As retailers increasingly leverage location-based marketing to predict customer behavior and influence purchasing decisions, the result is more sophisticated data about who and when to target — and what offers to make.  

“Collecting GPS data is becoming quite pervasive. Using the knowledge of where a customer goes, which path she travels and how much time she spends at various locations can improve the quality of customer interactions and types of marketing offers and increase the likelihood that she’ll redeem an offer,” writes FICO’s Shafi Rahman and Amit Sowani.

FICO, founded in 1956, introduced analytic solutions including credit scoring, predictive analytics and business rules management and optimization, now used by most of the world's top banks, leading insurers, retailers, pharmaceutical businesses and government agencies, as well as managing the personal credit health of millions of individuals. 

The organization identified some key steps in location-based data collection:Continue reading...

The Federal Trade Commission today released its framework (and the cautionary video above) for protecting consumers’ privacy online. Building on its draft privacy proposal from last year which outlined guidelines for companies to handle personal data and recommended the “Do Not Track” button option, the FTC has legal authority to sue companies that violate privacy policies.

Under FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, the agency last year brought charges against both Google and Facebook for alleged violations. At issue, in addition to personal privacy, the tougher the regulations the bigger the incursion on profits reaped by web giants who use the data from targeted advertising to offer their services for free.Continue reading...

Following a complaint from U.S. senators, General Motors' OnStar telematics division announced today that it's reversing the proposed Terms and Conditions policy changes it announced last week would take effect on December 1st.

Following customer feedback (read: public outcry), OnStar president Linda Marshall announced that the company will not keep a data connection to customers' vehicles (and collect that data) after their OnStar service is canceled, as had been intended. OnStar bills itself as "the world's most comprehensive in-vehicle safety, security and communication service."