MobileScapes is the most comprehensive and up-to-date mobile movement database for marketing, planning, and business applications in Canada. These data, linked to Environics Analytics' demographic, segmentation, financial, behavioural, and psychographic consumer information, provide timely insights into the ongoing changes in the movement and behaviour of Canadians. Within ENVISION, users can define a geofence of interest or select one of over 100,000 pre-defined geofences from our Geofence Library. The MobileScapes database is updated every 10 days.
Our data sources provide mobile movement data that is de-identified (removing any personally identifiable information to prevent re-identification), and received via permission-based, location-enabled apps. The mobile movement data are combined with cellular network data for trend analysis. They are then used as inputs to models that normalize and weight to the general population by using best practices, external controls, and advanced modelling techniques. The models combine these summarized and de-identified movement data with other EA databases to create aggregated estimates of movement patterns.
MobileScapes offers several options to access the mobile movement data. MobileScapes Plus offers mobile movement data via APIs which can be used to configure and automate standard delivery of daily, weekly or monthly data extracts. For ENVISION users, MobileScapes ENVISION provides data extract tools and trend report tools for analyzing mobile movement data through the lens of Environics Analytics databases, such as DemoStats opens in new window and PRIZM opens in new window .
What's New?
Our new MobileScapes data represents a substantial improvement from the previous version. For the first time anywhere, EA data scientists have successfully combined high-precision consent-based mobile app location data with geo-location data from phones on the cellular network, which is also consent-based. By combining the two sources we expand by over 20 times the number of observations underlying the estimation process, thus improving the accuracy of our foot traffic estimates through:
- Better coverage and representativity
- Less volatility
- Enhanced reflection of seasonal trends
After a thorough evaluation, we excluded pre-2021 data from our new MobileScapes database to ensure product stability, data reliability and comparability. Going forward, we will only carry data for the current year and the three preceding years. For example, for the 2024 release and the remaining weekly updates this year, we will retain data from January 2021 through 2024. In 2025, we will retain data from January 2022 through 2025.
Due to the application of more stringent Privacy by Design restrictions, we can no longer release estimates of Residents’ and Workers’ visits. Therefore, these variables will be removed.
MobileScapes
MobileScapesBelow you will find additional resources for reference: release notes, variables list, FAQs, and glossary.