Trade knows when you are expecting a baby
Once a man entered the Target store and demanded to call the manager. In his hands, he squeezed a huge pile of store coupons received by his daughter.
“My daughter received it by mail!” He shouted. - She still goes to school, and you send her coupons for children's clothing and diapers? How dare you! Do you want to encourage school girls to give birth in this way? ”
The manager looked at a bundle of coupons for maternal clothes, children's furniture - indeed, they were addressed to the daughter of an angry man. The manager apologized.
')
A few days later he called the man to apologize again. On the phone, father’s voice sounded bewildered. “You know, I seriously talked to my daughter, and it turned out that something was happening in my house that I had no idea about. She gives birth in August. Please accept my apologies".
How did Target know that her daughter was pregnant before her father knew about it? The answer is simple - thanks to the pregnancy prediction system, developed by Andrew Paul, an analyst at the company. Under the cut - about everything in order.
Predictive analytics has become an essential marketing tool. Many Western companies, especially large ones, have a forecast analytics department that is engaged in developing a strategy for effectively promoting products or services. About this on Habré already have an interesting article with beautiful graphics.
The question arises: how can companies find out how old you are, whether you are married and have children, your income level and even nationality?
It's pretty simple. Predictive analytics today has become a point, to some extent sophisticated. It works not only with consumer habits, but also with behavior in general. Every step you take is taken into account: do you pay with a credit card, open an e-mail with a discount offer, or call the service line. All this is recorded in the data collection and analysis system; Each buyer has a unique identifier in such a system. Take a simple example. In April, you buy a swimsuit. There is a high probability that in June you will need sunscreen, and in the winter you will want to throw off a few pounds by spring and summer. Therefore, in June you receive a discount coupon for sunscreen, and in December for a book on diets. Predictive analytics will shape your need for a product and service before you realize the need for it. On Habré there is a good post with examples of behavioral targeting .
Let's return to the Target chain of stores and the pregnancy forecasting system. Scientists have proven that many of our habits (including shopping) are quite difficult to change. After analyzing your route through the supermarket during the purchase of products for a week, you will realize that you are moving along the same trajectory, putting yogurt from the same manufacturer, toilet paper of the same brand into the basket. But in our life there are times when habits are amenable to colossal changes - and it is these periods that are invaluable for marketers. We are talking about graduating from university, moving to another city, changing jobs, or planning a pregnancy. Waiting for a child is a period when we are not only unconsciously, but also consciously ready to change our habits, and if we are “hooked” correctly, we will turn into loyal customers for many years.
Therefore, Target has set a task for the forecast analytics department: to determine which of the customers is expecting a child before this becomes obvious. After analyzing the shopping habits of pregnant women, analysts have developed a system for predicting pregnancy.
Imagine a situation: a young woman walks into a store and buys coconut oil lotion, a walking bag and a bright blue blanket. The software in Target will give its verdict: the probability of pregnancy of this customer is 87%. The data is being sent to marketers, and now Target will begin to shape her habits and control them: she will send her a coupon with a discount on a cot, powder, baby bottles, etc. And it will look unobtrusively so as not to cause a wave of indignation for “espionage”: discounts on products for children are placed among discounts on other products.
It is worth noting that earlier, Andrew Paul, head of the analytical department of Target and the creator of the system for predicting pregnancy, was pleased to give an interview about the use of in-depth data analysis on the Target network and about his “brainchild”, but soon the management stopped his eloquence.
In fact, when consumers realized how much their personal information was owned by the retailer, many questions about the legality of using this data began to arise. On the one hand, the law in the United States allows companies to conduct research in order to better know their consumers and promote their products in the most appropriate way. On the other hand, no one guarantees that Target will not disclose personal data to third parties is not for marketing purposes. It is known that Target transmits information to other organizations that are not directly in the Target distribution network: merchants, business partners, and other companies. In addition, at the legislative level there are few obstacles to such data transfer, it should only comply with the company's privacy policy.
According to some reports , Target spends about $ 4 million annually to maintain the analytical department of 50 people based in the United States and India. Of course, not all Western retail chains can afford such teams (and not only easy to find specialists) and powerful tools for analyzing customer behavior. But it is quite possible to imagine that soon pioneers of such methods will appear (if they have not already appeared) in the post-Soviet space.
On the one hand, this is the birth of another highly paid specialty. For example, according to Internet sources, the average salary of a data analyst on eBay is $ 110,000, which is not bad even by American standards.
At first, there will be very few domestic specialists, and a couple of big players will fight bitterly for their talents. This is because such work requires a combination of skills and knowledge statistics, business analyst and programmer who can analyze huge data arrays, reveal hidden patterns, correlations (in our opinion, the rules and relationships :) and commercially useful dependencies. Such "nuggets" rarely meet. As for educational programs in this area, Western educational institutions, responding to market demand, actively develop and implement such programs . If someone knows about such courses in our area - welcome to the comments.
On the other hand, like the neighbors in the West, we will be unhappy that we do not know what this analyst knows about us and how he uses this knowledge. In principle, the problem is already burning, given the user base of social networks in our country and the space volumes of personal data that we share with them, without even clicking on the user agreement.
Although, if I receive a coupon for a 20% discount on a product that I really need or will need soon, I cannot say with certainty that I will not like it. And you?
Based on an article in the New York Times . There are still many interesting details.
“My daughter received it by mail!” He shouted. - She still goes to school, and you send her coupons for children's clothing and diapers? How dare you! Do you want to encourage school girls to give birth in this way? ”
The manager looked at a bundle of coupons for maternal clothes, children's furniture - indeed, they were addressed to the daughter of an angry man. The manager apologized.
')
A few days later he called the man to apologize again. On the phone, father’s voice sounded bewildered. “You know, I seriously talked to my daughter, and it turned out that something was happening in my house that I had no idea about. She gives birth in August. Please accept my apologies".
How did Target know that her daughter was pregnant before her father knew about it? The answer is simple - thanks to the pregnancy prediction system, developed by Andrew Paul, an analyst at the company. Under the cut - about everything in order.
Wonders of predictive analytics, or how it works
Predictive analytics has become an essential marketing tool. Many Western companies, especially large ones, have a forecast analytics department that is engaged in developing a strategy for effectively promoting products or services. About this on Habré already have an interesting article with beautiful graphics.
The question arises: how can companies find out how old you are, whether you are married and have children, your income level and even nationality?
It's pretty simple. Predictive analytics today has become a point, to some extent sophisticated. It works not only with consumer habits, but also with behavior in general. Every step you take is taken into account: do you pay with a credit card, open an e-mail with a discount offer, or call the service line. All this is recorded in the data collection and analysis system; Each buyer has a unique identifier in such a system. Take a simple example. In April, you buy a swimsuit. There is a high probability that in June you will need sunscreen, and in the winter you will want to throw off a few pounds by spring and summer. Therefore, in June you receive a discount coupon for sunscreen, and in December for a book on diets. Predictive analytics will shape your need for a product and service before you realize the need for it. On Habré there is a good post with examples of behavioral targeting .
In the fight for future parents
Let's return to the Target chain of stores and the pregnancy forecasting system. Scientists have proven that many of our habits (including shopping) are quite difficult to change. After analyzing your route through the supermarket during the purchase of products for a week, you will realize that you are moving along the same trajectory, putting yogurt from the same manufacturer, toilet paper of the same brand into the basket. But in our life there are times when habits are amenable to colossal changes - and it is these periods that are invaluable for marketers. We are talking about graduating from university, moving to another city, changing jobs, or planning a pregnancy. Waiting for a child is a period when we are not only unconsciously, but also consciously ready to change our habits, and if we are “hooked” correctly, we will turn into loyal customers for many years.
Therefore, Target has set a task for the forecast analytics department: to determine which of the customers is expecting a child before this becomes obvious. After analyzing the shopping habits of pregnant women, analysts have developed a system for predicting pregnancy.
Imagine a situation: a young woman walks into a store and buys coconut oil lotion, a walking bag and a bright blue blanket. The software in Target will give its verdict: the probability of pregnancy of this customer is 87%. The data is being sent to marketers, and now Target will begin to shape her habits and control them: she will send her a coupon with a discount on a cot, powder, baby bottles, etc. And it will look unobtrusively so as not to cause a wave of indignation for “espionage”: discounts on products for children are placed among discounts on other products.
It is worth noting that earlier, Andrew Paul, head of the analytical department of Target and the creator of the system for predicting pregnancy, was pleased to give an interview about the use of in-depth data analysis on the Target network and about his “brainchild”, but soon the management stopped his eloquence.
But what about the law?
In fact, when consumers realized how much their personal information was owned by the retailer, many questions about the legality of using this data began to arise. On the one hand, the law in the United States allows companies to conduct research in order to better know their consumers and promote their products in the most appropriate way. On the other hand, no one guarantees that Target will not disclose personal data to third parties is not for marketing purposes. It is known that Target transmits information to other organizations that are not directly in the Target distribution network: merchants, business partners, and other companies. In addition, at the legislative level there are few obstacles to such data transfer, it should only comply with the company's privacy policy.
Career prospects
According to some reports , Target spends about $ 4 million annually to maintain the analytical department of 50 people based in the United States and India. Of course, not all Western retail chains can afford such teams (and not only easy to find specialists) and powerful tools for analyzing customer behavior. But it is quite possible to imagine that soon pioneers of such methods will appear (if they have not already appeared) in the post-Soviet space.
On the one hand, this is the birth of another highly paid specialty. For example, according to Internet sources, the average salary of a data analyst on eBay is $ 110,000, which is not bad even by American standards.
At first, there will be very few domestic specialists, and a couple of big players will fight bitterly for their talents. This is because such work requires a combination of skills and knowledge statistics, business analyst and programmer who can analyze huge data arrays, reveal hidden patterns, correlations (in our opinion, the rules and relationships :) and commercially useful dependencies. Such "nuggets" rarely meet. As for educational programs in this area, Western educational institutions, responding to market demand, actively develop and implement such programs . If someone knows about such courses in our area - welcome to the comments.
On the other hand, like the neighbors in the West, we will be unhappy that we do not know what this analyst knows about us and how he uses this knowledge. In principle, the problem is already burning, given the user base of social networks in our country and the space volumes of personal data that we share with them, without even clicking on the user agreement.
Although, if I receive a coupon for a 20% discount on a product that I really need or will need soon, I cannot say with certainty that I will not like it. And you?
Based on an article in the New York Times . There are still many interesting details.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/147284/
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