Skypad, the retail analytics solution provider, and , a lead brand in the Caleres portfolio, have teamed to launch an insight-driven digital platform to drive consistency, profitability and performance for the retailer.

This partnership highlights how Skypad’s platform aims to redefine collaboration at Famous and to establish a potential blueprint for success across the entire retail environment.

From Manual Reporting to Always-on Visibility

For years, retailers and their brand partners grappled with the inefficiencies of manual data sharing. Relying on weekly POS and inventory updates through static EDI files, this traditional approach often resulted in significant data lag, required extensive manual cleanup and strained bandwidth. Skypad aims to change all that.

Skypad replaces legacy systems with a real-time analytics portal. The platform automatically ingests, standardizes and visualizes crucial data, providing brand partners with immediate, self-service access to their performance metrics across Famous Footwear’s extensive footprint.

Jay Hakami, founder and chief executive officer of Skypad, said, “We’ve eliminated the reporting burden from both sides. Brands and buyers now operate from a single source of truth — unlocking faster decisions, better outcomes and a better customer experience.”

Caleres president and CEO Jay Schmidt said Skypad “transformed the way we work with vendors. Our teams no longer compile and reconcile reports. Brand teams get what they need, when they need it — enabling smarter, faster, more strategic collaboration.”

From Top-line Metrics to Precision Insight

Getting “what they need when they need it” is key to successful retailing today. Skypad’s platform is designed to empower brands to effectively chase in-season winners, strategically reallocate inventory and refine marketing efforts on a regional level. By surfacing these detailed insights, Skypad aims to move brands beyond traditional sales metrics and into a more nuanced understanding of consumer behavior.

Schmidt emphasized the transformative power of data, stating, “When data is accessible and aligned across partners, you shift from transactional relationships to strategic partnerships — with the consumer as the ultimate winner.” This perspective highlights the potential for deeper collaboration and a more customer-centric approach when comprehensive data is readily available.

Further underscoring the value of Skypad’s solution, Schmidt noted the efficiency and collaborative benefits, stating, “Our vendors can access data and analyze it without asking for a file. That saves time, and more importantly, creates additional bandwidth to focus on activities that drive the business.” This spotlights that Skypad’s platform can help streamline data access, freeing up valuable time and resources for more strategic initiatives.

From Looking Backward to Planning Ahead

Businesses can no longer afford to simply react to old news in today’s rapidly evolving retail landscape. Missing out on opportunities due to outdated reports is a critical challenge for both retailers and brands. Skypad’s offers a solution: a continuous data pipeline that provides predictive power.

By monitoring sales trends, inventory velocity and emerging patterns in real time, Skypad can help to empower brands to make proactive decisions rather than reactive ones. This foresight allows businesses to anticipate demand and capitalize on emerging trends before it’s too late.

“Skypad becomes a planning partner, giving brands the tools to forecast, align and win before the window closes,” Hakami noted.

The impact of this proactive approach is already being felt by industry leaders. “The moment our partners spot a trend, they’re ready to act. That agility benefits every link in the value chain,” added Schmidt.

With Skypad’s continuous data insights, retailers and brands can move beyond simply responding to the market and instead, strategically shape their future success.

From Fragmentation to Full Channel Visibility

In the past, brands partnering with retailers often faced a fragmented view of their performance due to disparate systems and channel-specific reporting. This lack of a holistic perspective hindered effective planning and marketing strategies.

Skypad has addressed this critical challenge by consolidating Famous Footwear’s data across all channels, including in-store, e-commerce and hybrid models. This unified data platform provides brand partners with a single, comprehensive lens through which to understand their performance.

“We eliminate the noise so brands see what matters — every sku, every store, every channel — in one place,” Hakami said.

The ability to view trends across channels is critical for brand partners. Schmidt emphasized this, stating, “Via Skypad, our partners have visibility to the sales data they need to guide strategic decisions.”

In summation, the partnership between Skypad and Famous Footwear aims to set a new benchmark for retail collaboration by advancing manual processes to a real-time, insight-driven model. Skypad’s analytics platform provides a centralized, always-on data solution that eliminates inefficiencies in reporting and facilitates smarter, faster decision-making for brands and buyers.

By offering precise insights into consumer behavior, inventory trends and sales performance across all channels, the platform can enable brands to move beyond basic metrics to strategic agility and proactive planning. This unified approach can help foster deeper collaboration, improved efficiency and enhanced customer experiences, while enabling brands to act on insights and respond to market trends with greater speed and precision.

By consolidating data across every channel and sku, Skypad delivers a comprehensive view that transforms fragmented operations into an omnichannel strategy and help drive mutual growth for Famous Footwear and its brand partners, and ultimately help deliver value to the consumer.