The Dark Side of Customer Analytics
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HBR CASE STUDY AND COMMENTARY
How can these companies leverage the customer data responsibly? The Dark Side of
Customer Analytics
Four commentators offer expert advice.
by Thomas H. Davenport and Jeanne G. Harris
•
Reprint R0705A
An insurance company finds some intriguing patterns in the loyalty card data it bought from a grocery chain—the correlation between condom sales and HIV-related claims, for instance. How can both companies leverage the data responsibly?
HBR CASE STUDY
The Dark Side of
Customer Analytics
COPYRIGHT © 2007 HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL PUBLISHING CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
by Thomas H. Davenport and Jeanne G. Harris
Laura Brickman was glad she was almost done grocery shopping. The lines at the local
ShopSense supermarket were especially long for a Tuesday evening. Her cart was nearly overflowing in preparation for several days away from her family, and she still had packing to do at home. Just a few more items to go:
“A dozen eggs, a half gallon of orange juice, and—a box of Dip & Dunk cereal?” Her sixyear-old daughter, Maryellen, had obviously used the step stool to get at the list on the counter and had scrawled her high-fructose demand at the bottom of the paper in brightorange marker.
Laura made a mental note to speak with Miss
Maryellen about what sugary cereals do to kids’ teeth (and to their parents’ wallets). Taking care not to crack any of the eggs, she squeezed the remaining items into the cart. She wheeled past the ShopSense Summer Fun displays. “Do we need more sunscreen?” Laura wondered for a
moment, before deciding to go without. She got to the checkout area and waited.
As regional manager for West Coast operations of IFA, one of the largest sellers of life and health insurance in the United States, Laura normally might not have paid much attention to Shop-Sense’s checkout procedures—except maybe to monitor how accurately her purchases
HBR CASE STUDY AND COMMENTARY
How can these companies leverage the customer data responsibly? The Dark Side of
Customer Analytics
Four commentators offer expert advice.
by Thomas H. Davenport and Jeanne G. Harris
•
Reprint R0705A
An insurance company finds some intriguing patterns in the loyalty card data it bought from a grocery chain—the correlation between condom sales and HIV-related claims, for instance. How can both companies leverage the data responsibly?
HBR CASE STUDY
The Dark Side of
Customer Analytics
COPYRIGHT © 2007 HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL PUBLISHING CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
by Thomas H. Davenport and Jeanne G. Harris
Laura Brickman was glad she was almost done grocery shopping. The lines at the local
ShopSense supermarket were especially long for a Tuesday evening. Her cart was nearly overflowing in preparation for several days away from her family, and she still had packing to do at home. Just a few more items to go:
“A dozen eggs, a half gallon of orange juice, and—a box of Dip & Dunk cereal?” Her sixyear-old daughter, Maryellen, had obviously used the step stool to get at the list on the counter and had scrawled her high-fructose demand at the bottom of the paper in brightorange marker.
Laura made a mental note to speak with Miss
Maryellen about what sugary cereals do to kids’ teeth (and to their parents’ wallets). Taking care not to crack any of the eggs, she squeezed the remaining items into the cart. She wheeled past the ShopSense Summer Fun displays. “Do we need more sunscreen?” Laura wondered for a
moment, before deciding to go without. She got to the checkout area and waited.
As regional manager for West Coast operations of IFA, one of the largest sellers of life and health insurance in the United States, Laura normally might not have paid much attention to Shop-Sense’s checkout procedures—except maybe to monitor how accurately her purchases