Mall owners under pressure to keep a hi-tech eye on shoppers
Falling sales put Hong Kong's mall operators under pressure to enlist satellite-tracking technology to judge which stores attract most traffic
Hong Kong's mall operators are under pressure to use satellite-tracking technology to help boost traffic and rent revenue.
Getting shoppers through the door is crucial for landlords who charge premium prices for the best locations in malls, and tracking data could be a powerful tool when deciding on the best tenant mix.
Property consultants say Hong Kong landlords are not making much use of such aggregated data on shopper activity, but this is set to change as they seek to maximise rent revenues in the face of slowing retail sales.
[We will] keep an eye on how technology may be integrated with the mall
When a smartphone user accessed the internet, the network operator could keep tabs on his or her exact location, and what websites they were viewing, explained Jonathan Ellis, chief executive of TheTMSWay, a software company that helps clients connect with consumers using their mobile devices.
This ability to track the movement of shoppers through their mall could provide a new way for owners to judge which storefronts attracted the most foot traffic, said Joe Lin, senior director of retail services at property consultancy CBRE. This data could help them decide on tenant mixes that could boost rental incomes.
Hong Kong's retail sales grew just 5.7 per cent year-on-year in December, an especially poor performance for the peak Christmas shopping period. Growth is expected to slow this year.
The prerequisite for landlords is that they must allow free wireless access to the internet.
Big mall operators such as Pacific Place and IFC already do, and the technology is gradually being adopted elsewhere by retailers facing an erosion of their revenue from online shopping.