Abstract

Big Data is no longer an unpopular word anymore. Any data which poses a challenge for currently existing database technologies is termed as Big Data. Today only big giants in the different fields like retail, medical, stock exchange etc. can think of handling it because of expensive and huge infrastructure involved in handling it. This research paper is based on highlighting how retail and cellular industry makes its use in targeting customers. In today’s busy life no one loves to receive unnecessary junk mails or messages. It is because of this that companies want to be crystal clear about each of its customer interest and his or her pattern of shopping and expenditure. To be precise in knowing the interest of customers, companies needs to regularly mine the data related to each individual customer and gain insight of his or her shopping pattern like which goods he or she buys, customers budget, customers likes and dislikes etc. For handling such a huge database of millions of customers, companies make use of powerful framework like Apache Hadoop. Apache Hadoop is one such framework which is capable of handling huge databases via its several components. It makes use of Map Reduce technology. Map Reduce technology is the same technology which is used by Facebook in handling its popular section “People you may know”. The central theme of this research paper is elaborating the working of Map Reduce technology and Apache Hadoop framework in handling the enormous databases involved in retail industry.