Data Mining to the Extreme

    All around us companies are collecting data about our spending habits, eating habits, and behaviors. This information is then stored in databases in each company. This process is called data mining. Analysts can pick certain things to follow and soon they will identify trends in their customers. For example, they can track how many times ice cream cones are purchased in a store. They organize the data which they then make conclusions about. So with the ice cream, they may notice that more ice cream is sold during the months of July and August. After gaining this knowledge marketers can create campaigns either during this time or in the “low season” to boost sales. There are so many different trackers that companies may follow. The master in data mining would be none other than Wal-Mart. The internet has less than half of the data the Wal-Mart databases hold!

    Wal-Mart tracks all purchases, they have the purchases connected to credit cards when applicable, and with cameras they track how people move about the stores as well as they have ways to obtain information about the customers themselves. Being one of the few places people can go to cash their checks without a bank account. The customers cashing checks must submit their social security number, a driver’s license number and a home address. Additionally, Wal-Mart sees the companies they are working for, the amount of money they cash each week (or month) which gives them even more data about their customers. Wal-Mart made the realization that there was an enormous increase in Strawberry Pop-Tart sales right before a hurricane.
    Data mining is a fantastic tool to understanding the customer in your store as well as what types of customers shop at your store.