The smallest smart city. What shopping centres can learn from the internet of things.

Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino alex@designswarm.com @iotwatch on twitter/insta

First UK distributor of Arduino, a cheap electronics prototyping tool. #iot strategic consultant at designswarm. Founder of Good Night Lamp. Organiser of the London Internet of Things meetup since 2011. Writing a book on smart homes. Steering a certification mark for connected products.

My background

Work done for M&S in 2009. A strategic report on the internet of things for a global FMCG company with retail presence in 2015. A landscape report on Smart Cities for Nominet in 2016.

What I will draw on today

Shopping centres are porous

Shopping centres are porous

Sometimes they aren’t called shopping centres at all

Their format also varies depending on location & retail culture

Strip malls Malls

Markets Pop-up malls

Which means that the potential for technology varies too. The focus of technology will vary. The impact of technology will vary. But none of this can happen without data. And soon with GDPR, none of this can happen without consent.

So let’s talk about tracking.

Tracking activity Wifi triangulation for discounts or security. Sort of location tracking but depends on the devices used.

Tracking activity Bluetooth triangulation. Better location tracking but relies on an open bluetooth connection and an app opened.

Tracking activity Eye tracking. Requires cameras close enough to see the eye movement or augmented glasses.

Tracking activity Smart shelving units for luxury goods. Weight sensors under each shelf to help security services at Macy’s.

Tracking activity Gender. Looking at gait analysis to ascertain gender.

However…

Challenges ahead Young people don’t like malls & prefer shopping online.

Challenges ahead How to overcome this?

In-store customer feedback. HappyorNot at airports. Dynamic feedback on customer experience.

Air quality monitoring. Air Quality Egg Showing the benefits of your closed and controlled environment.

Usage of collective spaces. Condeco sensors Track the use of seating.

City farming CityCrop, Botanicalls, & vegetable boxes. Letting school children and older people micro-farm on your property, letting them keep track of the soil conditions remotely.

Traffic management & creation Help people identify events or quiet areas. Give them decent indoor mapping, work with Mapzen or Google directly. Your app is problably the first thing they will use.

Loyalty Help shoppers get discounts based on location and frequency of visits. The airline points model based on Facebook checkins for eg..

Loyalty A ‘personal data’ space that lets them automate searches with dynamic stock checking across multiple vendors according to their measurements, budget or preferences. Mobile notifications & RFID cards are cheap.

To conclude Make use of your physical space to offer convenience, not only data harvesting. Make use of your physical spaces to invite interactions that are unusual but will attract new audiences. Be transparent to shoppers about what is going on, you’ll be able to ask more of them. Otherwise you risk bad PR. Treat your shopping centre as if you were a small city, with citizens in it.

‘Innovative malls are incorporating value-added elements that attempt to recast the mall as the new downtown, including concerts, arts centers, spas, fitness clubs, and farmer’s markets. These services provide a level of leisure and entertainment that can never be satisfied online.’

Takk for alt! Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino alex@designswarm.com