AmEx to offer data analytics tool in UK

American Express Business Insights uses spending information from its database of 90 million card members to help businesses better understand their customers.

The tool offers retailers, luxury and hospitality brands “critical, aggregated information” about their customers, competitors and the marketplace to “enable a new level of strategic planning”.

Using the data, businesses can track and measure purchasing trends across demographic groups and regions in 125 markets and see where consumers are spending and where they are not.

Sujata Bhatia, vice-president of American Express Business Insights for Europe, says: “Our ability to quickly identify and interpret trends across our global network provides our customers with an unparalleled advantage in understanding their customers and ultimately helps them make more strategic decisions.”

The Business Insights division launched in the US in November 2009, and is led by senior vice-president Edmond Jay.

Rival credit card providers MasterCard and Barclaycard already offer similar data services to businesses. MasterCard launched its Advisors Merchant Solutions (AMS) service last summer, which uses data from consumer transactions to help retailers better target customers.

Barclaycard launched its Freedom loyalty programme last year. It allows partners to use consumer data in a similar way as well as offering rewards to cardholders.