Link: https://online.merrimack.edu/predictive-analytics-retailers-guessing-next-purchase/
Generally speaking, retailers use predictive analytics to predict the next purchases of their consumers. To do this, they first gather historical data. This can be past search queries, items you've added to your cart in the past, or things you simply tend to buy frequently. This is historical analysis. Next, they use predictive analysis to predict your next purchase. By taking in the historical data (and the data from correlated variables), retailers can generally come to an accurate prediction regarding what you are going to need to buy next.