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Standing out from your competitors is harder than ever, but analytics may be the way to steal in front

It may seem as dry as toast, but reams of data may hold the secret to a successful business. Take the case of British supermarket chain Tesco. Its loyalty card scheme, Clubcard, was set up in 1995 with the aim of getting to know what its customers wanted. Since the introduction of the card, Tesco has outperformed the UK supermarket sector every year and risen to the number one position in the market, according to Giles Pavey, head of retail analysis at Dunnhumby, Tesco's customer insight partner.