In finance and banking, data mining is used to create accurate risk models for loans and mortgages. They are also very helpful when detecting fraudulent transactions.
In marketing, data mining techniques are used to improve conversions, increase customer satisfaction and created targeted advertising campaigns. They can even be utilized when analyzing the needs in the market and coming up with ideas for completely new product lines. This is done by looking at historical sales and customer data and creating powerful prediction models.
Retail stores use customer shopping habits/details to optimize the layout of their stores in order to improve customer experience and increase profits.
Tax governing bodies use data mining techniques to detect fraudulent transactions and single out suspicious tax returns or other business documents.
In manufacturing, data discovery is used to improve product safety, usability and comfort.
In essence, data mining benefits everyone: from individuals to large corporations and governments.