Sunday 12 January 2014

Tracking Customer Flow At QVM

QVM is a wonderful combination of streets, laneways, halls, sheds, open areas, shops and eating malls. One of its main attractions is the jumbled jigsaw of old traditional buildings interlaced with new structures, but understanding how customers move around, and why, is very difficult to assess.

What are the most popular areas for our customers? Where do they enter the market? What routes do they use? What encourages them to linger? Do they come by car or public transport? What impact do special events have? Do customers really do the “S” walk in the top end sheds? Do food customers also shop in the Specialty sheds?

There are many questions to be asked and technology may have the answers. Three of our QVMAC traders recently attended a presentation about how mobile phone signals could be used to identify how customers move around our market. Imagine dots on a screen that represent customers as they shop. Watching those dots, and where they go at various times of day, from various entry points, and in response to various events, could help us respond to customers in a better way. The data doesn't identify the customers in any way but it does tell us about movement.

Imagine if we could track customers in String Bean Alley for instance and not only accurately count them but assess the impact of introducing things like food vans on a Sunday. Or we had a cooking event or fashion parade in Queen St. and were able to determine how many people attended and what they did after the event. There are plenty of options for better understanding our customers, whether we are meeting their needs, and how we can make the most of their spending power. We will keep you informed of any developments in this technology.

COMMENTS:
13/01/2014 10:11:32 Counters  "Great idea bring it on. May cut out all the BS"  John