Celebrating Love Data Week

Here at 84.51°, data is at the center of what we do. We use data to make people’s lives easier. And in honor of Love Data Week—an international celebration of the importance of data science and management—here are examples of how we have used data and data science to positively impact our communities and the customer experience.

At the height of the pandemic, to help identify areas most in need of meal assistance, 84.51° data scientists created a ‘heat map’ of impoverished areas in Cincinnati based on census data and other publicly available data sources. Local food back, Freestore Foodbank, used the map to identify a key location for adding a new distribution site that distributed 1,000 emergency meal boxes to families twice a week. We also worked with Strategies to End Homelessness (STEH) to build models and dashboards predicting indicators of homeless recidivism.

Consumers today expect brands and retailers to understand their needs and preferences. They want products and services that fit their lifestyles and help them save money and time. They are also interacting with brands and retailers in multiple ways, which means that personalized experiences must be delivered to more channels.

"I love finding insights in data that challenge my own personal experience, where our diverse customer base behaves different from what I would expect." - Richard Shadrach, Director, Data Science

Data science plays a major role in enabling businesses to scale the personalized experiences that customers expect. Data scientists at 84.51°, for instance, utilize opt-in, transactional data and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered decisioning to forecast the most qualified audiences for personalized coupons and offers. This enables consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies and other partners to connect with shoppers at the right time with relevant coupons and promotions.

"I am very proud of the AI work that we do, utilizing deep-learning methods to address problems and improve the consumer shopping experience." - Xiaojie Zhao, Director, Research Science

Data scientists excel in finding innovative solutions that lead to optimizations or solve problems. 84.51° data scientists, for example, are developing new sciences for optimizing prices and promotions—ensuring that shoppers get the best possible prices and the most relevant promotions while maintaining key business metrics—in addition to optimizing store spaces, and much more. Other innovations include AI-powered smart picking strategies that would allow retailers to better meet customer pick-up needs (e.g., curbside pickup) while maximizing labor efficiency and sales throughput.

These are just some of the ways that data and data science are creating impactful changes for communities and consumers by identifying vulnerable areas in need of help, increasing efficiency and scaling personalized experiences. Learn more about data science at 84.51° here.