From Amazon two-hour delivery to the closing of U.S. Toys “R” Us stores this summer, it’s clear that the retail landscape and shopping center business is in the midst of a profound transformation. With change can come growing pains and challenges, and also incredible opportunity.
Technology is a broad term, but with its increasing integration into the retail landscape, technology is now one of the dominant driving forces behind this transformation. As the industry shifts, understanding the new paradigm that is today’s customer journey is of paramount importance and nothing has impacted that journey more than technology.
CBL’s collaborative IT space in Chattanooga, where IT team members execute technology initiatives.Applications of technology in retail – including Artificial Intelligence, “smart” fitting rooms and robust consumer analytics – tend to generate the most buzz, but retailers aren’t the only ones getting in the game. Property owners like CBL are also bringing new technologies to improve the customer experience as well as provide retail partners with enhanced information to create a better in-store experience.
Last year, CBL began a partnership with advanced analytics provider RetailNext to gain insights into the customer journey. This technology provides CBL with the same level of insight as traditional e-commerce platforms. Additionally, it provides valuable demographic information, traffic flow patterns, dwell times, loyalty data and more.
This information, combined with data and analytics available from in-center Wi-Fi, can help property owners answer questions like, “Is our tenant mix optimized to the highest level of efficiency?” or “Has the restaurant that just opened positively impacted traffic?” And of utmost importance, “What impact does a department store closure and redevelopment of that space have on overall center traffic, demographics and productivity?”