Retail spending: big data is the name of the game

IN thinking through the power of big data in retail, the oft-cited example is that from US department store Target, which a few years ago famously alerted a teen mother to discounts on baby products - before her dad knew she was pregnant.

And as Singapore trudges through a malaise in the retail market, a fresh partnership between Singapore's largest retail landlord CapitaLand and American Express (Amex) bears big-data potential. Success in this big-data aspect rests largely on Amex being able to expand its network of merchants to provide more rigorous data to CapitaLand.

In July, Amex and CapitaLand jointly launched a multi-mall loyalty and credit card. Customers who spend using the American Express CapitaCard at the 15 part…