Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday: Analytics Dream & Travelers Nightmare?

[MatthewM]

As we approach the Thanksgiving Holiday here in the US, I got to thinking: Is the Thanksgiving holiday “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” an analytics dream? I can tell you from a travelers perspective it is definitely a nightmare - at least in my opinion! With an estimated 43.4 million Americans planning to travel at least 50 miles, according to AAA, there is sure to be traffic regardless of where you live or where you go.

Combine that with Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals everywhere you look, there is going to be massive amounts of transactional and location or spatial data available to analyze. This is the stuff that analysts dream of; all of this data, all of these transactions and offers, it is their best opportunity to really impact revenues.

According to ShopperTrak, in 2012 consumers spent over $59.1 billion over this four-day week from over 307 million shoppers. Think about the activities and campaigns- from email offers, direct mailings, TV and radio adverstising that are driving customers to purchase. Analyst from all departments canhave an impact on the success or failure of a store. Competition for business during this time of the year is so intense that it is critical that organizations are sending the right offer, to the right person in the right location. I think location plays a critical role at this time of the year. With the increase in traffic, shoppers want to make sure they are using their time as efficiently as possible. Getting the most amounts of stores, to maximize their shopping experience, and minimize their “roadwork” experience.

It is analytics platforms like Alteryx that help organizations understand the customers in your area, their past purchasing habits to determine the most compelling offer, predictive what customers are most likely to purchase and combine that with spatial data to improve outcomes and increase revenues. So as you open your emails and click on your coupons and hit the pavement, consider the work and precision that has gone into making your shopping experience as seamless as possible (if there is such a thing) at this time of the year. If you’d like to learn more, here is some additional information on customer analytics. http://www.alteryx.com/customeranalytics.

Happy holidays, happy shopping and stay safe.