How Will Big Data Advantage Aid Marketers And Study Consumer Spending Behaviour?

Data are just summaries of thousands of stories–tell a few of those stories to help make the data meaningful.” – Chip and Dan Heath, authors of “Made to Stick” and “Switch. “

Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and every other social media giant authenticate this thought repeatedly. The conception of these brands may have been in a garage or a college campus, but the success has been built on the mining of Big Data. From users’ basic information to capturing shopping preferences to inferring personalized experience, Big Data is today’s marketer’s ‘Open Sesame.’ 

So, how do big data help marketers understand and unravel consumer buying patterns?

A starting point for the marketer or insights agency is to categorize this massive and ever-multiplying volume of Big Data into two categories: -

• Structured is well-defined, conforms to a data model, follows a consistent order. Efficient to process, analyses, and extract insights. 

• Unstructured is typically mined from open-ended survey responses, social media conversations, images, video, and audio. Experts assess that 80% of total data is unstructured and is growing at an alarming rate due to the increased usage of digital applications.

Marketers can build unique brand strategies post categorization, insight curation, and in-depth analytics of structured and unstructured Big Data. Be it a technology afterthought, side effect- Big Data is here to stay and is the new oil/gold mine.  The deeper you dig, the more it comes alive, so much so that it’s impossible to ignore or disregard it because the insights keep winking at you like gold buried in an old mine.

These Big Data nuggets have proven to be the game changers in brand strategies. Listed down are a few verticals we feel will be immensely influenced by the big data:

1. Big Data’s impact on health care brands, especially post-pandemic:

For big health brands during the pandemic, Predictive analytics aided with real-time monitoring has been key to timely intervention in severe cases and supporting mild cases not to overburden the Healthcare system. In the future, it would bring down human error margin and the cost of health care while improving patient & doctor engagement. More and more health and wellness brands are already connecting with insights agencies for upgrading patient care and support. Another positive will be the reduction of disparity between rural and urban healthcare and the availability of the best medical guidance to the rural populace at an affordable cost.

2. Big Data revolutionizes the fashion industry:

Marketers and fashion designers are amazed at the amount of creativity they have at their fingertips with the advent of Big Data analytics. Every designer and marketer enjoys predicting future trends and designing & developing products to dazzle their consumer and, of course, rake in big money. as per lucrative prospects. They can strategize the market requirements and accordingly unleash their creations on consumers -creating trends and benefiting from first movers’ advantage. 

3.  Big Data to transform the retail industry

As per the industry predictions by 2025, the primary significant data impact on the retail industry will be in-store pricing modification. This real-time insight would aid in fine-tuning pricing as per the demographics and store footfall during specific timeframes. The synchronized analysis will also support the retail outlets in supplementing consumer purchasing decisions. Leveraging Big data, the retail giants will undertake short-term strategic decisions - offer discounts, tailored merchandising, and personalized shopping experience. In addition, the big data algorithms will analyze social media and web browsing history to recommend customized trends as per the geographical location and local demographical composition.

4.   Big Data turns around the food industry:

Marketers predict that the food industry has been one of the best beneficiaries of Big Data insights and analytics.  The smoothening of the old supply chain is one case - from raw procurement to storage at the right

temperature and delivery on time. From large containers to small restaurants, Big Data has impacted the supply chain at every level, even reducing wastage and cost. Supply Chain transparency and Ontime deliveries have hugely impacted the consumer sentiments and given space to marketers for some amazing PR stunts – Uber launched an on-demand barbecue delivery campaign for SXSW attendees in collaboration with Iron Works BBQ.

5. Big Data embraced by Financial Sector:

Marketers find it tough to break into the financial sector, especially since building a brand is peripheral to most bankers. But with the Financial world’s acceptance of Big Data insights and analytics, things are looking brighter for marketers.  Financial institutions are keen on consumer history, credit, and other financials. This has become easier because you have it on your screen at the click of a button. Fraud detection has become more manageable and analyzing transactional data to assess financial risk has reduced the headache of most bankers. Today, financial institutions understand the necessities of building a personal brand and personalized services.

6.  Big Data used to mitigate climate change

 As humans progress technologically, mother nature bears the brunt of these advancements. Melting glaciers, rising sea levels, snow blizzards, wildfires, flash floods, tsunamis are impacting every corner of the planet. On top of that burgeoning population is sure to have a detrimental effect on natural resources. Adopting UN 17 SDGs by governments, NGOs, and the private sector is one of the foremost endeavors to create a sustainable world. And Big Data science and analytics are contributing tremendously to these efforts. To list out a few - tracking food products is helping in plugging holes in the supply chains and monitoring the food prices to achieve zero hunger target. Satellite remote sensing can track encroachment of forest lands. Sensors on water pipelines and pumps provide real-time data on water loss and availability of clean water. At the same time, monitoring maritime vessels can help keep a check on illegal and unregulated fishing. Earth is the most complex and dynamic system; and Big data provides limitless opportunities to mitigate the impact of climate change on the planet.

In short, big data is everywhere; in satellite monitoring, in the information, you fed on your phones, eCommerce website, purchasing libraries, all the cookies are saved unintendedly in the browser. They have tons of details about you, and they all speak with each other, which is why that personalized ad pops up every time you surf any website. Though it might feel a bit invasive, this is where big data helps Marketers create recommendations, leverage customer care, build loyalty, dive into unstructured data with monitoring tools and use the time to their advantage to present what customer desires.