dunnhumby Buys Stake in Modelling Firm

Retail analytics giant dunnhumby has acquired a 50% stake in consumer behaviour modelling firm Sandtable, and will create a joint venture through which to develop new ways of predicting and understanding consumer behaviour. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

London-based Sandtable was founded in 2005 by Andrew Skates. His firm employs an approach called agent-based modelling (ABM), which expands on existing research and insight activity by combining multiple data sources into one picture of what is 'going on' with an organisation. The system is also used to model 'what if' scenarios.

Through the joint venture the firms will aim to help brands and retailers understand how and why customer behaviour is driving trends in a marketplace, and to anticipate how that behaviour might evolve in a range of future scenarios. In addition, they will explore what potential actions could be taken to better meet future customer needs, and also evaluate which actions will best improve the experience for customers.

Skates says he and his colleagues are looking forward to working with dunnhumby to develop the ABM technique and apply it to a wider range of problems.

Simon Hay, CEO of dunnhumby, comments: 'Our strategic priority is to engage customers and earn their loyalty. The new joint venture with Sandtable will give our partners unprecedented confidence that their choices and actions are the ones that will resonate the best - improving the experience for customers and the results for marketers.'

Web sites: www.dunnhumby.com and www.sandtable.com .