Footprints AI and INGKA: Driving Increased Efficiency and Profitability

CASE STUDY SUMMARY

INGKA, the real estate company that manages IKEA's shopping centers, was looking to improve the efficiency of its marketing campaigns and gain valuable insights into customer behavior. It partnered with Footprints AI, a data science and artificial intelligence platform, to carry out a three-month pilot project to monitor, analyze, and report on the performance data of two of its shopping centers: Älmhults Handelsplats and MEGA Khimki.

INGKA operates shopping centers worldwide and faces numerous business challenges in 2023. Economic instability, competition, technological disruption, and sustainability concerns are among the most significant challenges INGKA faces. Footprints AI, a leading provider of AI-based solutions, partnered with INGKA to leverage its data science expertise and AI capabilities to generate valuable insights and improve business outcomes.

Footprints AI provides near-real-time, historical, and predictive insights, enabling INGKA to make effective, informed decisions. The technology monitors, analyzes, reports on, and coordinates INGKA's performance data for each individual center in its portfolio, predicting visitor behavior both within and around the digital catchment area. This improves the ability to identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions, leading to greater efficiency and profitability.

THE OBJECTIVES

The pilot project ran for three months and involved using Footprints AI's indoor customer behavior data and AI technology to analyze the shopping center's digital ecosystem. The data collected included foot traffic patterns, in-store engagement, search patterns, customer demographics, and purchase history, which were then used to design targeted marketing campaigns. The goal was to provide insights into customers' behavior, preferences, and shopping habits in order to increase the shopping center's efficiency and profitability.

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Online behavior: Footprints AI's technology can identify various consumer segments based on their online behavior and target them with relevant advertising campaigns for furniture and home goods.
Offline behavior — indoor: Footprints' AI technology can identify consumer segments based on their behavior within the shopping centers.

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CHANNELS

Shopping center Wi-Fi – Website – Mobile app – Indoor Wi-Fi tracking – Search media – Social media

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THE APPROACH

Footprints AI leveraged its data science expertise and AI technology to analyze the digital ecosystems of INGKA's shopping centers, including foot traffic patterns, in-store engagement, search patterns, customer demographics, and purchase history. This information was used to create a near-real-time, historical, and predictive "single point of truth," providing valuable insights into visitor behavior both within and around the digital catchment area.

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Footprints AI used a combination of indoor customer behavior data and AI technology to analyze the shopping center's digital ecosystem. This data was then used to predict which people in the shopping center's digital catchment area were most likely to visit and to purchase specific product categories, with accuracy down to the hour. The generated insights were used to design targeted marketing campaigns, resulting in increased foot traffic and sales.

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RESULTS

Overall, Footprints AI's technology proved to be a valuable tool for INGKA, providing valuable insights and solutions to address the business challenges and opportunities they face in 2023. These unique and actionable insights would later be used by INGKA's business teams to improve several key aspects of the business.

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Greater visitor engagement: Our technology was able to track and analyze visitor behavior both online and in-store, allowing INGKA to run targeted advertising campaigns that resonated more with each individual visitor, resulting in greater visitor engagement and increased sales.
Increased customer traffic: By leveraging geolocation data, Footprints AI was able to predict which people were most likely to visit the shopping centers and target them with personalized advertising campaigns, resulting in increased customer traffic.
Increased market share: By using Footprints AI's technology to identify and target specific audience segments, INGKA could increase its share of the furniture and home appliance market, outperforming the competition.
Greater efficiency and profitability: By using Footprints AI's real-time, historical, and predictive "Single Point of Truth," INGKA could make informed, data-driven decisions leading to greater efficiency and profitability.
Greater sustainability: By identifying and targeting people interested in sustainability and ethical sourcing, INGKA could offer them environmentally friendly products and solutions, thereby advancing its ESG goals.

THE RESULTS

The pilot project delivered remarkable results in terms of predictive accuracy and marketing precision. With a 30-day forecasting capability, INGKA's Footprints AI technology achieved a striking 90% accuracy rate and hour-level precision in identifying potential shoppers. This enabled INGKA to effectively target its marketing campaigns and drive results. The technology's impact has been quantifiable, with a potential 50% improvement in marketing campaign precision and a substantial increase in marketing return on investment, rising from an average of 5% to a notable 12.3% in the short term. These results demonstrate the immense potential of Footprints AI technology to transform INGKA's marketing efforts and drive business growth.

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