Big Data and Apache Hadoop for Retail

Most retailers in online business use Hadoop and Big Data for offering consumers with personalized shopping experiences. Today the shopping patterns have changed dramatically since the power in the consumer world has shifted on to buyers. They can easily conduct research to compare products using their Internet enabled devices including tablets and smart phones. In addition, shoppers can share their reviews with others using different resources like the social media.

New Strategies for Attracting Consumers

Retailers need to use new and innovative strategies in order to remain in competition in the fiercely competitive commercial world. Using Big Data and Hadoop, they are able to create and deploy such strategies. These apps enable them to connect seamlessly with the customers in a new level by way of harnessing the huge amount of data generated. Both these apps offer an exhaustive platform for the retailers to use the massive data volume for seamlessly connecting with the consumers around.

MaPR Converged Data Platform

There are several advantages of using the MaPR converged data platform that enables retailers in multiple ways. These advantages are –

• It enables the retailers to store huge amount of data.


• Along with storage it becomes possible to integrate as well as analyze a host of online as well as offline data relating to the customers.


• Hadoop and big datahelps in e-commerce transactions.


• They also help that click stream data, email and point of sales as well as social medial and also the call centre records all integrated in one central repository.

Data Analysis

Retailers derive the ability to analyze huge amount of big data using the Hadoopplatform and thereby derive valuable insight about individual consumer behavior. This also gives them the facilities to create winning strategies for generating greater profits and creating huge database of clients. In addition; it helps prepare recommendation relating to customer preferences in real times. One of the ways of ensuring this is the ability for optimization of merchandize as well as selection and pricing that has been tailored to decide effectively the individual likes and dislikes of the consumers concerned relating to the specific retail commodities in the market.

Retail Use Cases

 A few examples can clarify the position relating to the use of big data and Hadoopfor helping out the retailers develop closer relationship with the customers. In the process they become more competitive in nature and this can create entirely new experience in shopping for the consumers.

Providing Up Sell and Cross Sell Recommendations

One of the greatest uses of big dataand Hadoop in the retail sector is for providing up-sell as well as cross-sell recommendations. It can help the retailers ensure increase of the online purchases recommending their products and services to the customers according to their choice. To do this they provide different types of facilities like up-sell, cross-sell, as well as the “next best offer” opportunities for the consumer concerned. It is the MapR Converged Data based platform offers real time capabilities. Due to this the retailer can provide recommendations at real times using much broader contexts.

Different Types of Analysis

Usually the analysis that is carried out with big data and Hadoop are of different types.

• Graph analysis that helps identify the target peer customer groups conveniently.


• Social media analysis to understand the consumer trends. Moreover the consumers can also use the trends to understand the retail trends in the market and to check and find out the best retailer in the market.


• Monitoring the consumer trends online using various social media and review sites where consumers often post their views. Social media today exerts tremendous influence on the success or failure of any product. Analyzing the trend could help the retailers considerably.

Modern commercial world is largely dependent on Internet and web world. No retail centre with flourishing business can expect to remain in the contest without exploring the vast community of online buyers. Hadoop and big data analysis are the gateways for accessing these online buyer communities for retailers.