Understand Customer Purchase Behavior and Boost Sales with Market Basket Analysis

Understand Customer Purchase Behavior and Boost Sales with Market Basket Analysis

Delivering a personalized purchase experience is the key differentiator for businesses to increase sales and brand loyalty. Market basket analysis, also called affinity or association analysis, is a data mining technique that helps discover significant patterns and relationships exhibited by individuals while making a purchase. 

By identifying the items that occur together,

  • Businesses can provide personalized product recommendations to customers during purchase.
  • Retailers can optimize product placements by placing or displaying related items closely and
         having adequate stock levels.
  • Marketers can curate focused campaigns and product bundle deals that resonate with customer preferences.
  • Data Requirements

    To conduct a market basket analysis, you'll need a transactional dataset that includes the item name, bill number (or order ID), quantity, and date and time of the transaction.

    We are using a sample e-commerce store data saved as Orders for illustration. Each row in the Orders data table denotes a transaction.

    Preparing the data for analysis

    To conduct the market basket analysis, we need to extract the following data from the base table (Orders) using SQL queries.
    • A query table that contains all possible pairs of combinations that could occur together.
    • A query table to get the number of transactions for combinations that have appeared together or combinations that has been purchased.
    • As a final step, merge the all possible combinations query table and the number of transactions query table.

    Generating all Possible Pairs of Combinations

    The first step in the data preparation process is to generate all distinct pairs of items that could appear on the transaction. To get that, 
    1. Perform a self-join operation on the Items Name column of the base table, Orders. The self-join operation compares each row (transaction) with every other row (transaction).
    2. Use the condition Greater than (>) to ensure that each pair of items is considered only once and avoid duplicates where the same pair appears in reverse order, like (Lavender Candle, British Rose) or (British Rose, Lavender Candle) or (Lavender Candle, Lavender Candle) 
      SELECT
          "Orders" . "Item Name" "Item",
          "Orders copy". "Item Name" "Item Copy"
      FROM ( SELECT `orders` .`Item Name` "Item Name"
                    FROM  "Orders" 
                     GROUP BY 
      ) AS  "Orders"
      JOIN(SELECT `orders`.`Item Name` "Item Name"
      FROM  "Orders" 
      GROUP BY 
      ) AS  "Orders copy" ON "Orders" . "Item Name"  > "Orders copy" . "Item Name"

    Finally, save the query table with a suitable name. We are saving it as All Items Combinations.

    Distinct Count for Existing Combination

    The second step in the data preparation process is to get the distinct count for the pairs of items that appear together in transactions.
    1. Perform a self-join operation on the Items Name column of the base table, Bill Items. The self-join operation compares each row (transaction) with every other row (transaction).
    2. Use the count_distinct function on the Bill Number column to get the total number of times a combination has occurred together.
    3. SELECT
      "Orders" . "Item Name" "Item",
      "Orders Copy" . "Items Name" "Item Combo",
      count_distinct ("Orders Copy" . "Bill Number") "Number of Transactions"
      FROM  "Orders"
      JOIN( SELECT
      `Orders`.`Item Name` "Items name",
      `Orders`.`Bill Number` "BillNo"
      FROM  "Orders" 
      ) AS  "Orders Copy"  ON  "Orders" . "Bill Number"  = "Orders Copy".  "Bill Number"
      AND "Orders" . "Item Name"  > "Orders Copy" ." Items Name"  
      GROUP BY 1,
       
    Finally, save the query table with a suitable name. We are saving it as Count for Existing Combinations.


    Merge Tables using Left Join 

    The final step in the data preparation process is to join the All Combinations table and the Count for Existing Combinations table. Use the Left Join operation on the All Items Combination table, and use the if_null function for combinations that have not occurred or been bought together.

    SELECT
    "All Items Combination" . "Item" "Item",
    "All Items Combination" . "Item Copy" "Item Copy",
    if_null("Count for Existing Transactions" . "Number of Transactions", 0) as "Number of Transactions"
    FROM  "All Items Combination"
    LEFT JOIN "Count for Existing Transactions" ON "All Items Combination" . "Item"  = "Count for Existing Transactions""Item"
    AND "All Items Combination" . "Item Copy"  = "Count for Existing Transactions" . "Item Combo" 

    By doing this, we will have a query table showing the count of pairs of items that occur together, with 0 assigned to combinations that do not occur together.


    Data Visualization - Creating a Heat map

    1. Access the Total Transactions for all Combinations query table, click the Create icon on the side navigation panel.
    2. Choose New Chart view from the drop-down menu.
    3. Drag and drop the column as shown below
      1. X - axis:  Item
      2. Y - axis - Item Copy
      3. Color - Number of transactions

    4. Click Generate Graph.
    5. The heat map for pairs of combinations will be ready!

    Inference

    From the above graph, we infer that combinations like {Silver Antique Vase, Chocolate Box} and {Silver Antique Vase, Rainbow Umbrella} {Rainbow Umbrella, Chocolate box} {Silver Antique Vase, Porcelain Rose} have a higher purchase frequency.

    Items with a higher purchase frequency can be displayed on the home page of the e-commerce site as Best Sellers. They can also be shown as recommendations to cross-sell products if the cart has any one of the related items that is frequently bought. 

    Market Basket Analysis for 3 - item Combination

    You can create a query table similar to the above query table to find the three items that occur together in transactions and create a pivot table for visualization. Refer to the sample workspace for queries.


      Access your files securely from anywhere









                            Zoho Developer Community




                                                  • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                  • Digest


                                                  • Functions


                                                  • Meetups


                                                  • Kbase


                                                  • Resources


                                                  • Glossary


                                                  • Desk Marketplace


                                                  • MVP Corner


                                                  • Word of the Day


                                                  • Ask the Experts



                                                            • Sticky Posts

                                                            • Tip of the Week - Spot Risky Sales with Conditional Formatting

                                                              In Zoho Analytics, small tweaks can lead to big insights. One such feature is Conditional formatting based on other columns, your key to instantly spotting where sales success is overshadowed by product returns. Our tip this week shows you how to apply


                                                            Manage your brands on social media



                                                                  Zoho TeamInbox Resources



                                                                      Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                                        Zoho Books Resources


                                                                          Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                            Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                              Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                                Qntrl Resources


                                                                                  Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                                      Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                                      • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                                        CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                                      • Kaizen

                                                                                        Kaizen

                                                                                      • Functions

                                                                                        Functions

                                                                                      • Meetups

                                                                                        Meetups

                                                                                      • Kbase

                                                                                        Kbase

                                                                                      • Resources

                                                                                        Resources

                                                                                      • Digest

                                                                                        Digest

                                                                                      • CRM Marketplace

                                                                                        CRM Marketplace

                                                                                      • MVP Corner

                                                                                        MVP Corner







                                                                                          Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                          Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                          Get Started Now


                                                                                            Zoho Show Resources

                                                                                              Zoho Writer

                                                                                              Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                              Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                                Zoho CRM コンテンツ






                                                                                                  Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                                      ご検討中の方




                                                                                                            • Recent Topics

                                                                                                            • 'Add Tax To Amount' not reflected in Invoice

                                                                                                              Hi Zoho Support, I'm experiencing an issue with tax calculation display in my invoice template. Despite having "Add tax to amount" box checked in the template settings, the Amount column is not showing the tax-inclusive total for line items. Current behaviour:
                                                                                                            • "Subject" or "Narration"in Customer Statement

                                                                                                              Dear Sir, While creating invoice, we are giving in "Subject" the purpose of invoice. For Example - "GST for the month of Aug 23", IT return FY 22-23", "Consultancy", Internal Audit for May 23". But this subject is not coming in Customer Statement. Only
                                                                                                            • A real WYSIWYG field instead of the limited rich text

                                                                                                              Hi to everyone A "real" WYSIWYG or HTML field that outputs good HTML code when accessed through the API would be excellent. I tried to use the rich text field, but the styling options are limited. For example, there are no heading tags (h1 to h6), and
                                                                                                            • Delete my store of Zoho commerce

                                                                                                              Hi Team, I want to delete my stores of commerce. Please help me asap. Looking for the positive response soon. Thanks Shubham Chauhan Mob: +91-9761872650
                                                                                                            • Delete Inactive Zoho Accounts - Access Cleanup_User Id: 60001640923

                                                                                                              As part of our Zoho access hygiene, we’ve reviewed and deactivated several inactive user accounts. These accounts have not been used in the past year and are no longer tied to active operations. All access rights have been revoked, and records retained
                                                                                                            • No feedback from Zoho Books regarding Yodlee feeds for Investec

                                                                                                              I reported on 6 Feb 2025 that the Bank Feeds for Investec bank via Yodlee are not working. To date there has been no resolution. You are charging us for a suite of products where the functionality does not work. Please advise how you will refund me for
                                                                                                            • Inappropriate Removal of Features

                                                                                                              It's the first with any software where I am experiencing that an existing customer has some of his exiting features removed. Moreover, new Zoho One users are paying less than us. Is this going to be Zoho's "normal behaviour". If so, it is going to be
                                                                                                            • Filtering report embeded in page

                                                                                                              Right now we are using a page variable to filter a report on a page. However, it being a page variable makes it reset if you go to another report/form, we want the filter to be kept the same. I tried using an application variable according to zoho you
                                                                                                            • Export Invoices to XML file

                                                                                                              Namaste! ZOHO suite of Apps is awesome and we as Partner, would like to use and implement the app´s from the Financial suite like ZOHO Invoice, but, in Portugal, we can only use certified Invoice Software and for this reason, we need to develop/customize on top of ZOHO Invoice to create an XML file with specific information and after this, go to the government and certified the software. As soon as we have for example, ZOHO CRM integrated with ZOHO Invoice up and running, our business opportunities
                                                                                                            • Zia summarizes your IM bot chats in real time

                                                                                                              Hello everyone! Let's say you’re an agent taking over a chat where a customer was booking a flight through a bot on WhatsApp. They've already shared key details, like their destination, travel date, and number of passengers. You need to understand the
                                                                                                            • Megamenu

                                                                                                              Finally! Megamenu's are now available in Zoho-Sites, after waiting for it and requesting it for years! BUT ... why am I asked to upgrade in order to use a megamenu? First: Zoho promised to always provide premium versions and options for all included Zoho-applications
                                                                                                            • Cancel and refund

                                                                                                              Hi, Yesterday I paid for the Zoho email subscription. Within a few minutes, I realized that the subscription counts one email ID as one user. To make another email ID for the same domain name, I'd have to pay for another user. I emailed right away to
                                                                                                            • One Contact with Multiple Accounts with Portal enabled

                                                                                                              I have a contact that manages different accounts, so he needs to see the invoices of all the companies he manage in Portal but I found it not possible.. any idea? I tried to set different customers with the same email contact with the portal enabled and
                                                                                                            • Kaizen# 209 - Answering Your Questions | All About Client Script

                                                                                                              Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting Kaizen post! Thanks for all your feedback and questions. In this post, let's see the answers to your questions related to Client Script. We took the time to discuss with our development team, carefully
                                                                                                            • To Do: shareable task links without login

                                                                                                              Hi! I’m using Zoho Mail and ToDo in my daily work, and I’ve run into one limitation that’s a real blocker for me. Right now, to share tasks with managers or directors, they need to have a Zoho account and be added to a group. In practice, many of them
                                                                                                            • Ability to turn off "Would you like this amount to be reflected in the Payment field?" message

                                                                                                              Team, Is there any way to turn off the message" Would you like this amount to be reflected in the Payment field?" when I make a payment? This is so annoying. This happens EVERY TIME I put an amount in the Payment Made field.
                                                                                                            • Unlock agreement intelligence with Zoho Sign's latest AI updates

                                                                                                              Hello! If you've been struggling with long, complex agreements and spending way too much time on them, here's exactly what you'll want to hear: Zoho Sign now integrates with OpenAI's ChatGPT to make agreement management smarter and simpler. Acting like
                                                                                                            • Currency abbreviations

                                                                                                              Hello, Im stuck, and need help. I need the currency fields for example, opportunity value, or total revenue, to be abbreviated, lets say for 1,000 - 1K, 1,000,000 - 1M, and so on, how should I do this?
                                                                                                            • Embed Sign Document

                                                                                                              Has anyone tried embedding a document in a webpage? I'm building a webpage (using PowerPage) and I'm trying to embed it using an iframe then I got this error: Refused to display 'https://sign.zoho.com/' in a frame because it set 'X-Frame-Options' to
                                                                                                            • Zeptomail API error 500 internal server error

                                                                                                              Hi Everyone, getting this eror continuously! Can anyone please guide around the same! Zeptomail API error 500 internal server error Best Regards
                                                                                                            • We’re transitioning from Zoho ShowTime to TrainerCentral

                                                                                                              Hello everyone, Zoho ShowTime was originally built as a training platform to serve training agencies, HR teams, and individual trainers. As the platform grew, we realized that more creators and businesses could benefit from its capabilities. That’s why
                                                                                                            • Emails Are Not Being Delivered to My Inbox

                                                                                                              Hello Zoho Support Team, I am experiencing an issue with my Zoho Mail account. The most important problem is that emails are not being delivered to my inbox. Details: My Zoho Mail address: info@coreforcelife.com What happens: I am not receiving any incoming
                                                                                                            • Radar In Focus: Track customer support metrics using Radar's static reports

                                                                                                              Hello everyone, Welcome back to the Radar In Focus series, where we explore how Radar features can add value to your business. In this episode, we're looking at Radar static reports. The help desk is filled with vast amounts of data that can be analyzed
                                                                                                            • Mail ToDo & Tasks Webhooks

                                                                                                              Our company uses Zoho ToDo inside Mail to manage our tasks. When I create a task and assign it to a team member it does not notify them unless I add a reminder via mail. I'm trying to create a webhook for when a task is created to send a cliq message
                                                                                                            • Allocating inventory to specific SO's

                                                                                                              Is there a way that allocate inventory to a specific sales order? For example, let's say we have 90 items in stock. Customer 1 orders 100 items. This allocates all 90 items to their order, and they have a back order for the remaining 10 items which could
                                                                                                            • Improved UI for a Seamless User Experience - Calls, Tasks, and Meetings

                                                                                                              Hello all, We are making UI unification across CRM so that the UI experience is seamless across the product. As part of that effort, we have made changes to the details page of activity-based module records—Meetings, Calls, and Tasks. Let's look at these
                                                                                                            • Where can I find rejected inbound mails and their reason for rejection

                                                                                                              Hi, I was recently made aware by a mailing list which I am subscribed to (ffmpeg-devel@ffmpeg.org) that my Zoho mail Mail account is rejecting some emails. If I look under Admin Panel > Security & Compliance > Quarantine > Incoming, the list there is
                                                                                                            • Refund

                                                                                                              Hi There, Please refund me asap possible, because of no support given. Thank you
                                                                                                            • تغيير عمله الدفع"Change payment currency"

                                                                                                              ما هى طريقه تغيير عمله الدفع "ما هي طريقة تغيير عملة الدفع؟"
                                                                                                            • How do I fix this? Unable to send message; Reason:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked.

                                                                                                              How do I fix this? Unable to send message; Reason:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked.
                                                                                                            • Attention API Users: Upcoming Support for Renaming System Fields

                                                                                                              Hello all! We are excited to announce an upcoming enhancement in Zoho CRM: support for renaming system-defined fields! Current Behavior Currently, system-defined fields returned by the GET - Fields Metadata API have display_label and field_label properties
                                                                                                            • Zia's ability to generate and improve content extended to Desk mobile app (iOS and Android)

                                                                                                              In support, agents will have to understand customers' pain points completely to provide empathetic personalized solutions and a positive experience. However, at times, agents might find it challenging to comprehend the customer issues and connect with
                                                                                                            • BANK FEED - MAYBANK , provider from YODLEE IS NOT WORKING

                                                                                                              As per topic, the provider YODLEE is not working for the BANK FEED. It have been reported since 2023 Q3, and second report on 2023 Q4. now almost end of 2024 Q1, and coming to 2024 Q2. Malaysia Bank Maybank is NOT working. can anyone check on this issue?
                                                                                                            • Item images

                                                                                                              Can we get an "On hover" expanded image for items please ?
                                                                                                            • Free webinar—Redefining workforce security with Zoho Vault: Passwords, passkeys, and multi-factor authentication

                                                                                                              Hi everyone! Did you know that in Q2 alone, 94 million data records were leaked globally? Behind every breach is a combination of poor password habits, phishing attacks, privilege misuse, and simple human error. The fallout—including reputational damage,
                                                                                                            • Zoho Sign product updates - Q3 2025

                                                                                                              Hello everyone! Q3 was all about AI. Here's the list of features and enhancements that have gone live, along with a list of what we have in pipeline for the last quarter: AI-powered agreement management Sending documents and authenticating recipients
                                                                                                            • Zoho sites header

                                                                                                              Good day, Im stuck with this situation. I choose a template for my website creation. I have tweaked every instance of the visual editor, regarding the header, I have created created customize fonts presets... I have followed every single step. and my
                                                                                                            • Zoho Books Sandbox environment

                                                                                                              Hello. Is there a free sandbox environment for the developers using Zoho Books API? I am working on the Zoho Books add-on and currently not ready to buy a premium service - maybe later when my add-on will start to bring money. Right now I just need a
                                                                                                            • Quick Create needs Client Script support

                                                                                                              As per the title. We need client scripts to apply at a Quick Create level. We enforce logic on the form to ensure data quality, automate field values, etc. However, all this is lost when a user attempts a "Quick Create". It is disappointing because, from
                                                                                                            • Kaizen #152 - Client Script Support for the new Canvas Record Forms

                                                                                                              Hello everyone! Have you ever wanted to trigger actions on click of a canvas button, icon, or text mandatory forms in Create/Edit and Clone Pages? Have you ever wanted to control how elements behave on the new Canvas Record Forms? This can be achieved
                                                                                                            • Next Page