Shopping Center Business is the leading monthly business magazine for the retail real estate industry.
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TECHNOLOGY 324 • SHOPPING CENTER BUSINESS • May 2016 company has additional display and vid- eo sensor technology that can analyze the gender and age of in-store consumers. It can also measure what items these con- sumers interact with, and for how long, before ultimately tracking whether a sale occurs. These kinds of real-time analysis can help a store determine which prod- ucts are most popular with various demo- graphics, as well as where these products should be placed. They can also provide valuable data in terms of where an em- ployee's time is best spent. "The use of heat mapping is starting to provide insight into customer behavior and where the customer congregates," Sigal says. "It allows us as a landlord to understand the value of each area of our center based on the actual amount of traf- fic that frequents each portion of that cen- ter – not to mention at what times. This helps us highlight better opportunities for our retailers to grab those customers." For example, if a certain shopping center quadrant records a high customer count between the hours of 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., and this is an unexpected shopping pattern, Newmark Merrill can take this data to its retailers. This gives the retail- ers the opportunity to redeploy their mar- keting resources to better capture those customers. Though these innovative strategies for keeping customers inside centers may seem seamless, Sigal argues this is not necessarily the case. "The toughest part is getting the right technological back-bone in place," he says. "Most centers weren't designed to have great wireless internet that connects all of the technology. It takes a lot of work to get that right. Secondly, once you have the data, you need to know what to do with it, and that takes a lot of resources." Sigal never said it would be easy, but he believes this technology will eventually be worth it. "Customers are starting to expect interactive experiences and integrated technologies," he continues. "In this cur- rent environment, certain centers will get stronger at the expense of less sophisticat- ed shopping experiences, and technolo- gy will make the difference. Additionally, the proper use of integrated technology will increase the productivity of tenants, which will make them more profitable, which should stabilize tenants and pro- vide opportunities for landlords to raise rents." Technically speaking, that's a strategy every landlord can understand. SCB Timber Development Corp. Timber Development Corp. Is Seeking Existing Shopping Center Acquisitions And New Development Opportunities Nationwide CONTACT: Douglas Bercu 404-421-4949 Michael Timmons 407-830-8863 (Brokers Protected) Timber Development Corp. Offces Orlando Atlanta 407-830-8863 404-421-4949 Timberdev@aol.com dbplaza@bellsouth.net Samsung's video wall systems.