Retailers mining customer data for targeted marketing

Retail data mining no longer relies on loyalty programs. Now that customers visit ecommerce sites, chime in on social media pages and use their mobile devices to browse and buy, businesses have a wealth of information, known as big data, from which to draw when designing marketing campaigns or picking product colors.

Using customer, social, market and supply data sources - the four quadrants described by IDC in a recent report called The Big Data and Analytics Pillar of 3rd Platform Retail IT - retailers can design targeted marketing campaigns that are tailored to recipients' interest for greater success.

"The returns on investment in big data and analytics can be monetized through traditional levers of customer loyalty, revenue growth, cost reduction and new business models," said Greg Girard, program director of IDC Retail Insights. "Retailers will derive more value … as they successfully manage five dimensions of change – intent, process, people, data and technology."

Capturing data from multiple channels, such as point-of-sale terminal transactions, loyalty program participation, ecommerce site visits, social network posts and mobile phone browsing, means merchants can predict customer behaviors, according to Business Standard. When they can harness that insight and verify its data quality, merchants can gain an edge over their competitors and ensure marketing dollars are spent effectively.