Margin test

One of my favorite sayings growing up as a kid was, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” While these words can have a very literal meaning, at its essence, it means that everything has a value to someone. There couldn’t be a more fitting circumstance to apply this saying than when you look at the automotive industry, especially in relation to leased and certified used vehicles. After all, most certified used vehicles were once leases. According to a recent analysis, Experian Automotive found that consumers in larger metropolitan areas leased more vehicles than were purchased new, and those in smaller areas tended to buy more certified used* vehicles than new. Cities such as Detroit and New York saw extraordinarily high volumes of leases. During the analysis period**, leases accounted for 67.9 percent of all new vehicle registrations*** in Detroit, while they accounted for 49.8 percent of new vehicle sales in New York. Top 5 metropolitan areas new vehicle lease penetration Detroit 67.9 percent New York 49.8 percent Flint, Mich. 49.1 percent Youngstown, NY 46.5 percent Cleveland 43.6 percent By comparison, cities such as San Angelo and Victoria, Texas had the two highest percentages of certified used registrations compared to overall vehicle sales. San Angelo had 26.7 percent of its total vehicle sales fall under the certified used category, while Victoria had 25.1 percent. Top 5 metropolitan areas for highest percentage of certified used vehicle sales San Angelo, Texas 26.7 percent Victoria, Texas 25.1 percent Corpus Christi, Texas 24.4 percent Odessa, Texas 24.3 percent Lubbock, Texas 24.2 percent “Not every market is the same. Economic and social issues often drive sales,” said Brad Smith, director of automotive market statistics for Experian. “Detroit for example, benefits from the presence of Chrysler, Ford and General Motors, as well as numerous suppliers and many friends and family programs. By gaining insight into consumer purchasing behavior in their market area, dealers and manufacturers can take more targeted actions with regard to managing their inventory, capitalizing on growth opportunities, gaining new customers and improving profitability.” Further analysis found that from a brand perspective, MINI had the highest percentage of certified used vehicles compared to total vehicle registrations**** at 32.7 percent, followed by Ram (28.9 percent), Hyundai (28.3 percent), Mercedes-Benz (28.3 percent) and Kia (27.7percent). So, which certified vehicles are consumers purchasing the most? The analysis showed that the Toyota Camry had the highest volume of certified used registrations, followed by Nissan Altima, Ford F-150, Ford Fusion and Chevrolet Silverado. The next time you are in the market to buy, which will you get … new or certified used? While not every vehicle type is going to meet every person’s preference or specific situation, by understanding what metal is moving in the market, dealers, manufactures and consumers can find the “treasures” that best fit their needs. *For the purposes of this analysis, certified used vehicles are an approximation based on model year parameters (0-5 years old) **Analysis was based on January-September 2014 data ***Minimum 10,000 new vehicle registrations ****Minimum 100,000 vehicle registrations

With all the discussions around the risks of big data, the fact that it can be used as a powerful enabler of good seems to be missed. The benefits of big data can be seen throughout our day to day lives from simple things like traffic alerts to more impactful purposes like those seen in today’s healthcare environment. At Experian we serve more than 2,800 hospitals and 9,000 physician practices and use big data to help serve their patients as quickly and efficiently as possible. Our data and technology guides hospitals, physicians and patients step by step through an increasingly complex healthcare process. With Experian’s curated data sets at their fingertips, health institutions are able to guide patients in determining whether they qualify for government programs like Medicare or Medicaid, as well as if they are eligible to participate in the Healthcare Insurance Exchange (HIX) subsidies. In many cases, the system alerts a patient of eligibility for aid that they were not even aware of. “Big data” also helps provide increased safety. Data-driven insights accurately verify patient identities when they arrive at a clinic or hospital. By making sure patients are who they say they are, we help clinics and hospitals prevent fraud, ensure accurate medical records and carry out proper care. Additionally, through Experian’s Payment Plan Advisor, the same institutions can help patients develop personalized payment plans that fit their individual financial circumstances and meet the necessary payment plan guidelines. Additional tools provide patients insight into how much they currently owe a facility for previous services while giving them a clear idea of what their financial obligation will be for the current visit. Lastly, when it comes to online databases of patient medical histories, “big data” delivers enhanced cyber security. Recent healthcare reforms have made patient data available online through pharmacies, hospitals and labs. This accessibility leaves that data exposed to would-be hackers. That’s why more and more health institutions are taking steps to safeguard patient histories by adopting identity theft protection platforms and device verification technologies – the same security mechanisms used by banks. Big data, combined with technology and of course people, is enabling better, safer care and facilitating an enhanced patient experience. When managed appropriately – and in compliance with existing laws and regulations on data use – data is a force for good. So the next time you need a helping hand, don’t forget how the power of “big data” can make a big difference.

This week, Experian is participating in the Money 20/20 conference at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. This premier conference highlights innovators that are profoundly changing how consumers and businesses manage, spend and borrow money.  At the conference, Experian is providing a comprehensive view on customer intelligence and how we can be a data partner in helping businesses make powerful decisions that help acquire, grow and protect mobile customers. The Experian team has hit the ground running and if you are attending the conference, be sure to check out all of the ways to meet up with us and stay connected. Here’s a quick overview: Meet the experts Stop by booth #218 in the Bristlecone Ballroom to learn from our mobile channel experts on how to deliver timely and relevant information and offers to your customers. Click here to schedule time with our experts. While at the booth, test your credit and fraud knowledge by playing Experian Buzz. Players have 90 seconds to put up furious points answering questions about personal credit scores to squelching online fraud. Best Buzzers will rock the leaderboard and the best of the best with win a time-smart Pebble Watch and other great prizes. See Mike Bruemmer, Vice President of the Data Breach Resolution group at Experian Consumer Services present with Yaron Samid, CEO of BillGuard Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 11:45-11:55 a.m. at Starvine 10, level 3. If you aren’t attending the conference and want to know more about what Experian is doing in this mobile space, there are many other ways to engage: Join the conversation Join the tweet chat hosted by @Experian on Twitter this Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 12:15 p.m. PT during the conference lunch hour to discuss trends in mobile payments. Use the #MobilePayChat hashtag to tune in! Connect with the Experian Money2020 group on LinkedIn to network and receive exclusive research during and after the conference. Research and insight Find out why merchants are rejecting near field communications from Experian’s mobile expert Cherian Abraham. Leveraging his deep understanding of mobile commerce and payments, Cherian sheds light into this trend. Read more: http://bit.ly/EXPN-NFC According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, in 2013, about 74,000 new consumers used mobile banking per day. With the growing trend of consumers utilizing mobile platforms to conduct business, this paper examines how lenders have the opportunity to increase engagement with customers, offer more customized products and services with in-the-moment offers and enhancing loyalty by anticipating their financial service’s needs. Download the report here: http://ex.pn/1x2Nwrn. Our expertise spans a variety of industries including banking, utilities, telecommunications, mortgage, leasing, automotive, retail finance, public sector, fraud prevention, small business and consumer education. To learn more about our resources, visit http://www.decisionanalyticsblog.experian.com/. To wrap it up, we’re looking forward to attending and getting a taste of what happens at this much-talked about event.  We’ll be sure to provide you with our thoughts and learnings very soon. Stay tuned! Photo source: Shutterstock  

New research shows email marketers are two times more likely than all other marketers to integrate customer data across all channels According to a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Experian Marketing Services, maturity in cross-channel marketing is low and, despite the adoption of multiple channels in marketing programs, integration and coordination do not occur consistently. The global research study, entitled The Road to Cross-Channel Maturity, also found that marketers seasoned in email, more than any other digital channel, are in a position to be the ones to lead the transition to the cross-channel marketing era. A complimentary copy of the study can be downloaded at Experian Marketing Services’ Website. Please visit http://ex.pn/ZDxdEQ. In particular, Forrester Consulting found that marketers around the world struggle to integrate data sources and adopt effective data-management practices. Only 24 percent of marketers surveyed said they use contextual data and customer data for a real-time view across channels. Sophisticated email marketers demonstrated significantly higher rates of data-usage best practices, which was twice as much as the average respondent. Practices among marketers in Asia-Pacific (APAC) countries demonstrated the highest prevalence of this mature use of customer data at 36 percent, with China leading the pack at 47 percent. APAC also led other regions in overall cross-channel marketing maturity. Seventy-five percent of marketers that Forrester Consulting identified as “sophisticated marketers” use data in real time. In the study, Forrester Consulting states “…an email can provide a consumer with information or incentive to engage with other channels. As one of the most reliable, consistently used channels, email has an opportunity to be more than another transaction-driving medium… With cues from email, marketers can better provide interactions in other channels and touch-points.” The Forrester Consulting study recommends that marketers identify where email is most relevant and influential in the customer’s path to purchase and then incorporate additional channels along the path that tie all the communications together. To understand marketers’ maturity in cross-channel marketing, Experian Marketing Services commissioned Forrester Consulting to evaluate digital marketers’ attitudes about, experiences with and challenges related to cross-channel marketing, as well as the role email marketing has and will have in delivering cross-channel interaction. Forrester Consulting surveyed nearly 500 digital-marketing executives in various industries in North America, Europe, Asia and South America, including decision makers responsible for search, email, social, Website, mobile and display marketing strategy execution. It also conducted in-depth interviews with senior executives in the United States and Canada. A Webcast about the study conducted by Forrester Consulting and commissioned by Experian Marketing Services is available to view on demand at http://ex.pn/1Ftjhyx.

More than 10 years ago I spoke about a trend at the time towards an underutilization of the information being managed by companies. I referred to this trend as “data skepticism.” Companies weren’t investing the time and resources needed to harvest the most valuable asset they had – data. Today the volume and variety of data is only increasing as is the necessity to successfully analyze any relevant information to unlock its significant value. Big data can mean big opportunities for businesses and consumers. Businesses get a deeper understanding of their customers’ attitudes and preferences to make every interaction with them more relevant, secure and profitable. Consumers receive greater value through more personalized services from retailers, banks and other businesses. Recently former Experian North American CEO Craig Boundy wrote about that value stating, “Data is Good… Analytics Make it Great.” The good we do with big data today in handling threats posed by fraudsters is the result of a risk-based approach that prevents fraud by combining data and analytics. Within Experian Decision Analytics our data decisioning capabilities unlock that value to ultimately provide better products and services for consumers. The same expertise, accurate and broad-reaching data assets, targeted analytics, knowledge-based authentication, and predictive decisioning policies used by our clients for risk-based decisioning has been used by Experian to become a global leader in fraud and identity solutions. The industrialization of fraud continues to grow with an estimated 10,000 fraud rings in the U.S. alone and more than 2 billion unique records exposed as a result of data breaches in 2014. Experian continues to bring together new fraud platforms to help the industry better manage fraud risk. Our 41st Parameter technology has been able to detect over 90% of all fraud attacks against our clients and reduce their operational costs to fight fraud. Combining data and analytics assets can detect fraud, but more importantly, it can also detect the good customers so legitimate transactions are not blocked. Gartner reported that by 2020, 40% of enterprises will be storing information from security events to analyze and uncover unusual patterns. Big data uncovers remarkable insights to take action for the future of our fraud prevention efforts but also can mitigate the financial losses associated with a breach. In the end we need more data, not less, to keep up with fraudsters. Experian is hosting Future of Fraud and Identity events in New York and San Francisco discussing current fraud trends and how to prevent cyber-attacks aimed at helping the industry. The past skepticism no longer holds true as companies are realizing that data combined with advanced analytics can give them the insight they need to prevent fraud in the future. Learn more on how Experian is conquering the world of big data.