First of all I do not have a mathematics degree only a B.S. in finance so please take that into account when writing an answer. Generally what type of mathematics is involved here? And specifically what statistical formulas can be used in a scenario like this?
Recently Target was able to predict that a teen girl was pregnant by analyzing the items she had purchased, and sent her the appropriate coupons for her current condition. I would like to know broadly how were they able to do this, and specifically what types of mathematical formulas they used/ can be used to do this. This link will describe the specific situation.