MasterCard has decided to expand into online retailing, so it’s opened a store that’s sort of Amazon lite. Well, Amazon several design iterations ago. Actually the site looks like one of those themed mini-stores eBay keeps promoting these days, but the merchandise is all new and tailored to your shopping patterns. And by “tailored,” I mean that the card issuer is using special customer behavior software to predict the things you’re most likely to buy, which it then shows to you.

A third-party company called Next Jump provides the behavioral targeting service, which the New York Times says is already in use on Yahoo’s shopping site and on an earlier MasterCard rewards site. Be prepared to guard your credit card closely if you check it out; Next Jump says its software is accurate enough to convert 1 out of every 11 browsers into buyers.

“MasterCard Set to Open an Online Shopping Mall” [New York Times]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.