Meet the Leeds data scientists who are helping firms to get personal

Hyper Group aims to make the benefits of personalisation – using data to deliver a highly personalised experience to customers – accessible and achievable for all.

The agency’s co-founders, Adam Barrowcliff, Peter Denby, Damon Bryan and Thomas Hill, aim to demystify what can seem a complex subject.

Mr Barrowcliff said: “We feel the likes of Amazon, Netflix and Spotify have massively raised consumers’ expectations and desire for personalised interactions.

“The problem is, many smaller companies are not capitalising on the potential of personalisation because they’re unsure where to start.”

He added: “We want to give those companies a helping hand to get started, or build on what they have already, through a mixture of consultancy and technology.”

Mr Barrowcliff continued: “It’s not just about providing our clients’ customers with something that is highly relevant to them; personalisation can transform other areas of business such as

real-time pricing, better forecasting of demand, range optimisation and supply chain.”

Personalisation is worth $1.7 trillion (£1.4 trillion) for consumer facing brands globally, according to the American research organisation McKinsey.

A spokesman for Hyper said: “Netflix, who use each customer’s previous viewing data to recommend content most likely to entertain them, claim that personalisation and recommendations save them more than $1bn (£830m) per year.”

Mr Barrowcliff’s fellow director at Hyper, Peter Denby, added: “We pride ourselves on solving complex problems using data, analytics, machine learning and technology; being nimble, pragmatic and focused on satisfying the needs of the clients we serve.”

Hyper Group is an offshoot of Method Analytics Ltd, the co-founders’ consultancy operation.

The directors have decades of experience working in consumer-focused businesses, such as Asda, Sky, Shop Direct, GE, Direct Line, as well as software houses, data and insight companies and creative agencies

Since launching in June, Hyper has already secured contracts with a major grocery retailer and a high street retail chain. Last week, a leading industry figure predicted that Yorkshire is set to enjoy a jobs boom as its tech sector expands

Jem Henderson, Tech Nation’s entrepreneurial engagement manager for Yorkshire, said the trend was only going to get stronger as growing numbers of leading tech firms head to the region.

“There’s an increasing number of tech businesses relocating to Leeds and we’re only going to see more, ” she told The Yorkshire Post.

“And it’s not just Leeds – we’re seeing the sector expand right across the region.”