In this section, we will talk about what exactly we mean by trends and how the retailers detect and predict these trends. Basically, a trend in the retail context can be defined as a specific pattern or behavior which occurs over a period of time. This may involve a product or a combination of products being sold out in a very short period of time or even the reverse. A simple example would be a best-selling smartphone being prebooked and out of stock before even hitting the shelves on any e-commerce marketplace, or a combination of products like the classic beer and diapers combination which is frequently found in shopping baskets or carts of customers!
How can we even start analyzing shopping carts or start to detect and predict shopping trends. Like I mentioned earlier, we can achieve this with a combination of the right data and algorithms. Let's assume that we are heading a large retail chain. First we will have to keep track of each and every transaction...