Walmart

==== Big data analytics ====
As the largest retailer in the U.S., Walmart collects and analyzes a large amount of consumer data. The [[big data]] sets are [[Data mining|mined]] for use in [[predictive analytics]], which allow the company to optimize operations by predicting customer's habits. Walmart's [[datacenter]] is unofficially referred to as [[Area 71]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.joplinglobe.com/news/local_news/wal-mart-s-data-center-remains-mystery/article_5f088740-04ea-531d-b526-a2cc9862c8aa.html |title=Wal-Mart's data center remains mystery |last=McCoy |first=Max |date=May 28, 2006 |website=The Joplin Globe |publisher=Community Newspaper Holdings |access-date=May 31, 2019 |archive-date=December 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201217045422/https://www.joplinglobe.com/news/local_news/wal-mart-s-data-center-remains-mystery/article_5f088740-04ea-531d-b526-a2cc9862c8aa.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In April 2011, Walmart acquired [[Kosmix]] to develop software for analyzing real-time data streams.<ref>Chris V. Nicholson, ''The New York Times''. "[https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/04/19/wal-mart-buys-social-media-site-kosmix/ Wal-Mart Buys Social Media Firm Kosmix] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525042852/https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/04/19/wal-mart-buys-social-media-site-kosmix/ |date=May 25, 2017 }}." April 19, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2016.</ref> In August 2012, Walmart announced its Polaris search engine.<ref>Sarah Perez, TechCrunch. "[https://techcrunch.com/2012/08/30/in-battle-with-amazon-walmart-unveils-polaris-a-semantic-search-engine-for-products/ In Battle With Amazon, Walmart Unveils Polaris, A Semantic Search Engine For Products] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308134741/https://techcrunch.com/2012/08/30/in-battle-with-amazon-walmart-unveils-polaris-a-semantic-search-engine-for-products/ |date=March 8, 2017 }}." August 30, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2017.</ref>

The amount of data gathered by Walmart has raised privacy concerns.<ref name="nyt1">{{cite news |last = Hays |first = Constance L. |title = What Wal-Mart Knows About Customers' Habits |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/14/business/yourmoney/14wal.html |access-date = November 27, 2013 |newspaper = The New York Times |date = November 14, 2004 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131220044349/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/14/business/yourmoney/14wal.html |archive-date = December 20, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title = A CASE STUDY OF WALMART |url = http://centerformediajustice.org/wp-content/files/WALMART_PRIVACY_MR.pdf |publisher = [[Center for Media Justice]] |access-date = November 27, 2013 |date = November 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131203005506/http://centerformediajustice.org/wp-content/files/WALMART_PRIVACY_MR.pdf |archive-date = December 3, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last = Berman |first = Jillian |title = Walmart Now Possesses Info On An Estimated 145 Million Americans: Analysis |url = https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/26/walmart-data_n_4344879.html |work = HuffPost |access-date = November 27, 2013 |date = November 26, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131127161035/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/26/walmart-data_n_4344879.html |archive-date = November 27, 2013}}</ref>