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Using Artificial Intelligence to Shrewdly Track Retail Foot Traffic
NorCal-based Placer.ai recently launched a platform that allows retail landlords to monitor foot traffic and their patterns, understanding where they came from, where they went after leaving a particular center and much more. By harnessing mobile data from tens of millions of devices, Placer.ai applies the latest in AI, machine learning, and big data analytics to generate accurate insights and behavioral predictions for any location, store, or geographic area.
Connect Media asked Noam Ben-Zvi, CEO & Co-founder of Placer.ai, to share how they developed the platform, and why this information is key to success of a retail center.
Q: How did you come up with this idea?
A: We’re data guys trained to make data-driven decisions. In my previous two startups, I was an App Annie addict. At some point, it dawned on me that the retail industry is lacking similar tools for the physical world, and movement data is the key to truly understanding what’s happening in the real world. The challenge was to build an easy-to-use tool, that provides accurate, dependable and actionable insights that could lead to data-driven decision-making for the entire retail economy. That was an exciting challenge, two years in the making.
Q: What are the key features of the platform?
A: Placer.ai is the world’s most advanced foot traffic analytics platform, allowing anyone in the retail industry to instantly generate insights into any physical place for a deeper understanding of audiences and competition. Placer.ai enables its customers to make data-driven decisions based on precise human movement analytics.
Q: What impact will this technology have on the retail real estate industry?
A: This technology is going to completely change how real estate professionals do business and make decisions. Up until now, they’ve only had access to inaccurate, generalized data. These professionals now have access to valuable data as it pertains to their properties and their competitors. For the first time, it’s possible to know where customers work, reside, and frequent with specificity. Ultimately, these insights help create compelling stories to drive leasing interest, analyze new acquisitions, add property management value to tenants, and focus marketing efforts.
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