How PAYBACK Upgraded from Legacy BI to Agentic AI with Spotter
At the recent data:unplugged 2026 in Münster, Europe’s biggest festival for data and AI, the stage was set for a masterclass in data transformation. Julian Stock, Analytics Reporting Team Lead, and Andreas Weiß, Senior Reporting Engineer, from PAYBACK, Germany’s premier loyalty program, shared the stage to detail a decade-long evolution: the journey from a strict, ticket-based reporting system to a thriving, AI-ready data culture.
In a world where transactional data moves at lightning speed, PAYBACK’s story is a blueprint for any organization looking to scale.
How to Break the "Ticket Bottleneck"
Before 2016, PAYBACK faced a challenge familiar to many large enterprises. Every minor report adjustment required manual changes to the underlying Datamarts, causing weeks of delay.
Analysts were buried under a mountain of tickets, and business users—frustrated by the wait—often reverted to "Email and Excel," creating dangerous data silos.
"Self-service is the key to becoming a data-driven company," Andreas noted during the session, "but it requires a user-centric strategy and the realization that data literacy is an ongoing journey."
But how do you actually achieve that at scale?
A Decade of Scale: How PAYBACK Upgraded to Agentic Analytics
By partnering with ThoughtSpot, PAYBACK didn't just buy a tool; they launched a new scalable reality. The results speak for themselves:
70+ Major Retailers Empowered
PAYBACK's data transformation wasn't contained to their internal teams—it extended outward to their entire partner ecosystem. Today, major retail brands like EDEKA use ThoughtSpot to independently monitor their own KPIs and steer marketing campaigns without ever submitting a ticket.
Key Takeaway: That's self-service at scale: turning data consumers into data owners, and freeing PAYBACK's analysts to focus on strategy instead of support.
200% Organic Growth in Insights
When PAYBACK users gained the freedom to explore data on their own terms, they ran with it. Beyond the 150 standard reports the team maintains, users have autonomously created over 300 additional Liveboards—more than doubling the organization's insight footprint without adding analyst headcount or tickets.
Key Takeaway: That's not just adoption, that's a data culture taking root.
Granular, Real-Time Performance Visibility
Gone are the days of waiting weeks for a report that answers one narrow question. Teams can now drill down to the finest level of detail(tracking a specific coupon's performance at a single store on a single day) in near real-time. The gap between a business question and a real answer has effectively closed.
Key Takeaway: That's not just faster reporting; that's the right answer, exactly when you need it.
The Future is AI-Powered: Ready to Put AI to Work on Your Data?
PAYBACK's story proves that the path from ticket bottlenecks to AI-powered analytics is real—and you can have the same impact. They're currently piloting Spotter, ThoughtSpot's AI agent, treating it like a virtual employee that lowers the barrier for non-technical users and frees your analysts for the work that actually moves the needle.
You don't need a decade to get there; your data is ready, and your team is ready.
Want the same impact for your own org? Start your free trial of ThoughtSpot today.
