Ever wonder how Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) has the uncanny knack to recommend the product that you were about to look for, as if it had read your mind? Say hello to Big Data. It is the next big thing and it is here to stay. Big Data is the process of finding patterns in huge and complex volumes of data and using this information to take better decisions and predict what the next step in the pattern would be.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) And The Anticipatory Shopping Business
If there’s one thing that made Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) the success it is today, it’s the online retailer’s ability to predict what the user wants. Be it one day delivery or shipping drones, Amazon has always tried to satisfy the human want for instant gratification. Now, the eCommerce giant has taken things a step further and holds a patent for a concept where the company will ship the user a product before the user even orders it. This nifty little feature is called ‘Anticipatory shopping’ and its success is based on the accuracy of big data analytics.
Huge gap between plan and implementation
Despite tasting partial success, as in the case of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), big data implementation is still in its nascent stage. The need to see results within a short time span hampers big companies from embracing the big data model. There is every possibility that integrating it into the existing process can lead to significant long term benefits, but the probability of failure cannot be ignored. Hence, not all the companies who talk big about the future of big data have the nerve to actually implement it in their business process.
Big data analytics still in murky territory
Consider this scenario – how would Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) differentiate between something you bought for yourself and something else you bought on behalf of someone else? The trouble begins when you start receiving items based on the something else you bought for someone else. You, as the consumer would start losing your trust on the provider and the company has to shoulder the cost of shipping the wrong item both ways. So, big data and anticipatory shopping still have a long way to go before they can deliver on their big promise