to solve it leading to a better customer experience and thusly increased profitability.

Data

Brooks Brothers has been an industry leader and early adopter in their use of data intelligence throughout the enterprise. Lincks’ key piece of advice to retailers when launching into this undertaking is to start with customer data. It can be a daunting task to sort through the massive amounts of data your company has generated, but it’s a free and invaluable resource that should be a priority for your team to navigate. By using tools to harness the information it renders a clear and accurate prescription for success. Only then can retailers begin to shift from reactionary to proactive strategies across the enterprise.

Check out #GhostEconomy on Twitter to see what industry experts and consumers alike have to say about disconnects they’re seeing in retail operations big and small.