Snapdeal bets on data to stay ahead

Snapdeal, the Delhi-based online marketplace, plans to use data it is collecting in its Bay Area centre in the US to gauge buying patterns. The company wants to use the US facility to make the experience on its e-commerce platform more intuitive for customers.

Nitin Sharma, senior vice-president, data sciences, said Amazon's key to success was its efficient use of data. Big data would help Snapdeal gain more clients, he added.

"A big part of Amazon's success is due to the customer focus established by data. Data is one area where we are ahead of the pack and based on that we will provide the best customer experience," he said.

The centre, which has five data scientists, focuses on big data and advanced analytics. It will shape Snapdeal's business strategy and optimise operational efficiencies using algorithms, analytics and predictive modelling.

Rohit Bansal, co-founder of Snapdeal, had earlier said capturing information on buying behaviour was in sync with the company's plan to have 20 million daily transacting users by the year 2020.

According to a recent study by RedSeer Consulting, Amazon India has the highest customer satisfaction score among all online marketplaces, Flipkart is second and Snapdeal third.

Snapdeal plans to use data for decisions like goods delivery in precise time slots and the location of its warehouses. "The data will help answer questions like how to design a product, organise support, and where to have warehouses," Sharma said.

"We can study demand patterns, internally streamline the company, and reduce delivery costs among other things," he added.