Retail Goes Shopping Through Big Data

Three years ago, Macy's was still relying on Excel spreadsheets to analyze reams of customer data. Enter Karem Tomak, the vice president of analytics at Macys.com, whose task was to bring the 155-year-old retailer and Macys.com into the age of big data. To better understand customer-buying behavior and sharpen its promotions, Tomak set about installing analytics software. Macys.com now analyzes tens of millions of terabytes of information every day, including social media, store transactions and even Twitter feeds.