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The Internet of Behaviors (IoB) is an area of research and development (R&D) that seeks to understand how, when and why humans use technology to make purchasing decisions. IoB combines three fields of study: behavioral science, edge analytics and the Internet of Things (IoT).
IoB platforms are designed to gather, aggregate and analyze data generated from a wide variety of sources, including household digital devices, wearable computers and human online activities. The data is then analyzed in terms of behavioral psychology to look for patterns that can be used by marketing and sales teams to influence future consumer behavior.
An important goal of the IoB is to help marketers understand and monetize the massive amount of data produced by network nodes in the Internet of Things.
Techopedia Explains Internet of Behaviors
The Internet of Behaviors is expected to play an important role in e-commerce, health care, customer experience management (CXM) and search engine optimization (SEO).
Potential IoB use cases include:
- Reducing insurance premiums for drivers whose vehicles consistently report desired brake and acceleration patterns.
- Analyzing a specific user’s grocery purchases in order to personalize menu suggestions.
- Using location services and buying history to customize a shopper’s point-of-sale (PoS) promotions in real-time.
- Sending an alert when a fitness activity tracker’s data indicates the wearer’s blood pressure is too high or too low.
Gartner and the Internet of Behaviors
The term IoB is credited to the tech research firm Gartner and is explained in Gartner’s ”Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2021.” Gartner credits the concept of using IoT data to influence behavior to Göte Nymanof, a psychology professor at the University of Helsinki.
The research firm points out that local laws will play an important role in how data can be used by public and private organizations to influence behavior. Gartner also says that unless IoB initiatives are designed to provide consumers with added value, the entire concept risks rejection. Concerns about privacy and the possible invasiveness of an IoB have been raised in some circles and will likely need to be addressed in order for it to be embraced on a larger scale.
