Foursquare, a location-based mobile social network where users share their favorite destinations for food and entertainment, is rolling out an analytics tool that will help businesses engage their customers.
The tool will provide real-time data about consumer trends, including the time consumers "check in" at the business through Foursquare, when they visited the store, and the peak hours of visitation. The Foursquare tool is also an opportunity to put a friendlier face on the business. Brands can offer discounts through the platform, and a staff page will connect employees with customers through social networks, The New York Times reports.
Currently, the tool is on a trial-run with 30 small businesses, but there are plans to make it available to another 900 within the coming weeks.
Businesses using the tool are touting its value as a research application, the Times reports. P.C.C. Natural Markets, an organic foods company in Seattle, used the tool and found that many consumers were lured by a television ad for one of its organic doughnuts.
