The answer's in the cloud

AS THE year comes to a close, consumers in Asia-Pacific have flocked to popular e-commerce sites to maximise deals from hefty discounts, since the Singles' Day in November to "12.12" and then Christmas - the grand finale of the year's shopping season.

Amid the popularisation of online shopping sprees during the holiday season, customers are leaving traces of their digital footprints and preferences across multiple channels ranging from desktop, mobile and even brick-and-mortar stores.

With data on customers' virtual shopping carts, payment preferences, social profiles and even Internet browsing histories, retailers stand to understand their customers better.