The new Unknown Shopper solution transforms payment data into actionable insights by enriching it with demographic information, the global provider of payments and financial services technology said in a Friday (Jan. 9) press release.
This solution is designed to address the limited visibility merchants have of their customers in traditional card-present environments such as retail, restaurant and fuel when they don’t have a loyalty program, according to the release.
With Unknown Shopper, businesses and their marketing partners can create a more unified view of in-store and digital purchasing behavior at the segment level, build customer segments based on spending patterns, deliver more relevant offers and experiences to customers, and improve campaign measurement, per the release.
“Unknown Shopper allows merchants to translate in-store transaction data into meaningful insights and customer segments — helping them serve their customers more effectively,” Fiserv Chief Data Officer Prasanna Dhore said in the release.
PYMNTS reported in March 2025 that smart business owners are mining their payment data for real-time insights that drive revenue, reduce fraud and sharpen customer engagement.
Payment data can be used to identify fraud risks, detect shifts in consumer spending habits, optimize promotions and streamline operational efficiency. Retailers use payment data to identify high-value customer segments and tailor personalized shopping experiences.
The PYMNTS Intelligence and Fiserv collaboration “The Platform Business Data Readiness Survey: How Real-Time Data Can Drive Growth” found that half of retailers and platform businesses have no access to real-time data.
The report also found that those with higher data readiness were 52% more likely to have seen increased revenue and that 76% of firms said that the availability of sales data in real time is very or extremely important for decision making and business performance.
In another development in this area, Fiserv said in September 2025 that it acquired CardFree and would integrate that company’s order, payment and loyalty solutions for enterprise merchants into its Clover point-of-sale solution for small businesses and its Commerce Hub ecosystem to support these businesses as they grow and add locations.