MasterCard
today rolled out a new online shopping store designed specifically to
recommend products consumers are more likely to purchase.
The
credit card giant is the latest company to attempt this type of
online service, with Visa and American Express also offering similar
businesses. MasterCard's new store has been created with the
help of Next Jump, a data mining company that tracks shopper behavior
from thousands of different sites.
After a new shopper visits
the online store, they'll be asked to select a handful of different
online companies they prefer. Next Jump will then track what
each site visitor views, adds to their shopping cart, and purchases
online.
The new MasterCard Marketplace has some privacy
experts concerned, who are concerned cardholders may be turning over
too much private information. There is a concern sites such as
MasterCard Marketplace increase the amount
of "social discrimination" shoppers face,
University of Pennsylvania professor Joseph New
York Times Turow
told the .
"People might be happy with a Dell 30
percent off, but why did my neighbor get one deal and me another?"
he wondered. "We are accepting this notion that companies
have a right to do this."
MasterCard has added additional
layers of security, according to the company, including mandatory
registration into the marketplace site. Retailers also will not
receive individual customer details, but will receive information on
a wider variety of customers.