What is Mobility Data? Examples, Datasets and Providers

How is Mobility Data Collected?

Mobility data is typically gathered from mobile devices using GPS signals, cell towers, and WiFi networks. This data is collected through apps that have obtained user consent for location tracking. It includes anonymized movement patterns, location visits, and dwell times, allowing businesses to analyze consumer behaviors and trends without compromising personal privacy.

What Are the Best Practices for Using Mobility Data?

To use mobility data effectively, consider these practices:

1. Safeguard data privacy and security: Protects sensitive information and complies with privacy regulations such as GDPR.
2. Regularly update and verify data: Maintains accuracy and relevance of the data.
3. Integrate data from multiple sources: Provides a holistic view of mobility patterns.
4. Use standardized formats and protocols like MDS: Ensures data consistency and interoperability.

What is the Mobility Data Specification (MDS)?

The Mobility Data Specification (MDS) standardizes how mobility data is collected, shared, and used. These guidelines ensure consistency and compatibility between different data sources and systems.

Key Components of MDS

• Data Standardization: MDS defines uniform data formats and structures, making it easier for different systems and organizations to share and analyze mobility data.
• APIs and Endpoints: MDS specifies a set of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) and endpoints for data exchange.
• Event Reporting: MDS outlines protocols for reporting various events, such as vehicle deployments, trips, and incidents.
• Data Privacy and Security: MDS includes guidelines to protect user privacy and secure sensitive data.

What Are the Benefits of Mobility Data?

Some of the key benefits of mobility data include:

• Enhanced geospatial data analysis for improved urban planning: Facilitates better design of city layouts and infrastructure.
• Optimized routes for transportation, logistics and emergency vehicles: Ensures faster response times and better route planning.
• Better real-time foot traffic data monitoring: Helps businesses understand customer flow and optimize operations.
• Deeper insights for sectors like restaurant traffic data to provide better services: Aids restaurants in understanding peak times and customer behavior.

How is Mobility Data Analytics Used?

Analytics plays a crucial role in extracting actionable insights from mobility data. By applying advanced data analytics techniques, urban planners and businesses can identify patterns and trends that help in making informed decisions. Mobility data analytics can also enhance geospatial data analysis, providing a more detailed understanding of movement patterns.

What Are the Use Cases of Mobility Data?

Mobility data can be applied in various scenarios, such as:

• Footfall Analytics: Track and analyze the number of people entering and exiting a location to optimize store layouts and marketing strategies.
• Urban Mobility Analysis: Study traffic patterns and public transportation usage to improve urban planning and traffic management.
• Foot Traffic Analytics: Understand pedestrian movement patterns to identify high-traffic areas and plan targeted marketing campaigns.
• Footfall Attribution: Link foot traffic data to specific marketing activities to assess the impact of promotions.

Mobility Data Applications

• Retail Site Selection: Identify high-traffic areas for opening new stores or optimizing existing locations.
• Advertising and Marketing: Tailor campaigns to target audiences based on their movement patterns and frequent visit locations.
• Urban Planning: Help cities optimize transportation routes, infrastructure development, and public services.
• Real Estate Analysis: Assess neighborhood attractiveness based on foot traffic and movement trends to make informed investment decisions.
• Competitor Analysis: Understand how customers move between competitor locations and adjust your strategy accordingly.

What is Mobility Data GTFS?

General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) is a standard format for public transport schedules and related data. It allows transit agencies to publish their data in a format that can be easily used by developers to create applications and tools that improve public transport services.

What Are Mobility Data Apps?

Many apps use mobility data to provide services like route planning, ride-sharing, and traffic updates. These apps leverage real-time foot traffic data and other mobility information to offer users accurate insights.

How Accurate is Mobility Data?

Mobility data is known for its accuracy, especially when GPS signals are used, with precision levels often reaching up to 90%. This means that the recorded movements closely match real-world locations. Providers take care to cross-verify the data, so you’re getting insights that are as accurate as possible. Always choose datasets with high GPS accuracy to ensure the most reliable insights. If your strategies are location-dependent, having precise data makes all the difference.

How Frequently is Mobility Data Updated?

The frequency of mobility data updates can range from real-time to daily, weekly, or on-demand, depending on your needs. Real-time data is great for making quick decisions, while historical data allows for in-depth analysis of trends over time. For fast-moving campaigns like advertising or promotions, go for real-time or daily updates. But if you’re diving into more trend analysis, historical data is your best bet.

How is Mobility Data Delivered?

Mobility data is typically delivered in formats such as .csv, .json, or via APIs, making it easy to integrate with your existing systems. You can choose from cloud storage solutions like S3, or request real-time API access for seamless data flow into your tools. If you need continuous updates, setting up an API for real-time access is the most efficient option.

How Much Does Mobility Data Cost?

Mobility data pricing depends on factors like coverage area, volume, and how frequently you need updates. On average, monthly subscriptions can start around $8,000, while larger datasets with more frequent updates can cost up to $96,000 per year. Many providers offer free samples on Datarade, so you can test the data before committing.

What Geographic Areas Are Covered by Mobility Data?

Mobility data typically offers wide global coverage, including regions across North America, Europe, and Asia, with datasets spanning more than 90 countries. Before purchasing, ensure the dataset covers the exact regions you’re interested in.

Can Mobility Data Be Combined with Other Datasets?

Yes, mobility data works even better when combined with other datasets like demographics, weather, or sales data. This gives you deeper insights into what drives movement and helps you understand the broader context of your audience’s behavior. For example, layering mobility data with sales or weather data can give you a richer view of what’s driving customer decisions.

Is Mobility Data GDPR-Compliant?

Our mobility data providers ensure that all data is anonymized and compliant with GDPR and other privacy regulations. User consent is always obtained, and any personally identifiable information is removed from the datasets to protect user privacy. Our suggestion is to always go with a provider that emphasizes GDPR compliance and transparency.

What types of Mobility Data are available on Datarade?

Datarade Marketplace offers a wide range of mobility data products, including GPS-based location data, foot traffic data, mobile location data, and visit data. These datasets cover various attributes such as coordinates, timestamps, device IDs, and more.