Consumer behavior is the study of why users buy or do not buy a product or service. This data also includes the why, what, when, where, and how. Consumer behavior attempts to understand the buyer’s decision-making process. It studies individual consumer habits while taking into account things like demographics, age group, religion, and more in order to understand what people want from their shopping experience.

There are, of course, a wide range of factors that can influence customer behavior. Some of these include: the environment, social variables, cultural variables, pricing, promotions, product quality, and customer service. Also, as mentioned above, demographic factors affect customer behavior. These include age, gender, marital status, income, education, and occupation.

With consumer behavior data being at the forefront of e-commerce today, the goal is to know what consumers want before they even ask for it. Algorithms and big data are now enabling retailers to capitalize on their consumers by offering them what they want based on their shopping history and all the other variables.

With marketers now having access to all sorts of useful data, it is no wonder they are able to target prospective clients and consumers and link them to specific merchants and products. Companies such as Moxian, Inc. (OTCQB: MOXC) who are in the business of providing social media marketing and promotion platforms to retailers allow merchants to run highly targeted and successful advertising campaigns.

MOXC enables consumers and merchants to better interact thanks to consumer behavior data compiled in the Moxian database. With this information, merchants are able to identify consumer patterns, identify individual customers, uncover opportunities to deliver integrated and targeted marketing campaigns, and optimize marketing efforts for the future. Moxian works on the basis that consumers and businesses should be able to connect and interact more easily with one another to achieve the concept of “online lifestyle, offline fun.”

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Moxian.com

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Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology is on the rise, having multiple applications in various industries ranging from healthcare and storage to transport, animal and human identification, as well as for RFID-empowered credit cards. The technology allows for a much simpler card payment process by enabling the user to simply brush his or her card against a special RFID reader to process a payment, but it has also given rise to serious privacy concerns and fears that personal information is easier to steal by anyone with the right type of RFID reading equipment. As a consequence, tighter security requirements were enforced for manufacturers of RFID tag technology, while special equipment emerged, designed to shield against RFID skimming and hackers.

A leading provider of personal security production and data protection technology, Florida-based Stealth Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: STTH), comes to the aid of all owners of RFID-enabled cards with proprietary technology specifically created to protect the consumer’s data from any theft attempts or other compromising events. The company’s flagship product, the Stealth Card, can actively protect users’ RFID cards in their wallets by creating an electromagnetic force field that blocks any scan attempts and deflects the scans back to their source. Inspired by military technology employed to shield stealth aircraft from radar, the Stealth Card uses a proprietary PowerGrid Technology that blocks any inbound or outbound frequencies and effectively makes a card’s RFID chip invisible to theft threats.

At only 0.007” thick, the Stealth Card easily fits in the wallet and can protect up to 12 RFID cards simultaneously, as confirmed during tests run by The Center for Applied Research and Technology, an independent testing laboratory. The product does not require batteries or charging and works perfectly with cellphones, magnetic strips or Bluetooth technology without interference.

Encouraged by the success of the Stealth Card and facing a growing demand for RFID skimming blocking solutions on a market that’s expected to surpass $21 billion by 2020, Stealth Technologies has developed two other products designed to help protect users’ personal information: 911 Help Now and Stealth Mobile.

Rolled out in July of this year, the 911 Help Now device offers direct voice communication with emergency services with the simple push of a button. A compact, waterproof design powered by standard AAA batteries, the device works as a 24-hour emergency system that can be carried around anywhere, offering the user peace of mind in any and all environments.

Stealth Mobile has yet to be launched after having successfully passed the final testing phase of development at the end of September, according to company CEO Brian McFadden. The product is designed to protect the Near Field Communication (NFC) chip and any personal and financial information stored on the user’s cell phone. It can be easily attached to the back of the phone and will protect the user’s data by blocking any theft attempts via the NFC system.

In another effort to combat identity theft, the company recently launched a dedicated website, www.StealthIdentityTheft.com, which offers visitors access to ‘Data Secure,’ a unique personal identity theft protection and recovery service designed and used by law enforcement. The service uses a two-step prevention method: the Redaction/Privacy process that removes personal data from the Internet, and the Recovery Protection process that involves recovery specialists working to restore a stolen identity.

For more information about Stealth Technologies, Inc. and its innovative personal data protection services, visit www.TechnologiesByStealth.com

Earlier today, eXp World Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: EXPI), through subsidiary eXp Realty, announced the addition of the Brent Gove team, a leading real estate team operating in California, to its family of agents and brokers. Gove brings nearly two decades of industry experience to the Agent-Owned Cloud Brokerage™. During this time, he earned a spot as one of the 11 most successful agents in the global RE/MAX (NYSE: RMAX) network, completing 429 transactions accounting for about $169 million in sales volume in 2005 alone. Gove then moved to Keller Williams Realty, where he served as CEO and team leader of the company’s most profitable market center in 2010. Despite only switching brokerages once throughout his extensive career in the real estate industry, Gove pointed to the tremendous value proposition offered by eXp Realty as a key driver in his decision to make the jump to EXPI.

“Everyone on my team is excited about the opportunity to become an owner of eXp World Holdings and to be part of a community of agent-owners working closely together with systems and infrastructure that will allow us to continue to grow both as a team and as professionals — building relationships and organizations that span across borders,” Gove stated in this morning’s news release. “eXp Realty represents the best opportunity for us as a team and as individuals.”

The addition of the Brent Gove team to the eXp Realty family continues to build on what has been an eventful October for the company. Just last Friday, EXPI announced the addition of Miguel Herrera, the top international luxury agent in South Texas, to eXp Realty. In the news release, Herrera hailed the eXp Realty business model as “the strongest in the industry.” According to an update issued last week, the company’s real estate brokerage division currently boasts a family of agents and brokers that includes more than 1,900 members across 41 high-demand markets in the United States and Canada. This marks an increase of about 120 percent from the beginning of 2016.

“We are excited, not only by our growth, but by the quality of agents that are being attracted to eXp Realty,” Jason Gesing, chief executive officer of eXp Realty, stated in a recent news release. “Increasingly throughout the year, eXp Realty has become the brokerage of choice for top producing agents and teams, and for brokerage owners looking to increase profits, achieve scalable growth, and deliver the opportunity of ownership to the agents in their organization.”

These growth milestones come on the heels of EXPI’s third annual real estate convention, which took place from October 5-7 in San Antonio, Texas. The company reports that nearly one-third of the agents and brokers licensed with eXp Realty at the time of the event were in attendance, representing more than a threefold increase from the previous year’s convention and marking the first time that the company has sold out one of its major annual events. Russ Cafano, president of EXPI, summed up eXp Realty’s recent performance in a news release.

“[W]e have uncovered a total value proposition which resonates with real estate professionals but to date, no firm had figured out how to implement,” he stated. “Our growth numbers clearly indicate that we have hit a sweet spot in the industry.”

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.eXpWorldHoldings.com

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Before the opening bell, Medical Transcription Billing, Corp. (NASDAQ: MTBC; MTBCP) issued a news release giving prospective shareholders additional insight into the company’s acquisition of MediGain, LLC. In the update, Mahmud Haq, chief executive officer of MTBC, highlighted the importance of the acquisition to the company’s growth strategy.

“As announced last week, we are very pleased to have acquired MediGain, which marks an important corporate milestone as our largest acquisition to date, and demonstrates the highly strategic nature of our successful, acquisition-based growth strategy,” Haq stated.

In the news release announcing the acquisition, MTBC CFO Bill Korn stated that the company completed the acquisition “at a compelling valuation that represents a significant discount as compared to the industry norm.” This morning’s update highlighted that MTBC, through wholly-owned subsidiary MTBC Acquisition, Corp., acquired all of the assets of MediGain and its affiliate for a purchase price of $7 million, which included $2 million paid at closing with a remaining balance of $5 million due at the beginning of next year.

Korn went on to predict that the addition of MediGain and affiliate Millennium Practice Management, LLC to MTBC will “contribute to our positive Adjusted EBITDA by the end Q1 2017.” This assessment was further validated with this morning’s update. In total, the accounts in good standing that were acquired as part of the MediGain acquisition are expected to contribute more than $10 million of annual revenues to fuel MTBC’s financial growth in 2017. With this performance, MTBC management expects incremental profits from the MediGain acquisition to greatly exceed its cost of capital, putting it on course to be accretive to the company’s shareholders as early as 2017.

To learn more about the MediGain acquisition, view MTBC’s Form 8-K at http://dtn.fm/4dGUh

“There are significant synergies between the two companies,” Gary Smith, a provider of leadership to MediGain Practice Management, explained in this morning’s update. “Our global team of professionals and proprietary technology will allow us to continue improving operating margins while delivering world-class service to our clients.”

On October 3, MTBC originally announced the closing of the MediGain acquisition, marking its largest acquisition to date. Included in the transaction, MTBC acquired substantially all of MediGain’s assets, including existing customer accounts, intellectual property, and offshore operations in both India and Sri Lanka. In addition to strengthening its total number of accounts, the acquisition effectively bolstered the MTBC team with talented members in North America while greatly expanding its Asia-based operations into new markets with “talented, cost-effective workforces.”

For more information, visit www.MTBC.com

Before the opening bell, Dominovas Energy Corporation (OTCQB: DNRG) announced that it has submitted a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Ekurhuleni Energy Generation Program in Johannesburg, South Africa. The submission was made in collaboration with the company’s joint venture partner for the project, Mponeng Holdings [PTY] LTD (MPH), a sustainable energy management company based in Johannesburg. If awarded, the project would include a 20 megawatt power purchase agreement (PPA) to provide electricity for Johannesburg’s Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, which would be fulfilled by leveraging Dominovas Energy’s proprietary RUBICON™ Solid Oxide Fuel Cell technology.

“The submission of this RFP and entering into this ‘JV’ agreement with MPH is an extension of our goal to expand and establish roots in multiple regions within sub-Saharan Africa,” Michael Watkins, chief operating officer of Dominovas Energy and president of its Fuel Cell Division, stated in this morning’s news release. “Having set our sights initially on the 50kW Showcase for Johannesburg, we believe it is critical that the follow-up and immediate next steps be in place and determined early in the process to maintain the momentum we hope to create with the installation of the ‘Showcase’.”

In recent months, Dominovas Energy has placed much of its focus on the delivery of its RUBICON™ ‘showcase’ unit to South Africa’s University of Johannesburg. Since the initial announcement of the project in May 2016, the company’s management team has completed multiple site visits to determine the actual site and deployment strategy for the unit, as well as to discuss a possible collaborative venture between Dominovas Energy and the University of Johannesburg designed to advance the study of fuel cell technology across sub-Saharan Africa. According to recent updates, the company is currently on pace to deliver the first system in 2017, with the ultimate goal of implementing a multi-Megawatt system in the region shortly thereafter.

Delivery of its highly-anticipated RUBICON™ ‘showcase’ unit is expected to play a key role in Dominovas Energy’s future growth, as illustrated by the company’s recent progress toward securing additional work following its implementation. Just last month, Dominovas announced that it has entered formal negotiations with key officials at the University of Johannesburg to become one of the main suppliers of electricity for the school’s Johannesburg campuses. If awarded, this project is expected to entail a minimum of 12 megawatts.

Dominovas Energy has also made efforts to expand its reach in sub-Saharan Africa outside of South Africa. In September, the company appointed Dr. Emma Rasolovoahangy as its ambassador for renewable energy projects and special advisor for the Republic of Madagascar. This move was particularly exciting when considering Dominovas Energy’s hydro power division, Currentergy. According to industry estimates, Madagascar boasts a hydro potential of about 7,000 megawatts, making it one of the company’s “top priorities for development and operation of multiple power projects.”

For more information, visit www.dominovasenergy.com

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Shares of eXp World Holdings (OTCQB: EXPI) climbed 12% in Friday’s mid-day trade after the company announced the addition of Miguel Herrera, the top-rated international luxury agent in South Texas, as the newest member of its eXp Realty, LLC real estate brokerage division in San Antonio, Texas. The company’s stock may also be moving on momentum from yesterday’s news that it has grown its family of agents and brokers to more than 1,900 across 41 markets in North America, up from 864 agents at the start of the year.

With nearly 30 years of previous business experience behind him, Herrera launched his real estate career in 2010 and quickly became a recognized leader within and among the luxury agent community.

In 2015 Herrera achieved production of more than $15 million, followed by more than $24 million in 2016. He was aptly named the #1 International Luxury Agent in San Antonio, Hill Country and South Texas by Luxury League, and has been a member of the Platinum Top 50 San Antonio group of agents from 2012-2016.

Herrera was first introduced at a press availability last week when eXp Realty – the Agent-Owned Cloud Brokerage® – held its third annual conference in San Antonio.

“The eXp Realty business model is the strongest in the industry,” Herrera stated in today’s news release. “I am excited about the opportunity for true ownership, not just for me, but for my loyal and talented team members, and I am excited to teach and coach eXp agents from all markets who aspire to work in luxury on the eXpWorld campus. This is the future of real estate and I want to be a part of it.”

eXp Realty CEO Jason Gesing welcomed Herrera to the team and commented that his “desire to share what he knows is perfectly aligned with our ownership culture and we look forward to his leadership and contributions for many years to come.”

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.eXpWorldHoldings.com

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The luxury travel market has been growing faster than overall travel in recent years, fueled by global consumers’ increasing tendencies to spend their income on life experiences rather than material goods. The trend is likely to continue over the next decade, with new business opportunities and challenges for leading providers of luxury tours such as Monaker Group, Inc.’s (OTCQB: MKGI) Maupintour.

Luxury travel had a compound annual growth rate of 4.5% between 2011 and 2015, and this growth is likely to continue at an even faster rate over the next decade. It is expected that luxury trips (http://dtn.fm/l2C0D) will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.2% through 2025, while overall travel will grow at a rate of 4.8%. The main catalyst for this growth is consumers’ general desire for more rewarding experiences achieved via travel, therefore leading to improved tourism industry standards and services.

It is worth noting that nowadays, the definition of luxury travel is less strict than before, relating more to personalized experiences and top notch services rather than the outdated image of sipping martinis by the pool or simply going on a luxury cruise to exotic destinations. The idea of excitement and the promise of unique experiences are essential to luxury tourism nowadays, while the desire for high-quality service and exclusive privacy and security remains a significant component.

North America and Western Europe are still the most popular destinations for luxury travelers, accounting for 64% of worldwide outbound luxury trips. However, the Asia Pacific luxury market is growing at an accelerated rate, outpacing the overall growth of the European market. India’s luxury travel market is also growing fast, with a compound annual growth rate of 13%.

All of these destinations are currently included on the list of luxury tours offered by Maupintour, a company with 65 years of experience in offering luxury and customizable private tours to the best destinations in the world. Some of the top luxury tours on the company’s roster this fall include a 9-day tour of traditional Christmas markets – Austria and Germany, a 12-day tour of China’s top tourist and historic sites, and a 10-day tour of Athens and the Greek Islands.

Since it was founded by Tom Maupin in Lawrence, Kansas, Maupintour has built a name for itself as an innovative, forward-thinking travel company with a reputation for creating unique, outstanding itineraries. In 1956, it was the first company to organize tours to the Soviet Union after World War II. Maupintour’s commitment to its core principles and traditions of leadership, variety, quality, value, service and fulfilling all its travelers’ dreams have made it a leading provider of luxury travel services with the highest repeat customer rate in the industry.

Maupintour is just one of the travel-focused companies currently owned by Monaker Group. The group’s flagship is NextTrip.com, a real-time booking platform that allows travelers access to both alternative lodging rentals and traditional hotel accommodation, as well as to other travel services such as airline booking or car rentals.

For more information, visit www.MonakerGroup.com

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OurPet’s Company (OTCQX: OPCO) is proving the adage “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” wrong with its OurPets® Intelligent Pet Care™ line of products. According to the April 2016 issue of industry journal Pet Age, “OurPet’s Company showcased what is perhaps the most complete line of technology-integrated products, Intelligent Pet Care,” at the Global Pet Expo in Orlando, Florida from March 16-18.

“Pets are smarter than you may think, but it’s often difficult for them to clearly communicate their needs,” says Dr. Steve Tsengas, founder and CEO of OurPet’s Company. In other words, for cats and dogs, dumb doesn’t mean stupid. Since they cannot speak, they need help getting our attention. And that is exactly what the OurPets® Intelligent Pet Care™ line of products (http://dtn.fm/1qVBg) is designed to do.

Dr. Tsengas is right. Earlier this year Nature World News reported (http://dtn.fm/5ySP7) on a study of border collies conducted jointly by the London School of Economics (LSE) and the University of Edinburgh which ‘found… dogs have measurable IQs, much like people’. Border collies, used as sheep dogs, are particularly smart. Stanley Coren, a canine expert and professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia, found that the average border collie, poodle or German shepherd was on par with two-year-olds in terms of language. In basic arithmetic, ‘they would trump a 3- or 4-year-old’ (http://dtn.fm/PI9nk).

At the National Pet Industry Trade Show on September 17-18, at the International Centre Mississauga in Canada, Kathleen Homyock, vice president of sales and business development, talked about how OurPets® intelligent technology accessories might ‘talk’ for pets and enable their owners to monitor their health and wellbeing in a presentation titled ‘Technology Translated to Food, Fun and Fitness’ (http://dtn.fm/2qUer).

Homyock’s presentation highlighted the OurPets® Intelligent Pet Care™ line, the industry’s first pet care lifestyle brand that offers a complete line of smart products for monitoring pets’ health. The Intelligent Pet Care™ line leverages a combination of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technologies to empower pets to indicate their needs, enabling a stronger connection between pet and owner for more complete care. The products in the line are controlled and accessed through the IntelligentPetLink™ smartphone app.

The line includes the SmartScoop® – Intelligent Litter Box (http://dtn.fm/UR4xf), which uses infrared technology to sense when your cat goes in and out of the box. It, accordingly, engages a mechanism that scoops the waste into a bin, simultaneously making a report via Bluetooth® to the smartphone app.

A SmartLink™ Tag (http://dtn.fm/j77H1) can be attached to your pet’s collar. When paired with the OurPets® Intelligent Pet Care™ products, it allows monitoring. If your pet is wearing it, the SmartLink™ Waterer- Intelligent Water Fountain (http://dtn.fm/7ROrs) will use Bluetooth® technology to dispense filtered water from its reservoir through a two-tier waterfall design.

The SmartLink™ Feeder – Intelligent Pet Bowl (http://dtn.fm/Dt2ZJ), which employs the same technology, regulates and monitors your pet’s feeding regime. And the SmartLink™ Gateway – Wi-Fi Pet Care Connector (http://dtn.fm/6HiOt) converts a short-range Bluetooth® signal into a long-range Wi-Fi signal so you can monitor your pets’ outside of the home.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.ourpets.com

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Mobile payments are becoming increasingly popular, but there is still a lot of room for improvement, since consumers tend to remain loyal to traditional payment methods and many merchants are still skeptical about accepting this kind of payments. However, this is expected to change as more consumers start relying on their mobile wallets and the overall number of mobile phone users grows to reach an estimated 4.8 billion people by the end of the year.

According to a recent Business Insider Intelligence report (http://dtn.fm/BbD2R), in-store mobile payments in the U.S. alone are expected to reach $75 billion in 2016 and up to $503 billion by 2020, increasing by a compound annual growth rate of 80%. Similarly, the number of U.S. consumers making mobile payments is likely to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 40% to reach 150 million by the end of 2020. This significant growth will be driven by several factors alongside the growing number of mobile phone owners, such as better implementation and access to loyalty programs and coupons and a shift from magnetic strips to mobile wallets. Worldwide, it is expected that roughly 70% of the 4.8 billion mobile phone users will be making mobile payments by the end of 2017, according to a Techcrunch analysis (http://dtn.fm/WwtO9).

While the market is largely dominated by mobile payment solutions offered by Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) or Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), it seems smaller companies that bring innovative technologies to the table and target underserved verticals have a very high chance of successful growth. This is also the case for Singlepoint, Inc. (OTC: SING), a leading provider of mobile technologies and payment solutions, that targets two very promising vertical markets – daily fantasy sports and mobile auctions, while also focusing on the business-to-business aspects of the industry.

More specifically, Singlepoint is committed to providing businesses with another way of accepting payments, via its Pay-by-Text product, which is built around the concept of payment enabled text messages. As opposed to the radio frequency-based identification technology used by most NFC (near field communication) contactless payments, the Pay-by-Text platform is based on short message service technology. With this system, users receive a text message with a link that leads to a mobile landing page where they can do the transaction, Singlepoint CEO Greg Lambrecht explained. This greatly simplifies and streamlines the process because users are taken directly to the payment page, while with other mobile companies or providers of mobile payment solutions, users have to first find and install their apps.

The Pay-by-Text combination of text messages and payments allows merchants to offer simpler mobile payment options to their customers by enabling them to pay from anywhere and at any time. The platform also supports any kind of credit card processing. Singlepoint is currently in the process of leveraging this technology in two niche markets – daily fantasy sports and mobile auctions, markets where the holding company has purchased minority stock recently. The DFS vertical in particular is expected to bring significant value to the company, due to its fast growth rate and the high number of players who use a mobile device to play.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Singlepoint.com

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Earlier today, eXp World Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: EXPI), through wholly-owned subsidiary eXp Realty, announced a partnership with New Story, a charitable organization focused on constructing homes in Haiti and other impoverished areas. Originally highlighted last Friday as part of the company’s third annual convention in San Antonio, Texas, the partnership entailed a challenge for eXp Realty’s agents and brokers to raise $18,000 in order to fund three new homes in Haiti and aid in the ongoing relief of damage caused by both the 2010 earthquake, which claimed nearly 300,000 lives, and Hurricane Matthew, which struck the island nation just last week. According to today’s update, EXPI’s challenge was met within three hours of the announcement, and the company’s agents and brokers have since raised more than $35,000 to fund additional relief projects.

“We are honored and deeply grateful to the eXp Realty community, whose members have immediately demonstrated a great generosity of resources and spirit to help families in need,” Brett Hagler, chief executive officer of New Story, stated in today’s news release. “eXp Realty agents understand that talent is universal but that opportunity is not and they recognize that a home provides the foundation for family, for safety, and for the creation and pursuit of opportunity.”

New Story’s infrastructure costs and salaries are underwritten in full by private partners, allowing the organization to allocate 100 percent of donations directly to people in need. As an added layer of contribution, New Story employs local workers and resources when constructing these homes, providing additional opportunities to residents of the impoverished areas.

To date, New Story has constructed hundreds of homes in Haiti by leveraging a cost-effective building plan that can be completed for roughly $6,000. Despite the low cost, these structures have shown to be extremely resilient. According to New Story, all of the dwellings weathered the impact of Hurricane Matthew without significant damage.

For eXp Realty, the decision to partner with New Story came as the result of a demand among its agents and brokers “to identify and serve a greater purpose as a central component of their businesses,” according to CEO Jason Gesing. The company has been experiencing rapid growth as of late, most recently through its August expansion into the State of Alaska. In total, eXp Realty is currently operational in 41 states; Alberta, Canada; and the District of Columbia, and its family of agents and brokers now includes more than 1,800 members.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.eXpWorldHoldings.com

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