Saturday, December 13, 2008

Forget Whims — Use Statistical Analysis to Buy Presents - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com

An intriguing application of data analytics; see the full post for more details

People often shop for holiday presents based on flimsy notions about what a friend or loved one might want. That type of thinking inevitably leads to the regifting of fruit cakes and that novelty Britney Spears shoehorn. So why not abandon the guessing game and turn instead to the powers of statistical analysis this year?

Spotfire, a division of the software maker Tibco, has used its statistics expertise to come up with a tool for sorting potential presents. With the Spotfire Holiday Gift Finder, you can churn through thousands of products, including apparel, electronics, jewelry and tools.

Forget Whims — Use Statistical Analysis to Buy Presents - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com

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