• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, May 23, 2013

"We need to create the infrastructure to analyze data," Chris McCann, president of 1-800-flowers.com, told attendees at OMMA DDM. The company participated in a beta test with Affirm payment service, a startup from Max Levchin, PayPal cofounder. McCann said the company uses a person's social graph data to determine whether or not they will extend the person credit. It decreases clicks and increases conversions, he said. He also praised mcommerce, calling it the "new loyalty card" because the consumer carries around the brand from screen to screen. The goal will become capturing data early on to influence engagements, rather than in the backend analytics.