SMG Buys Consumer Decision Specialist Locately

US customer loyalty and employee engagement firm Service Management Group (SMG) has acquired Locately, which specializes in helping retailers and restaurants analyze what drives consumers' shopping and dining decisions. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Boston-based Locately uses a combination of GPS analytics and mobile surveys to uncover consumer and shopper insights. Its data mining engine analyzes location data collected from opted-in mobile phones to understand what consumers are doing, including where people shop, how they get to and from a given location, and which stores they drive past.

These services will now be combined with SMG's offering, which includes a range of proprietary data collection, reporting and insights tools.

In a statement, SMG CEO Andy Fromm said his firm had already tested Locately's technology with some of its clients, and his colleagues were impressed with the results.

Thaddeus Fulford-Jones, CEO of Locately, adds: 'Our platform is being used by leading consumer packaged goods manufacturers to drive shopper marketing decisions for multiple billion-dollar brands. SMG's global capabilities and recognized leadership in providing deep insights to restaurants and retail brands makes this a perfect match.'

Web sites: www.smg.com and www.locately.com .