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This post discusses types of Location-Based Services (LBS) and gives readers an overview of various contemporary application which uses this technology for running successful enterprises.

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25 posts!

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Retail #Technology for Superior #Shopping #Experience

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#retailtechnology #Assettracking #Geofencing #workforcecollaboration #proximitymarketing #indoorspacemanagement  #retailspaces #retailanalytics

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In today’s rapidly evolving business climate, technology makes a huge impact on the way business enterprises manage operations. Indoor wayfinding apps are much more than just wayfinding and navigation platforms, they are a package of features for enterprises spread over a large area.

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Retail Technology: How Retail Spaces Can Thrive By Deploying The Right Application

Over the past two decades, retail spaces have been facing daunting challenges from e-commerce technology as it allows users to shop from any location as soon as they connect to the internet. While e-commerce sites have significantly driven their market share northwards, the impact they have on the shopping experience as a whole is still debatable.

On the other hand, retail spaces, despite facing a slump in visitor count, can offer a corporeal shopping experience which screen-mediated online spaces cannot match. However, to ensure a superior shopping experience for customers, it is vital to deploy the right technology at the retail facility.

Challenges @ Retail Spaces

In his book Retail Therapy: Why the Retail Industry Is Broken – and What Can Be Done to Fix It, Mark Pilkington presents powerful analyses of the ills facing the retail industry and offers suggestions to cure the malaise. He suggests adapting to the rapidly shifting market scenarios, where user-friendly technological innovations are the ones drawing more business.

A few decades ago, before the growth and emergence of e-commerce sites, shopping malls were high on the popularity index of shoppers during weekends and holiday seasons. A huge mall provided an escape from the ordeals of a tiring daily routine: people went shopping, eat & drink, play games, participate in events, and stroll around for hours window shopping.

This mosaic shopping mall experience in itself was quite memorable, considering its absorption and usage across popular culture trends. The 90s mall culture left quite an impression on personal memories as much as on cash counters. With the curve in time gradually favoring a decentralized shopping experience mediated by smart screens, the spectacle presented by retail spaces wasn’t as enamoring for prospective buyers as earlier.

On the rivalry between physical shopping v/s online shopping Pilkington states that ‘right now, the advantages of the two rivals are somewhat even. E-commerce has the five ‘Cs’ – cost, convenience, choice, control and customer relationships. But retail still has the human factor, the physical product experience and the immediacy of delivery.’

Retail Technology for Superior Shopping Experience

So, what is retail technology? Isn’t an online shopping site an application of retail technology? Well, though there may seem an apparent correlation between retail technology and online shopping, the reality is far from it.

Retail technology refers to the ambit of tools/applications which can be deployed at retail spaces to enhance the shopping experience for visitors. For instance, moving walkways are a conveyor technology aimed at reducing the arduous journey from one point to another in a gigantic retail space.

Similarly, Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras are one form of surveillance technologies deployed for enhancing safety & security of occupants while keeping track of assets within the facility.

More recently, Sam’s Club introduced scan-and-go checkout, wayfinding technology and electronic shelf labels in its Dallas store. This move, as seen by industry experts, could well be Walmart’sforay into adopting new technologies to take on Amazon. In this duel, the shopper emerges as the winner as new tech focuses on creating a superior shopping experience.

Retail Technology in the Future – Indoor Navigation & Proximity Marketing

The latest addition to the ever-expanding list of retail technologies is the indoor positioning and indoor navigation disruption. In the US, retail stores have already deployed beacons across the facility to notify offers to people based on their location in the store. Macy’s, Timberland, Lord & Taylor, Urban Outfitters, and many other big brands have used beacon technology to enhance the shopping experience.

In addition to beacons, retail spaces can also use WiFi or Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies to navigate indoors, mark their route, and reach points of interest effortlessly. All three technologies assure blue-dot navigation and high location accuracy.

While there are various types of indoor positioning systems, the size and operational level of the retail facility will have the ultimate say on which system would best suit their venue. Using this futuristic technology, shopping malls can execute marketing goals based on data received from the behavior analytics of shoppers while at the facility.

Proximity Marketing

The process of notifying prospective customers on their Smartphones about latest offers & deals, when they are on a specific floor or section of the facility, is known as proximity marketing. Based on Geolocation technology, store owners can use an application interface to interact with prospective customers through messages and pitch their product/service.

The future of retail lies heavily on adopting a flexible tech platform which can work efficiently for facility management, marketing gamification, asset tracking, location-based services, and staff collaboration.

Source https://pigeon.srisys.com/blog/right-technology-for-retail-spaces

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Proximity Marketing: Its Application & Benefits for Shopping Malls & Retail Sector

In order to increase their organization’s bottom line, business heads at shopping malls need data that can generate information about their customers, both one-time and recurring. Information such as shopping likes & dislikes, time spent at a particular store, and engagement with other recreational zones among others when gathered can then be used for planning an effective proximity marketing strategy.

What is Proximity Marketing?

Proximity marketing, the new wave for large facilities like shopping mall helps communicate with their customers in real-time while personalizing notifications right to their Smartphones. It is a system that uses technology to directly communicate with customers via adaptable devices. This is the modern way of targeting the visitors and the best part of it is that it engages them as well.

Isn’t that great news for large facility owners like shopping malls and the retail sector in general?

How Does Proximity Marketing Technology Work?

First of all, we need to understand the fact that this feature at shopping malls can be enabled with an indoor positioning platform only.

Once integrated into a Smartphone app, proximity marketing works to fine-tune the approach of the facility to improve customer experience and engagement.

How does proximity marketing work? 1. Firstly, beacon technology is deployed within the facility, within the range of the store. 2. Bluetooth enabled Smartphones to detect these signals and send the ID number attached to these signals to the cloud server. 3. Now with the help of this ID number, the server responds accordingly and sends notifications to the respective customer in the form of discounts, new products, feedback, or even greetings.

Hence, proximity marketing works best for both entities, the customers and the management. This survey has more details.

Proximity Marketing with Beacons – The Fifth ‘P’ for Shopping Malls

A renowned marketing professor Edmund Jerome McCarthy from America in his book titled Basic Marketing proposed this concept of 4Ps of marketing in the 1960s. The 4Ps being Price, Promotion, Product, and Place, the basic marketing mix.

Today, with rapidly growing market trends and indecisive customers, the need for the fifth P has evolved and, therefore, Proximity Marketing. Visitors in shopping malls are looking out for something that can notify them with exclusive offers even before they explore the store.

Here it is then, with proximity marketing with beacons, shopping malls can target their customers based on their previous interactions, and make them avail discounts, made exclusively for them.

Proximity marketing with beacons becomes very important in order to seek the attention of the digitalized masses of the 21st century.

Additional Benefits of Proximity Marketing Solutions

Apart from notifications, enhanced customer experience, and customer personalization, it can offer benefits such as:

• Customer Engagement – It is already an observed fact that more than 75% of customers have associated themselves with a Smartphone app to avail the benefits of proximity marketing while they are shopping.

• Customer Insight – To know what your customer is looking out for is impossible but with proximity marketing, the entire purchase map of your customers can be gathered at the end of the day and, henceforth, you can drive your consumers in their future visits.

• Hyper Customer Personalization – Based on the data you gather on each customer, the mall heads can hyper customize the selected customers with much higher discounts as a token of gratitude. This will certainly double the visitor engagement.

• Higher Conversion Rate – The fact that your interaction within the facility is recorded and customized, the consumers are by nature motivated to buy. Therefore the conversion rate of engaging will convert to buying.

• Mass Personalization – Multiple customers at once can be personalized with each one’s data scrutinized digitally to avoid any form of miscommunication or confusion.

The leading retailing businesses across the world like McDonald’s, IKEA, Amazon Go Store, etc. have already integrated proximity marketing within their businesses and have improved their bottom line.

Proximity Marketing Will Create a Win-Win Situation in Shopping Malls

Looking forward to the near future, retail industries like shopping malls will use this technology to collect critical visitor behavior data and allow them to engage them in a better way which eventually will result in a healthy RoI.

However, proximity marketing is not confined to beacon technology alone. Depending on the facility and the services it demands, marketers will have to pick the relevant one and break the gap between online and offline customers to reach out to larger visitor segments.

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Top 10 Benefits of Indoor Navigation [Navigation Solution For Enterprises]

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Why is Pigeon the Optimal Indoor Positioning System? Top 5 Benefits of this Indoor Navigation Solution

Large facilities such as corporate campuses, conventional centers, healthcare facilities, and amusement spaces such as zoo parks and resorts need a robust indoor positioning system for real-time facility management and enhanced visitor experience.

The Pigeon positioning and navigational platform is a 360-degree indoor navigation solution which provides numerous benefits.

    Here are the top 5 benefits:

 Indoor Navigation Solution

Indoor navigation and wayfinding in large facilities can become effortless by adopting the right navigation solution. Pigeon uses existing WiFi of the facility or integrates beacons wherever necessary to facilitate step-by-step navigation relayed on users' Smartphones or tablets.

Indoor navigation can be an immense asset in healthcare centers, shopping malls, warehouses, or convention centers. Pigeon's breezy interface and accuracy make navigation easy and precise.

Geofencing

Large industrial parks, government facilities and transportation hubs among other facilities spread over a large tract of land need to employ a virtual boundary as well in order to keep track on inward and outward movement.

Pigeon's Geolocation technology makes it possible for facility administrators to employ geofencing, which makes it possible to locate devices within this virtual perimeter.

Proximity Marketing

Proximity marketing is the latest phenomenon aimed at increasing customer engagement along the purchase journey and beyond. Pigeon makes it easy to incorporate videos, text and graphics to inform your customers of latest offers and rewards.

Shopping malls, resorts and amusement parks, and trade events/conventions can use this feature to increase footfall at their store inside the facility. Entrepreneurs can even create virtual stamping mechanism for visitors to redeem points/rewards when they are within the facility.

 Location Based Services

Pigeon’s technology allows for Location Based Services (LBS) to ensure users are updated with latest information on the facility and resources. Pigeon’s notifications feature is used to relay information based on user location within the facility.

  Healthcare centers, transportation hubs, sports stadiums, zoo parks, etc. tend to benefit immensely from this feature. Push notifications, safety alerts, navigational bookmarks are some of the applications Pigeon's LBS offer.

 Indoor Location Tracking

Pigeon’s Geolocation tracking technology facilitates accurate detection & monitoring of movable and immovable assets within the venue.

 International trade expos and conventions benefit from Pigeon’s location tracking option for reticulate event management.

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Bigger the indoor facility, bigger the problem it becomes for visitors in navigation, wayfinding and location tracking within the venue. From the facility managements’ perspective, the challenges get even more daunting because they need to identify and address on a real-time basis.

State-Of-The-Art technology such as an indoor navigation system is gaining acceptance steadily over the last few years amongst large facilities like healthcare centers, educational campuses, corporate offices, recreational spaces, and zoo parks among others.

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Benefits of Indoor Navigation Technology

Indoor navigation technology has evolved with time in relation to the way visitors perceive large facilities. There was a phase when visitors had a tough time identifying their points of interests within large venue such as shopping malls, convention centers, museums, resorts, etc.

Wayfinding without indoor navigation system in large tracts of area is so challenging that most visitors give up exploring the venue and get back home when they haven't planned their day better.

Facilities spread over several acres need the right technology to enhance operational performance through real-time tracking, indoor navigation and utilization of facility for enhanced facility management.

By opting for a comprehensive indoor navigation system, managements can empower their visitors with effortless navigation.

Key Benefits of an Indoor Navigation System

ü  Precise Indoor Navigation and Wayfinding

ü  Asset Tracking

ü  Marketing Integration

ü  Hoteling and Reservation

ü  Emergency Management

ü  Feature-level Customization

ü  Location Bookmarking

Managing a large venue such as a Zoo, shopping mall, aquarium, or a museum takes a lot of physical and mental pressure. With latest navigation technology like Pigeon app, the administrators of such facilities can ensure more visitors to their venue and engage them optimally as well.

Pigeon positioning and navigation solution is derived from Geo-location technology.

Check the Additional Features of Pigeon

      Share your location

      Visitors in the facility can fix an appropriate meeting point for multiple people as well

      Facility heads can use push notifications and location based alerts and send them to niche visitors for effective business

      Real-time wayfinding

      Vital alerts related to safety and security of the users will be sent on a real-time basis

      Inventory & asset tracking

The blend of these features separates the Pigeon app from the rest and  allows visitors at large facilities channelize their journey without any external help. Pigeon indoor navigation technology has everything that can combat the challenges faced by the visitors on a constant basis.

Pigeon's outdoor to an indoor location mapping app can also track the user analytics and behavioral data of the visitors to help management to come up with effective strategies for future visits. Also, Pigeon is an easy to use application with precise data and it is the ideal technology for all businesses that deal with large facilities and manage huge crowds.

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Top 10 Benefits of Indoor Navigation [Navigation Solution For Enterprises]

Bigger the indoor facility, bigger the problem it becomes for visitors in navigation, wayfinding and location tracking within the venue. From the facility managements’ perspective, the challenges get even more daunting because they need to identify and address a real-time basis.

A state-of-the-art technology such as an indoor navigation system is gaining acceptance steadily over the last few years amongst large facilities like healthcare centers, educational campuses, corporate offices, recreational spaces, and zoo parks among others. As an indoor navigation

Navigation Solution

In contemporary times, we’ve seen the emergence and growth of large facilities catering to various human habitations. Airports, shopping malls, corporate campuses, medical facilities, etc. have evolved immensely in terms of both size and scale, making the adoption of navigation solutions an imperative decision.

Recent survey on indoor positioning and navigation system speaks about the pronounced growth of 30% by the end of 2022; read this for more information. The research paper also speaks about how large venues to market has been segmented into the categories of type, verticals, technology, and applications.

10 Best Benefits of Navigation Application

The digital world is revolutionizing large facilities through automated services for aiding in facility management including indoor space management. Similarly, indoor navigation applications are doing the same in facilities such as shopping malls, warehouses, resorts, theme parks, etc.

1. Smartphone Tech Indoor navigation technology or an indoor navigation service is built for Smartphones as the quantum of people using these devices are growing steadily on a daily basis. Anything mobile-based is easily assimilated by the generation populace into their daily routines.

This is the major benefit of an indoor navigation solution. This survey elucidates how Smartphone technology has positively impacted patients’ health and the patient-clinician relationship in health care centers.

2. Real-time Mapping

Real-time mapping can effortlessly make the visitors reach any location inside the facility within a stipulated time. Also, this feature affects the productivity of the facility in the long run. Imagine having real-time information on several aspects such as whether a specific area within the facility is occupied or not? All that on your Smartphone screen. Isn’t that a lot of time-saving? And time saved is time invested in other facility interactions!

3. Indoor Wayfinding

According to a leading research firm, the global forecast for indoor wayfinding technology which accounted for USD 5.2 billion in 2016 will grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) by 42% and reach USD 40.99 billion by 2022. This speaks volumes about how indoor wayfinding is going to be the epitome of indoor navigation technology in large facilities.

4. Indoor Space Management

In semi-indoor facilities such as resorts and theme parks, keeping track of movable and immovable assets need real-time tracking updates. Using Wi-Fi, UWB, RFID or Beacons facility heads can locate and track itemized assets, aiding in optimal facility management. Also, hoteling and reservation takes place effortlessly with the help of indoor space management.

5. Asset Tracking

An indoor navigation system helps to locate assets such as objects, areas of interest, and people inside a facility by tapping indoor frequencies from radio waves, acoustic signals, magnetic fields, and other sensory information which can be transferred and collected easily using a Smartphone.

6. Indoor Location Tracking

Indoor navigation system through beacon technology results in identifying the exact location of a person or an asset within the facility. Beacon technology is possible through Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology, for transmitting signals and identifying the information as well. A Smartphone with the indoor location tracking app can detect signals and helps in tracking assets as well.

7. Events Scheduling & Management

Visitors who visit resorts, theme parks and recreational parks for food, fun and relaxation need proper guidance while at the venue. A couple of previous instances prove that the visitors did not notice parallel events happening while at the venue and missed on them. With proper indoor space management using indoor navigation technology, all events will be sent as push notifications and the visitors will never miss any event and regret later on.

8. Location Based Services

The evolution and spread of Smartphones is undoubtedly one of the most remarkable developments in information and communication technologies in the recent past. Within the various applications of Smartphone platforms, location-based services are predominant as they primarily function via indoor space management and indoor location tracking for various large venues helping multiple applications connect with users on a real-time basis.

9. Analytics

With indoor navigation app within the venue, all forms of interactions that take place between visitors and the management will be digitally recorded and will be used for future visits and to have a relook at the existing services, offers and all that association that takes place between the visitor and the management.

10. Safety Alerts

A recent story published in the New York Times says that safety in large venues such as amusement parks, resorts, and theme parks has been lacking. Due to the lack of an indoor navigation system that has additional benefits like safety alerts and notifications, the safety of the visitors is certain. The visitors on a real-time basis will be sent notifications directly to their Smartphones, enabling them to take the necessary steps to evade trouble.

Source https://pigeon.srisys.com/blog/top-10-benefits-of-indoor-navigation

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We are accustomed to using mobile applications in outdoors such as Google maps which are embedded with features such as positioning yourself, showing genuine routes and reaching destinations effortlessly but the same is not easily accommodated indoors due to lack of applications designed for indoor facilities.

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One Application for 360-degree Management of Aquariums

Aquariums fill people with a sense of awe and wonder. All age groups of people from very young to the elderly visit aquariums to learn about marine life and immerse themselves in the thrills these spaces offer. Big Aquariums such as the Georgia Aquarium, Dubai Mall Aquarium, and others are host to thousands of visitors every month. A smartphone application to manage visitor experience better can be seen as a shot in the arm for the aquariums industry.

While the experience of witnessing aquatic life is in itself rejuvenating, how does aquarium management ensure superior visitor experience and seamless infrastructure management?

There are quite a few instances where-in visitors leave the venue disappointed as they could not cover all the attractions or may have missed their favorite ride as they did not know its exact location. To ensure aquarium management enhances the visitor experience, using the right technology becomes a vital cog in the wheel. The Pigeon positioning and navigation platform help aquariums with multiple benefits with the aim of improving guests’ experience of the facility.

With exclusive features such as indoor wayfinding, pre-planned routing, location-based notifications and alerts, and emergency management among others, Pigeon helps in 360-degree management of aquariums at the tip of your finger!

Why You Need Pigeon?

Wayfinding is a herculean task in a venue which is geographically large in both infrastructure and population. With a constant increase in the number of visitors, it is the responsibility of the management to ensure hassle-free navigation and location of various attractions to visitors.

In addition to indoor navigation, registering for and attending events by visitors at the aquarium is also a complex task unless meticulously planned and executed.

Aquariums’ management can look at the Pigeon platform as a viable technology which can aid in a variety of ways. Helping visitors chalk out a route within the venue, directing them to recreational and refreshment zones, notifying them with useful safety information, alerting them with the latest offers specific to rides, etc. are some of the benefits Pigeon offers. Pigeon allows you to transform the way visitors experience your facility and gives you data to make subsequent visits better.

Visitor Experience Redefined

Pigeon is a real-time, intelligent platform that uncovers the power of indoor and outdoor wayfinding enabling your visitors to navigate effortlessly once inside the aquarium. Pigeon’s comprehensive platform can be configured for your organization. Leverage real-time point to point navigation for higher customer satisfaction and engagement that will increase your bottom line. Pigeon offers, round-the-clock, expert technical support to ensure your IT application is up and running all day, every day!

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https://pigeon.srisys.com/aquariums/

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The emergence and growth of Indoor Positioning Systems (IPS) owe a great deal to the evolution of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Beacons, Radio-frequency Identification (RFID), Ultra wide-band (UWB), and to some extent magnetic positioning.

In this post, we explore the trends in technology, applicability, and consumption, that will shape the indoor positioning industry, including navigation and location tracking technologies, in 2019 and beyond.

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Five Benefits of Asset Tracking and Indoor Navigation System

An indoor navigation system helps in locating assets such as the object, areas of interest, and people inside a facility by tapping indoor frequencies from radio waves, acoustic signals, magnetic fields, and other sensory information which can be transferred and collected easily using a Smartphone.

Referred to as an ‘Indoor GPS’, an indoor navigation system is a positioning and navigation technology which aids in locating assets within a large facility. An indoor navigation app combines various benefits like wayfinding, workforce collaboration, and asset tracking rolled into one holistic application.

Features of Indoor Navigational Technology

Accuracy An indoor navigation system can offer the highest accuracy in locating assets while helping the navigation of users within the facility.

Versatility The system supports multiple users on the application and continues to work offline as well.

No extensive hardware Indoor navigation technology needs minimum additional hardware as it can adapt well to existing networks. Only beacons may be added depending on the number of assets to be located. Users will use the app on their Smartphone anyway.

Emergency Management Through the navigation, platform messages could be sent to users to alert them on safety tips and emergency regulations.

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Location Based Tracking Technologies [Indoor & Outdoor]

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Can A Mobile Wayfinding App Add Value to Your Museums? Redefining Visitor Experience Through Indoor Navigation

A mobile wayfinding app for museums enriches visitor experience as it adds value to the facility. Memorable museum experience is dependent upon the number of time visitors hours spend in the facility and the quality of their engagement within the museum environment.

A mobile wayfinding app doubles up as a tour guide as it supports indoor navigation while providing relevant information on the various exhibits. Likewise, this wayfinding & navigation app helps visitors personalize wayfinding while they chart their time and explore museums like never before.

Beacons: The Technology Behind The Wayfinding App

The indoor wayfinding and navigation system museums can be effectively supported by the use beacons which are located strategically at every exhibit. Visitors can locate themselves on a real-time basis using the navigation app on their Smartphones, while the museum curators identify the user engagement at the facility.

Apple has launched iBeacon technology which transforms visitor experience at museums by giving them both visual and aural updates while navigating the facility. This transformative experience is expected to increase visitor footfall at museums by over two times. As Smartphone usage is gaining larger acceptance it is only matter of time before they are used to guide visitors along their journey inside the venue.

Mobile Navigation

Navigation in the museum becomes interactive and informative with the help of an indoor navigation app. The beacon technology creates an interface on the mobile phone where users can effortlessly pick and choose the exhibits they want to visit – this aids in creating a well-planned route as it is impossible to cover all exhibits in one tour.

The Mobile Navigation App:

Enhances visitor experience through real-time routing

Acts as a smart tour guide displaying relevant info about exhibits

Is a personalized and user-friendly navigation map

Works as an interactive map which exhibits catalog and events

Targeted Push Notifications

An indoor navigation app sends push notifications to reach out to the visitors within the museums. This helps the user to take appropriate actions based on where they are located within the venue. Through push notifications, interactive content such as quizzes, mini-games, etc. can be sent to users to retain engagement.

Adding content related to the museums, its exhibits, services, and events

Safety tips and alerts can be sent on a real-time basis

Doubles-up as a marketing and sales platform

Visitors Location-Based Analytics Indoor navigation system helps in location-based analytics to understand user behavior and interests. It includes the average time spent, most visited places and levels of visitor concentration at particular exhibits, etc.

Sending location-based offers and routes to the visitors

Monitoring the flow of visitors through heat maps

Understanding the visitors' behavior and analysis of successful event and exhibitions

Improving the security level in the museums

Evaluating the effectiveness  of the advertising campaigns

Social Interaction A museum wayfinding app helps the museum to communicate with the visitors, informing them about future exhibitions, special events, invitations and deal offers. These social interaction elements can also understand visitor behavior to take strategic management decisions.

Helps in communication in-between the museum staff and the visitors

Helps in collecting feedback from the visitors about the facility and exhibits

Visitors assistance within the museum

Safety & security messages to the visitors

Benefits of Indoor Navigation App For Both the Management and Visitors

Benefits of museum management:

Indoor navigation provides data like the number of visitors, their interests, the hours spent, etc.

Understand the user behavior within the museum

Management can  send messages to visitors

Track the entire area and its safety

Benefits for visitors:

Indoor navigation app guides the visitors within the museums

Helps in creating awareness about each location

Instant access to change their desired destination

Save time to explore more

Access events calendar and participate in deals, offers, etc.