5 Innovative Ways Retailers Can Use Analytics, Like Instagram And Spotify

EBay is testing whether one of the most effective approaches to shopper engagement exists outside the aisle by adopting an algorithm that may be best recognized for picking actual rhythms. Its new app service, called Interests, takes a simple approach to opening “getting-to-know-you” conversations with shoppers: a questionnaire that results in individualized homepages, featuring themes and items selected specifically for each shopper. If this approach is music to consumers’ ears, there’s a good reason. It’s similar to the Spotify music-streaming model that uses a variety of feedback and data to better recommend songs and weekly playlists to members. In eBay’s case, shoppers are asked to answer questions such as “What do you love?” and “What’s your style?” Like Spotify, eBay relies on algorithms to match its users’ chosen interests with their browsing patterns, along with the purchase insights gathered from its 171 million shoppers. (Spotify also cross-references data among users who have similar playlists, recommending the songs some listeners play often to others who have not played them at all.) Read more at Forbes.