in the Wall Street Journal in October 1998 Emily Nelson wrote about Bananas unlock key to Wal-Mart strategy. One of the great assets of Wal-Mart is its database which in 1998 was second in size to the US government or it has big data. What to do with the data is the key and 1998 the most common item US consumers bought was bananas. This is why bananas are in the produce department, the cereal aisle and by the cash registers. The idea is to make it easier for consumers to purchase products as well as complementary ones. Wal-Mart collects raw sales, profit margin, inventory numbers and market-basket data or what products are likely to be purchased together.

Since 1998, Wal-Mart has been sharing some of its information with buyers and suppliers for each of them to achieve what they believe is the best position for their product. Which aisle? what should it be near? how far done the shelf? This information or tailoring to the customer helps drive sales. The downside is if the supermarket fiddles too much and consumers can not find the products they typically buy 15% of the customers would rather leave than look.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, we all hear about big data and Wal-Mart has been collecting information for years – it is still very competitive in their environment as consumers change. People want convenience, the want something that might have never existed, but it is very easy to go beyond what customers want in the desire to help them buy your products and services. As you examine your investments what do they do with the data they collect? how are they evaluating you. what judgement do you see?

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.