Beer and diapers

Who hasn't heard about the beer and diapers data mining story, which is frequently labeled as urban legend. I picked up an interesting book (Wal-Mart: The Face of Twenty-First-Century Capitalism) from Borders in San Mateo and on p.91 there's a nice related paragraph:

"Wal-Mart managers skillfully mine computerized data on sales for exploitable patterns of customer bevior. A famous example was the company's discovery that sales of beer and paper diapers rose in tandem on Fridays. By stocking the two items near each other, Wal-Mart made it easier for a parent picking up diapers on the way home from work to celebrate the weekend's arrival with a six-pack.

I can recommend this book without a doubt to anyone interested in retail industry. Regardless of what is said about it in the reviews, I enjoyed reading it - it wasn't a typical "easy reading about economy" - all the important facts/statements were backed up with references.