Indoor Navigation and Location-Based Services in Retail

A smartphone app for shopping center visitors can be equipped with many useful features to optimize the shopping experience for customers.

Indoor Navigation
A digital building map of the shopping centre can be accessed in a smartphone app. Important destinations (points of interest) can be searched and selected in the map. With just a few clicks a direct turn-by-turn navigation to shops, restaurants, toilets or the parking lot can be started. In addition, information such as opening hours or restaurant menus can be stored in the app. In order to enable such client-based positioning, Bluetooth Low Energy beacons are attached to walls or ceilings throughout the building. These beacons transmit signals which are received by the smartphones and based on the signal strength the position is determined directly on the phone.

Location-Based Marketing
If an app is installed and the smartphone's Bluetooth function is activated, customers can receive location-relevant push notifications directly on their mobile device. These can be, for example, discount coupons for a specific business or information about upcoming events. To make this possible, Bluetooth Low Energy Beacons are installed at the entrance or in the immediate vicinity of a store. The signals emitted by the beacons are received by a smartphone and it is recognized that the customer is nearby. A message is then automatically sent to the phone.
Use Case: Mobile Services for the Christmas Sales

In large shopping centers, customers have access to countless parking spaces and multi-storey car parks. However, it is not always easy to keep track of the parking situation and find the way back to the parked car. The solutions from infsoft help your customers to find the best parking space available - depending on the current occupancy rate.

Parking Management
Especially at the weekends, the car parks of shopping centres are full and there are only a few vacant spaces available. Sensors help to identify vacant parking spaces. With the help of an app, customers can quickly find an available parking space and have the directions displayed in the app. Long searches are avoided and customers arrive at their destination without any stress. In addition, customers can save the parking space in the app and be navigated back to their car later.
Use Case: Intelligent Car Parking Management

Indoor tracking can help operators to increase security in the mall and collect data for relevant analysis. Based on this data, a wide range of optimization potentials and recommendations for action can be identified.

Kid Finder
When children wear a beacon bracelet during their stay in the shopping center, they can be tracked and their position can be checked at any time by the parents and operators of the shopping center. In this way, when children get lost, they can be found and reunited with their parents as quickly as possible, minimizing the worries and stress of the situation.
Use Case: Indoor Navigation and Persons Tracking in the Shopping Mall

Analysis of visitor behavior
By tracking the movements of customers during their shopping, important insights into habits and shopping behavior can be gained. In concrete terms, the data shows, for example, which areas are more heavily and less heavily frequented. On the basis of this information, the design of the shopping center or store and the placement of products can be optimized. The positioning can be carried out by using the Bluetooth function of smartphones.
Use Case: Analysis of Consumer Behavior in a Supermarket

Asset Tracking
Likewise, goods, tools and vehicles can be tracked on the premises. Geofencing can be used to implement a reliable anti-theft system. As soon as a tracked object leaves a predefined area, a warning is automatically sent to the responsible security personnel. To make this possible, the assets are equipped with transmitter hardware (e.g. beacons) and receiver hardware (infsoft Locator Nodes) is installed in the shopping centre.