Data mining took off in the 1990's as e-commerce companies (in particular) examined the web usage patterns and purchasing histories of their site viewers to build recommendation engines and to make predictions of future use and purchasing trends.
Data mining was not limited to e-commerce companies, as brick-and-mortar stores also looked at purchasing patterns. The apocraphyl story often told is the data showing that individuals who purchased diapers correlated to individuals who purchased beer -- and that placing these products in the same vicinity could boost sales.
Return to the main menu.