A Reflection on the Effects of Data Science on Consumers.

Information is everywhere and knowledge of certain types of information can be a powerful asset. Everyday consumers distribute their information online to obtain goods and services. A value is exchanged between the buyer and seller. One may argue that the consumer gives money to obtain the item(s) they desire. However, what if consumers are paying a higher price than they bargained for?

When one purchases items online, money is not the only value exchanged. Data is also exchanged; consumers give up a lot of personal information knowingly and at times unknowingly when surfing the web and purchasing online. One of the advantages of modern data science is that it makes life easier for the consumers by bringing everything to their fingertips. For example, if a consumer searches for a particular item they are provided with a plethora of options due to the algorithms designed by data scientists.

These algorithms point consumers to particular items based on keywords consumers use. If the specific item the consumer desires is not available then a lot of other capable options are also suggested to the consumer. No longer does the consumer have to go from store to store physically to hunt down items. They can shop for a wide variety online. Another advantage of data science in this area is direct marketing. Data science allows companies to properly market to its consumers and potential consumers to get high sales conversion rates. This overall helps the economy after all the economy is based on consumers spending. However, companies have obtained the power of consumer data. This power due to capitalism is being abused, leading to invasion of privacy.

Example

Example

picture sourced from Waheed, Yang and Webber journal article shows how constant marketing can lead to consumer impulse.

Waheed, Yang and Webber states that “mobile marketing positively affects the consumers’ impulse”(48). Today most of societies time is spent online particularly on their mobile devices. Based on the data provided by consumers online algorithms that supposedly make consumers life easier are busy pushing and pointing customers in the right direction. What is the right direction? A student doing research on sneakers for example, searches online for sneaker designs to help with their assigned research project. After completing the research on varying sneaker designs the student leaves from that site and visits a social media site to take a break. Within minutes of scrolling, the pairs of sneakers the student viewed for research are being marketed to the student for sale on a social media site that had nothing to do with their initial sneaker search. Companies are becoming data banks selling consumer information for profit. Breaching consumers trust.

For some consumers this type of marketing causes them to buy impulsively. According to Madhaven, “impulsiveness could also arise in response to deals”(400). For if one sees an item long enough and each time the price is gradually being reduced most are convince to buy. For some consumers this is troubling for it seems big brother is watching your every move partnering with social media platforms as well as fortune 500 companies. Another downside to these large data banks of customer information are breaches. If the information is breached somehow by outside entities otherwise known as hackers. This could lead to identity theft, fraud among other things.

In conclusion, data science has it benefits but as with anything else there are adverse effects.

Sources

Madhavan, M. “Measurement Model for Understanding Thai Consumers buying behavior towards Store Brands.” Journal of Asia Pacific Studies, v. 4, n. 3, p. 395–421, 2017. Disponível em: http://search.ebscohost.com.queens.ezproxy.cuny.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=123206891&site=ehost-live. 6 sept. 2019.

Waheed, A.; Jianhua Yang; Webber, J. “Reinforcing Consumers’ Impulsive Buying Tendencies through M-Devices and Emails in Pakistan.” Interdisciplinary Journal of Information, Knowledge & Management, v. 13, p. 45–60, 2018. http://search.ebscohost.com.queens.ezproxy.cuny.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=131448595&site=ehost-live. 6 sept. 2019.