Good data is a critical part of building a robust business strategy. Organizations use actionable data insight to improve the customer experience, drive operational efficiencies, leverage cost savings, and enhance the bottom line. In fact, the majority of sales decisions are expected to be driven by customer data by 2020. This is not surprising, given the volume and variety of data available to us today. We are spending so much to store and manage this information, we might as well use it to our advantage. Businesses are focused on using the power of analytics and the information they have before them to better serve customers and optimize business processes. However, a new Experian Data Quality study shows that the majority of organizations are not in possession of the high quality data needed for these decisions, which has been the case for the past several years. About a quarter of information is believed to be inaccurate and that poor quality data is affecting many aspects of operations and the customer experience. The main reason for this high level of inaccuracy is poor data management practices. Data management is often fragmented and driven by multiple stakeholders rather than by a single data specialist. This creates inconsistencies in the data and reactive processes for correcting inaccuracies. The good news is this legacy mindset is starting to change. We are seeing more organizations advance their data management strategies to include a central data owner and a number of data management projects planned over the next year, especially around data integrations, data cleansing, and data migrations. The biggest problem organizations face around data management today actually comes from within. Businesses get in their own way by refusing to create a culture around data and not prioritizing the proper funding and staffing for data management. Many businesses know they need to improve their data quality, but often have a hard time defining why an investment is needed in the current structure. Organizations need to invest in the people, processes, and technology around data management to improve this valuable asset and leverage it to improve their organizational performance. To learn more about global trends in data management, download The 2016 global data management benchmark report.  

New findings from the 2015 holidays season were released by Experian Marketing Services a recognized leader in data-driven marketing and cloud-based marketing technology, showing a significant increase in email volume year-over-year. The report, Holiday Hot Sheet: Insights for the Holiday Marketer, indicates that email volume rose 24.8 percent during the 2015 holiday season compared to 2014, across all-industry verticals. Despite the increase in volume, the number of email opens, clicks and transactions also increased. Unique email opens increased 19 percent, unique email clicks increased 10 percent and email transactions increased 20 percent. “As retailers find more ways to incorporate data to create more personalized and relevant emails, we are seeing both volume and transactions increase,” said Spencer Kollas, vice president of global deliverability services at Experian Marketing Services. “The 2015 holiday season showed us once again that marketers are still finding email to be a valuable way to increase sales.” The report highlights other key marketing trends that defined the 2015 holiday season including the popularity of free shipping and an increase in emails opened on mobile devices. Ninety percent of retail email campaigns included an offer According to Experian’s analysis, 90 percent of retail email campaigns during the 2015 holiday season included an offer, free shipping was the most common, followed by percent off. The percent-off email offers featuring coupons or codes increased from 34 percent to 40 percent in 2015, allowing more tracking of responses. Mobile shopping continues to increase The report found that the percent of email clicks received on a mobile device from retailers during the peak of the holiday season increased 7 percent from 2014. In addition, SMS messaging continued to be an emphasis. 88 percent of text messages included an offer with 55 percent of text messages including some percent off. Cyber Monday retained its rank as the top email volume and transaction day Although Thanksgiving Day unseated Cyber Monday as the top online shopping day, Experian Marketing Services research shows that Cyber Monday retained its rank as the top email volume and transaction date. The top three email transaction dates in 2015 included: Cyber Monday Black Friday Sunday after Black Friday The top three email volume dates in 2015 included: Cyber Monday Black Friday Day before Thanksgiving

2,500 university students across 16 cities have been trained by Experian's experts and young volunteers of the social responsibility project ‘Manage Your Future Now’ project. The project, which was launched by Experian to promote self-improvement among university students, female entrepreneurs, and SMEs, reached the milestone in December and the achievement was celebrated at a recent event at the Experian office in Turkey. Coming from 10 cities across the country, 42 participants gathered to share their experiences. Feedback was positive with everyone agreeing that the project has been beneficial in increasing awareness of social responsibility. The participants were presented with a certificate for their commitment and contribution to the project. ‘Manage Your Future Now’ is a partnership between Experian, the United Nations Development Program and the Habitat Association/Center and Credit Bureau. The initiative includes providing training on financial risks, responsible borrowing, financial management and the efficient management of relationships with banks and the financial sector. Didem Köprücü, Human Resources Manager for Turkey and the Middle East at Experian, said: “We are proud that more people are benefiting under the ‘Manage Your Future Now’ project. Our training is improving every year and I would like to thank all the volunteers and young trainers for their valuable contribution. “The third stage of our project in 2016 will cover financial risk management, as well as financial opportunities for entrepreneur candidates. For this stage of the project we plan to reach 3,000 students and entrepreneur candidates across 26 cities. “However, we intend to continue our project, reaching more people every year.” The project aims to reach 3,000 students by the end of March 2016.

Experian Marketing Services, a recognized leader in data-driven marketing and cloud-based marketing technology, received top honors in five categories for the 2015 Email Marketing Awards. The awards competition was presented by The Marketer Quarterly, the digital magazine for marketers by marketers. Award submissions were judged by analysts from The Relevancy Group, the parent organization of The Marketer Quarterly, and by Marketing Democracy principal Chris Marriott. Experian Marketing Services received more awards than any other Email Service Provider (ESP): Best Reactivation Email — Retail: Boden, ESP — Experian Marketing Services and Movable Ink Best Reactivation Email — Consumer: American Home Shield, ESP — Experian Marketing Services and Epsilon (agency) Best Offer Email: Chico’s, ESP — Experian Marketing Services and Movable Ink Best Triggered Email — Retail: Ann Taylor, ESP — Experian Marketing Services Most Innovative Email: DIRECTV, ESP — Experian Marketing Services and RealTime Email by LiveClicker “We’re always looking to provide the most relevant, personalized content to our customers,” said Kellen Fitzgerald, brand marketing manager at Ann Taylor. “It’s great to be recognized for using our data to better the customer experience, and Experian Marketing Services really helps us optimize this strategy with its data technology and expertise.” “Even as a tried-and-true channel, email still has so much room for innovation. Working with Experian Marketing Services has helped us optimize our data-driven email strategy and focus on bringing that innovation to everything we do,” said Stephen Lamb, Director of Marketing, Digital Commerce, Chico’s FAS. “We’re excited to be recognized for this unique campaign, which resonated with customers and drove results.” “Email has always been a crucial component of the Experian Marketing Suite, and we’re honored to have been recognized in so many different categories for unique and innovative campaigns that helped our clients reach their most valuable customers,” said Ashley Johnston, senior vice president of global marketing at Experian Marketing Services. “In today’s marketing landscape, emails need to be consistent, personalized and relevant in order to attract attention. Our goal is to help our clients do just that.” Experian Marketing Services also was recognized earlier this year with seven 2015 Relevancy Ring Client Satisfaction Awards in The Relevancy Group’s 2015 report The Relevancy Ring — ESP Buyers Guide 2015. Experian® received two Gold awards in Production Services and Integration and five Silver awards in Infrastructure Stability, Creative Services, Technical Services, Deliverability Tools & Services, and Omnichannel Marketing Capabilities. Details about all the winning campaigns are featured in the cover story in Issue 8 of The Marketer Quarterly. To view the 2015 Email Marketing Awards winners, register for a free subscription to The Marketer Quarterly at http://www.marketerquarterly.com. “We’re very pleased that The Marketer Quarterly Email Marketing Awards are recognizing some of the best email creative in the business,” added Dianna Dilworth, editor of The Marketer Quarterly. “The work we reviewed in all of the submissions is a leading indication that not only is email marketing thriving, but it’s making a significant difference in the success of businesses around the globe.”  

This article published in CIO Review magazine by Eric Haller, executive vice-president of Experian’s global DataLabs, discusses the science behind Big Data and how it can be used as a force for good. According to Haller, Big Data only becomes truly powerful when it is compiled, sorted, analyzed and manipulated – when it is translated into the language of business leaders and policymakers. And so the explosion of data has driven the emergence of fields built for the sole purpose of making data usable. View the full article here.  

New research from Experian Marketing Services, a recognized leader in data-driven marketing and cloud-based marketing technology, shows that during the third quarter of 2015 email volume rose 24.8 percent year over year, while engagement rates matched or exceeded those in Q3 2014. The Experian Marketing Services’ Q3 2015 Email Benchmark Report notes: 37 percent of brands had a significant year-over-year increase in transaction rates and revenues per email Unique open rates were 17.5 percent in Q3 2015, up from 16.7 percent in Q3 2014 Unique click rates remained constant at 2.1 percent in Q3 of both 2014 and 2015 Smarter data-management practices are key to higher engagement According to Experian’s analysis, email volume increased year over year across all industries except publishing. “Scale can often be a marketer’s Achilles’ heel when it comes to email — increase your volume and expect to see a decrease in engagement and effectiveness. When we see the opposite — and our latest data shows that we’re seeing a shift — it’s a sign of data stewardship, leveraging data to drive smarter marketing decisions,” said Spencer Kollas, vice president of global deliverability services at Experian Marketing Services. “Transaction rates typically tend to be more sensitive to volume changes than open and click rates. The fact that retail brands are experiencing significant increases in transaction rates despite the increased volume means that they are properly segmenting their audience based on customer needs and delivering relevant messages and campaigns.” Significant volume increases continue during the 2015 holidays The peak days of the 2015 holiday season saw large year-over-year increases in volume, led by a 68 percent increase in travel emails and a 36.4 percent increase in emails from multichannel retailers. Email volume on Cyber Monday alone was 28 percent higher than in 2014. For the peak days from the Wednesday before Thanksgiving through the Tuesday after Cyber Monday, transactions were 22 percent higher than those seen last year. “More marketers are prioritizing deliverability tools and data-management technologies that help them deliver more relevant messages and offers to the right customers,” added Kollas. “When we look at the 2015 holiday data to date, retailers seem to be leading the industry when it comes to applying data to better segment and target messages. The engagement rates indicate that their customers are finding the offers relevant and useful, even as they hear more from these brands,” added Kollas. Flash sales had 59 percent higher transaction rates than average The Q3 2015 Email Benchmark Report featured a trend-to-watch section on flash sales, targeted sales that last less than 24 hours and promise customers great value during a limited time period. The report found that in the third quarter of 2015, flash sales had 59 percent higher transaction rates than the third quarter multichannel retail benchmark. In addition, revenue per email for flash sales was 29 percent higher than the Q3 2015 multichannel retail benchmark.        A complimentary download of the full report is available here.

Consumers are more confident managing their credit since recession Experian released the Q3 today featuring data that highlights consumer credit card debt has now reached its highest level since Q4 2009. Credit card debt levels reached $650 billion in Q3 2015, the highest it has been since Q4 2009 when it was $667 billion. Experian released the Q3 2015 Experian Market Intelligence Brief today featuring data that highlights consumer credit card debt has now reached its highest level since Q4 2009. Credit card debt levels reached $650 billion in Q3 2015, the highest it has been since Q4 2009 when it was $667 billion. Credit card delinquency rates on outstanding balances 60 or more days past due have decreased 71 percent during the same time period. Combining those indicators with the national unemployment rate dropping 50 percent during the same span illustrates a positive economic outlook on credit card trends among lenders and consumers. “Overall credit card limits have increased 102 percent since Q4 2009 with $82 billion originated in Q3 2015,” said Kelly Kent, vice president of Experian Decision Analytics. “The increase in limits from lenders and the steady climb in credit card debt combined with exceptional delinquency rates signals greater confidence among consumers as they are showing more assurance in managing their credit since the recession. We expect to see credit card debt increase in Q4 based on historical seasonal trends driven by the holiday shopping season especially with the early positive holiday sales as a sign.” The Q3 2015 Experian Market Intelligence Brief report is now available.  

Environmentally friendly, lower fuel costs and tax incentives. These are all words that describe alternative-powered vehicles, and serve as reasons why many car shoppers flocked to their local dealerships over the past several years with the intent of “going green” with their next vehicle. However, that trend seems to be fading into the past. As gas prices continue to trend downward, we have seen more and more consumers steer away from hybrids. In fact, according to Experian’s recent Automotive Market Trends and Registrations analysis, when it came to fuel type, hybrids only made up 2.5 percent of the vehicles registered in the third quarter of 2015. This was a 19.2 percent drop from a year ago. Meanwhile, gas-powered vehicles dominated the market at nearly 94 percent. Furthermore, the analysis found that the hybrid car was the vehicle segment that suffered the second largest year-over-year decrease in registrations and its second consecutive quarterly decline, reducing by 19 percent. Conversely, the upper premium sports car (including vehicle models, such as the Porsche 911, Jaguar XJ and BMW 6-Series) saw the highest percentage increase, growing by 45 percent over the same time period. From an overall market perspective, the analysis found that through the third quarter of 2015, new vehicle registrations increased by 5.5 percent from the previous year – a clear sign that the market continues to trend in a positive direction. As previous Experian analyses have indicated, as long as consumers continue to stay on top of their monthly payments, the boom in new vehicle sales will be a positive sign for the industry. The analysis also examined the demographic characteristics of the new vehicle buyer, and found that nearly 50 percent of the new vehicle purchasing power in the U.S. falls to consumers between the ages of 40-69. What’s more, individuals with incomes from $50,000-$100,000 made up 35.5 percent of all new vehicle buyers. Like many things in life, the automotive market is ever changing. At one moment, a segment of vehicles could be selling like hot cakes, and the next moment suffer a steep decline in sales. Gaining insight into these types of trends enables manufacturers and retailers to better understand the fluctuations in the market, and more easily position their businesses for success. And the better positioned they are for success, the more “green” these companies will see.      

By all accounts, the national housing market in the US stabilized with a recent report showing year-over-year growth at 6.8 percent for October 2015. However, while interest rates remain near all-time lows, it’s estimated that millions of Americans are unable to take advantage of this opportunity because they are unscoreable using the current credit score model mandated by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (“the GSEs”). Under their current guidelines, the GSEs require mortgage lenders to use an older version of a consumer’s FICO credit score when assessing their credit risk. This model is based on data from 1995 to 2000 and unnecessarily excludes millions of qualified borrowers. For instance, VantageScore 3.0 allows for the scoring of 30–35 million more people that are currently un-scoreable under the legacy credit score model. For example, VantageScore expands the depth and breadth of data collected to allow for more creditworthy consumers while balancing risk.  It would allow for more consumers to be scored without lowering credit standards.  With the demonstrated ability of non-legacy models to score more consumers, more consumers would also be eligible for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) program being conducted by the GSEs. In addition to limiting innovation that could help boost consumer access to credit, the continued reliance on a single credit score model by the GSEs presents substantial risks to industry, their regulators, consumers and the economy as a whole. Using newer credit score models like VantageScore 3.0 would provide for greater predictability given the expanded data available. It would reduce the both the operational and credit risk of the GSEs. Congress can help to address this imbalance by passing H.R. 4211, the Credit Score Competition Act of 2015, which was introduced on December 10 by Representatives Ed Royce (R-CA) and Terri Sewell (D-GA). The bill would instruct Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to update their requirements so that lenders might be able to use other credit scoring models that are empirically derived and both demonstrably and statistically sound. Experian encourages lawmakers to pass this bill to help encourage the use of innovative and inclusive credit scoring models, while also helping to reduce exposure to potential operational and credit risk.