Retail Analytics Consulting: Sales, Margin and Channel Numbers Your Buyers and Store Managers Agree On
The point of sale says sales were up. The online store says they were down. Accounting says margin fell, and nobody can say whether it was the discounts, the mix, the freight or the marketplace fees. Each system is right about its own slice.
Retail analytics consulting turns your point-of-sale, e-commerce and accounting data into a few trusted reports on how each store, channel, category and customer group performs: sales, margin after discounts and returns, what sells together, and who comes back. Lightray Solutions builds them in Power BI for independent and multi-store retailers, and Edward Pinela, MBA, does the work himself.
Inventory measures such as sell-through and reorder points have their own page, retail inventory analytics. This one is about the selling side: where the money comes from, and where the margin goes.
Start with a free 30-minute strategy call with Edward, requested on the form or by phone. After a short look at your POS, store and e-commerce exports, Edward sends one fixed price for the first set of reports; buyers' later requests can be handled through Power BI Flex Support, whose smallest block is 20 hours for $2,500.
“Amazing! Lightray Solutions built us a Power BI dashboard based on my busy restaurant’s quickbooks data that allows me to see my entire business on a daily basis which has been a game-changer! Excellent communication and service!”
— Quinn R., Google review
What does retail analytics consulting cover?
Four questions most retailers ask every week: how sales and margin are moving by store, category and channel; which stores and channels are really growing on comparable terms; what customers buy together; and which customers come back. Each needs transaction data joined with costs, returns and fees, which is why no single system answers them.
The consulting part is deciding definitions before anything is built. Is a buy-online, pick-up-in-store order an online sale or a store sale? Does a return count against the day it happened or the day of the original sale? Are marketplace fees part of cost of goods or a selling expense? Each answer changes the numbers, so each is agreed once and written into the model.
| Report | Level of detail | Main data sources | Typical decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales and margin | Store, category and week, against last year | POS sales, item costs, returns, accounting | Where to push, reprice or cut a category |
| Comparable-store performance | Stores open for both full periods | POS sales, store open and close dates | Which existing stores are growing or slipping |
| Channel profitability | Store, online and marketplace, after channel costs | POS, e-commerce platform, marketplace fee and fulfillment reports | Which channel to invest in, and at what price |
| Basket analysis | Transaction line | POS and online order lines | Product placement, bundles and promotions |
| Customer analysis | Customer group, with share of sales identified | Loyalty, email receipts, online accounts | Retention offers and where to improve customer capture |
How should sales and margin be reported by store and category?
As net sales and gross margin after discounts, returns and, for online orders, shipping and payment fees, shown by store, category and week against last year. Gross margin percentage is net sales minus cost of goods, divided by net sales, and it is the figure that shows whether growth is profitable.
Comparisons between years use comparable stores: those open for the whole of both periods. Without that filter a new store makes total sales look healthy while existing stores decline, and a closed store does the opposite. The report shows both the total and the comparable figure, side by side.
Margin is broken down into price, mix and cost effects, so a buyer can see whether a falling margin came from heavier discounting, a shift toward lower-margin categories or a supplier's price increase. The markdown decisions themselves are covered on markdowns in retail.
How do you compare store, online and marketplace channels?
On the same margin basis, after each channel's own costs. Online orders carry shipping, payment fees and higher return rates; marketplace orders carry commission and fulfillment fees. A channel that looks strongest on sales can be weakest on margin, and only a joined model shows it.
Online selling is a large and steady share of retail. The U.S. Census Bureau's quarterly e-commerce report estimated second-quarter 2026 retail e-commerce sales at $340.2 billion, 17.1 percent of total retail sales, seasonally adjusted. For a retailer selling both ways, the question is less whether to report on online sales than how to report it fairly beside the stores.
Cross-channel orders are where definitions matter most. An order placed online and collected in store, or bought online and returned to a store, is credited by a rule you choose, and the rule is shown on the report so store managers and the e-commerce lead read the same figures.
What can basket analysis show a retailer?
What sells together, and how big each visit is. From transaction-line data it measures average transaction value, items per transaction and attach rate, the share of baskets with one product that also contain another, plus pairs of products bought together more often than chance would predict. That guides placement, bundles and promotions.
The measure for pairs is lift: how much more often two products appear in the same basket than they would if customers chose them independently. A lift well above one is worth a test, such as placing the items together or promoting one with the other. A lift near one means the pairing is coincidence, however often it appears in raw counts.
Basket analysis needs line-level transactions, not daily totals, so the first discovery question is whether your POS exports at that level. Most do; some older systems need a scheduled report set up first.
How do customer analytics work in retail?
Through whatever identifies a customer across visits: a loyalty number, an email receipt, an online account. Linked to transactions, those identify repeat rate, time between visits, spend by customer group and which first purchases lead to a second. Card-only, anonymous sales can still be counted but not followed.
The share of sales linked to a known customer is itself a useful number, and the report shows it by store, because it tells you how far the customer figures can be trusted. Where the share is low, the fix is at the counter, such as asking for an email receipt, not in the report.
Customer data is handled with the least detail each report needs. Spend and visit patterns are shown by group, and personal details stay in the systems that collected them.
What does retail analytics consulting cost, and how does it run?
It is quoted at a fixed price after discovery, and the price follows the number of systems and channels, not the number of stores. Most projects start with sales and margin by store and category, then add channels, baskets and customers once the core numbers reconcile to accounting.
Because the reports are a Power BI build, the Power BI money-back terms apply: if you don't like working with us within the first 4 hours, you get your money back. It is a promise about the working relationship, not about sales. Lightray's Google rating is 4.9, and Edward brings 20+ years and 200+ delivered projects. All BI services are on the business intelligence consulting hub.
Further reading: U.S. Census Bureau — Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales.
Want sales and margin by store and channel on one page?
Book a free 30-minute call with Edward Pinela, MBA. You get an honest read on what to fix first — and if we are not the right fit, you will hear that on the call.
Frequently asked questions
How much does retail analytics consulting cost?
A first build is quoted at a fixed price after a free strategy call and a short discovery, and the price depends mainly on how many systems and channels feed it. New stores, channels or seasonal views added later come out of prepaid Flex Support hours at $100 to $125 an hour (the first 20-hour block is $2,500), and those hours do not expire between seasons.
How long does the first version take?
Sales and margin by store and category from one POS and accounting system often take a few weeks, including reconciliation to a closed month. Adding online and marketplace channels, or matching item codes across systems, adds time, and discovery gives you the timeline before the quote.
How does remote delivery work for a retailer with several stores?
Through video calls and screen share with the owner, buyers and store managers, with the reports built inside your own Microsoft tenant. Store visits are not needed: the data comes from system exports and connections, and each page is reviewed live with the people who will use it.
What do we need to provide?
Read access or exports from the POS, the e-commerce platform and any marketplaces, item cost data, and accounting for reconciliation. A buyer or manager who can explain how discounts, returns and transfers are recorded saves the most time.
Our POS already has reports. Why add Power BI?
POS reports see only POS data, usually without full costs, online orders or marketplace fees. If your questions stop at store sales, those reports may be enough and we will say so. Power BI earns its place when margin, channels and customers have to be seen together.
You Won’t Get Handed Off to Junior Staff.
At most consulting firms, the senior person who sold you shows up for the kickoff — then you get handed to a team of juniors learning on your dime. That’s not how we work.
When you hire Lightray Solutions, you work directly with Edward Pinela, MBA — a principal consultant with 20+ years of experience across Power BI, web development, SEO, and CRM systems. Edward architects every engagement personally, stays involved through delivery, and answers his own phone.
Read Edward’s Full Bio“Mid-market companies deserve senior-level expertise without paying enterprise-agency prices. That’s the gap Lightray fills.”
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