Why Big Data Matters

One of the major stumbling blocks to an effective loyalty program has been the complete lack of strategy as programs were developed. Retailers rushed to get cards out to shoppers in the 90s and 2000s, but with little thought of why or what problem they intended to solve with the program. Add to this the fearmongering by some of the public about privacy concerns that accompanied many card program rollouts, which caused some retailers to issue cards with no shopper information attached. This created an expensive program that brought no benefits to either the retailer or the shopper, and was the result of jumping in without a strategy.