Every-day with every purchase, companies such as Sony, Target, Woolies and Myer track our every move. They know what we buy, when we buy, and even if you (or your partner) is pregnant. What? Yep. You heard right. Even before you’ve told your other half, Target already knows.
Details from email-clicks, web-browsing and loyalty programs provide Big Business with Big Data that reveals our spending habits, lifestyle choices and personal preferences. In an era of digital-everything, this is not that surprising. But when Target predicted which customers were pregnant (even those that had told no one), they made global headlines. Featured in the New York Times, vigorous debate ensued: had ‘big data’ finally going too far? The story goes like this…
An irritated father entered a Target store to complain to the Manager – Target had sent his teenage daughter a catalogue for baby clothes, cribs, and nappies – how outrageous – his daughter was still in high school! Shocked and surprised, the Manager apologised profusely. Some weeks later, the Manager received a phone call from the father – he had called to apologise. He had recently learned that his daughter was indeed pregnant. Target knew of the pregnancy (based on their pregnancy prediction score) before she had even told her parents.
How is this possible? To simplify a complex process… a Target statistician noticed that women who purchased large quantities of vitamins (zinc and folic acid), and unscented body lotion were more likely than other women to be pregnant. Analysing shopping data collected from store loyalty cards, Target assigned customers with a ‘pregnancy prediction score,’ which was based upon a volume purchase of 25 specific products. Target identified those likely to be pregnant and distributed marketing material promoting pregnancy and baby-related products to those consumers. Consumers were outraged, but Big Brother was here to stay…
Target quickly learned that consumers don’t like being aware that they are being monitored. Instead of ‘giving up,’ Target disguised its ongoing use of the ‘pregnancy prediction score’, by sending catalogues that mixed pregnancy and bay-related products in with non-related products. To this day, Target (and nearly every other major company across the globe), continues to analyse data and predict customer shopping behaviours.
Like other companies, Target profiles consumers to better understand (and meet) shopping wants and needs. Many businesses – and consumers – welcome Data Analysis and Consumer Profiling because they believe curated advertising enhances the shopping experience, which for business, leads to increased sales. Whether its marketing genius or something from George Orwell’s 1984, Consumer Profiling is here to stay. In fact, how well you know your customers may be the difference between this year’s ‘profit’ and ‘loss’. For more information, get in touch today.
