MasterCard is getting into the predictive online marketing business.
Through a new partnership with an Internet company that specializes in personalized shopping, MasterCard has launched a Web shopping mall that it says can pinpoint with considerable accuracy what its cardholders are likely to purchase.
The site, called MasterCard Marketplace, relies on technology developed by Next Jump, a New York company that monitors customer behavior from thousands of retailers and uses the data it gathers to help merchants tailor their product offerings.
While MasterCard describes its approach as a potential game changer, luring consumers to a shopping site run by a payment network rather than a retailer is an uncertain proposition.
(Source: CNBC)