How billionaire Jack Ma is using sports data to change the way people shop

Using marathons as a guinea pig, it's scooping up broadcast rights and collecting information on participants and viewers to sell them everything from running shoes to health insurance

Think of it as “Moneyball” for e-commerce.

Just as professional sports teams have used reams of data to maximize performance, Chinese billionaire Jack Ma is turning to analytics to get the most out of fans and change the way athletic events are managed and people shop for gear.

After getting its start with a service allowing users to track their workouts, a unit of Ma’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is now moving onto organized sports. Using marathons as a guinea pig, it’s scooping up broadcast rights and collecting information on participants and viewers to sell them everything from running shoes