Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • November 2017
  • Teaching Note
  • HBS Case Collection

Predicting Consumer Tastes with Big Data at Gap

By: Ayelet Israeli and Jill Avery
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:35
ShareBar

Abstract

CEO Art Peck was eliminating his creative directors for The Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic brands and promoting a collective creative ecosystem fueled by the input of big data. Rather than relying on artistic vision, Peck wanted the company to use the mining of big data obtained from Google Analytics and the company's own sales and customer databases to select the next season's assortment. Peck was betting that intelligence fueled by big data could outperform a fashion industry creative director at predicting the future fashion trends and tastes of consumers.

Keywords

Brands; Brand & Product Management; Big Data; "Marketing Analytics"; Consumer Behavior; Predictive Analytics; Forecasting; Preferences; Operation Management; Distribution Channels; Marketing; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Forecasting and Prediction; Data and Data Sets; Retail Industry; Fashion Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States; North America

Citation

Israeli, Ayelet, and Jill Avery. "Predicting Consumer Tastes with Big Data at Gap." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 518-053, November 2017.
  • Purchase

About The Authors

Ayelet Israeli

Marketing
→More Publications

Jill J. Avery

Marketing
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Using GPT for Market Research

    By: James Brand, Ayelet Israeli and Donald Ngwe
    • March–April 2023
    • Harvard Business Review

    Case Study: Should a Dollar Store Raise Prices to Keep Up with Inflation?

    By: Jill Avery and Marco Bertini
    • February 22, 2023
    • Harvard Business Review (website)

    How to Seed Organic Marketing in a Video-First World

    By: Ayelet Israeli, Leonard A. Schlesinger and Matt Higgins
More from the Authors
  • Using GPT for Market Research By: James Brand, Ayelet Israeli and Donald Ngwe
  • Case Study: Should a Dollar Store Raise Prices to Keep Up with Inflation? By: Jill Avery and Marco Bertini
  • How to Seed Organic Marketing in a Video-First World By: Ayelet Israeli, Leonard A. Schlesinger and Matt Higgins
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College