Selling season might be over, but winter is upon us! And we know – it’s cold and it’s dark and there isn’t nearly enough hot chocolate to go around. Here at The BIG Network, we can’t change the weather, but we can clear up any confusion our vendors (or anyone for that matter) may have surrounding our vast network of data-sharing retailers. These jewelers fall into two camps:

• Data-sharing retailers
• Balance to Buy clients

A significant number of the retailers whose data you can find on Balance to Buy are data-sharing retailers – they are sharing data solely to partner with their chosen vendors and do NOT have access to the Balance to Buy platform. While they do have access to a (free) daily sales report, but they cannot slice, dice, and splice the data in the same way a BTB user can. They pay nothing to share, and they do not receive guidance from BIG beyond how to request, grant, or deny permission for vendor partnerships. These retailers rely on The BIG Network vendors to deliver thoughtful and actionable analysis on your mutual business, and it is up to you to provide insight and guidance based on said analysis.

But hundreds of stores whose data we are receiving are Balance to Buy clients! These retailers have full access to the platform and a dedicated consultant on our Balance to Buy team. This consultant teaches the retailer how to utilize the Balance to Buy platform and provide guidance on merchandising, buying and inventory management strategies. These retail clients pay for access to the Balance to Buy tools and services and even enjoy some extra retailer-specific features & functionality.

So, how do you tell which retailers are data-sharing only and which are BTB clients? Well, aside from the fact that Balance to Buy clients will come in hot to meetings with plenty of detailed analysis and proactive optimization plans*, you can identify these clients on your Partner Permissions page! They will have the following flag under the Service Level column:

These Balance to Buy retailers are the only ones who are receiving consulting services from our retailer-facing team or who have dynamic access to Balance to Buy. Anyone without this flag is a data-sharing retailer only and does not have access to the level of analysis you are able to run on the platform, nor do they work with any of our retailer consultants.

But you – and all The BIG Network vendors – do indeed have access to a team of consultants, and we are here to help! If you need guidance running reports, interpreting the data, applying the analysis, or if you just want to bathe in the warmth of our sunny presence, please book a training with us. We hope this clears up the differences as to why some retailers appear to be somewhat unprepared for your meetings, while others are steeped in the language of merchandising.

And if you have any extra hot chocolate to spare, please share the wealth!

*The results of which are generally reflected in better-than-average sales performance, turn efficiency and inventory levels