Esri Releases Advanced Analytics to Increase Retail Sales

Redlands, California—January 17, 2017—Esri, the global leader in spatial analytics technology, today announced a partnership with GISinc to analyze customer behavior to help retailers increase sales.

Esri will integrate its cutting-edge spatial analytics platform with GISinc's indoor mapping capabilities to analyze data collected by sensor-enabled overhead smart lighting systems and from opt-in mobile data from customer phones. The solution will enable retailers to track behaviors, using information including customer locations inside the store and items selected for purchase. The store can then tap into such data to improve customer assistance and position merchandise in the places most likely to attract purchases.

"Analyzing customer choices and mapping go hand in hand," said Sonny Beech, Internet of Things (IoT) business development manager at GISinc. "Why a person bought something where they did is an example of spatial data. Using ArcGIS analytics, we can enable retailers to make more strategic decisions about where to place merchandise and in-store marketing materials."

With more than two-thirds of consumers using smartphones while shopping in brick-and-mortar stores, retailers have to deliver more relevant experiences by becoming more precise in how they interact with shoppers. In-store location technologies provide opportunities for retailers to increase touch points in the aisle and on the shelf by delivering messaging and services in real time based on a customer's location in the store. Studies show that the spatial customer behavior analysis Esri provides can boost the probability of purchase by up to 70 percent and increase basket size by up to 60 percent for smartphone-enabled shoppers.

"Esri enables retailers to access vast amounts of customer information while allowing the customers themselves to take advantage of advanced analytics," said Gary Sankary, retail industry manager at Esri. "With the widespread use of smartphones during in-store shopping, indoor mapping provides businesses with a tool to understand shopper behavior and improve sales accordingly."

Indoor-mapping initiatives and smart lighting systems, like other IoT implementations, have become more affordable and accessible—in fact, much of the technology can be integrated directly into the infrastructure of a brick-and-mortar store. Customers benefit by downloading mobile apps and opting in to shared-data environments that make the shopping experience more efficient and enjoyable.

Join Esri, GISinc, and Microsoft in New York City at the National Retail Federation's Annual Convention & EXPO, to be held January 15–17, 2017.