Knowledge Discovery With Retail BasketAnalysis

Abstract

Minute by minute the amount of data in the world databases is increasing inexorably. To support this growth of data the concept of data warehouse (DW) was created. DW when combined with On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) Codd[2] and Executive Information Systems (EIS) Buytendijk[l] tools, enable data access and visualization in a very flexible way. Features include very quick data exploration, vertical navigation (drill up/drill down), aggregation and graphical facilities. However, the amount and the complexity of data in data warehouses is so big that it becomes difficult to the business analysts to recognise trends and relations in data even with multidimensional decision support systems. A new generation of tools and techniques for automated intelligent database analysis is needed. These tools and techniques are the subject of the rapidly emerging field of Knowledge Discovery in Data Bases (KDD). In this paper, we propose an integrated system DECADIS DEscoberta de Conhecimento em Armazens de Dados de DIStribuigao (Knowledge Discovery in Retail Data Warehouses), designed for understanding customer behaviour and consumption patterns in a Portuguese company in the retail industry. Transactions on Information and Communications Technologies vol 19 © 1998 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3517