There's a fine line between tracking the behaviors of customers in your brick-and-mortar store and spying on them. The technology discussed here uses data from customers' smartphones in conjunction with opt-in apps to offer patrons deals and show retailers what's happening in their stores.
Supermarket and liquor retailer, Coles, is using anonymous transaction data from stores around Australia to see what products sell best and which new store sites could be the most profitable.
What's happening -- Businesses are integrating location-based services such as Foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt and Socialight into enterprise applications. For example, ice cream retailer Tasti D-Lite incorporated Foursquare into its loyalty program, providing extra reward points for customers who check in at a store using the application.