Regression Analysis and the Insurance Industry Data mining, or the use of large amounts of con- sumer data to predict buying patterns, is widely used in certain industries to help companies select the most profitable products and services, set prices, and increase consumer demand for their products and services. Hotels, supermarkets, airlines, credit card companies, and casinos (note the example about Harrahs in the chapter, page 277) commonly use this approach, sometimes with the help of loyalty cards that the customer uses at checkout. Regression analysis and other ana- lytics are then applied to the data to help the company predict buying patterns. Required 1. What is the strategic role of data mining? 2. What, if any, ethical issues are of potential concern when a company uses data mining?