Everybody in this business thinks of doing it, you definitely not the first one. (edit: everybody == strategists) 1) If you can make a really good software in

Everybody in this business thinks of doing it, you definitely not the first one. (edit: everybody == strategists) 1) If you can make a really good software in this space, you can make millions just selling it. 2) If you really want to try this, you should get a deep pocketed friend who will buy a company which already has the software, so you can focus on getting the service running asap, not after 5 years. 3) Retailers are not naive about their data and store experience. And there are countless variables that you will need to accommodate. Even if you have a service in place, it may never fly in the volume that you are hoping for. 4) If it doesn't reach the volume you are hoping for, you will not make more money than you would have made by selling them the software. Perhaps you should have tried another strategy, that is more directly related to the data you were hoping to get your hands on.