Store layout optimization using indoor positioning system

Abstract

Indoor positioning systems have attracted considerable attention from practitioners and firms seeking to optimize the consumer shopping experience with the goal of attaining increased revenue and profitability. Acknowledging the importance of indoor positioning systems in store layout optimization, we conducted a field experiment for 11 months in order to develop algorithms for connecting indoor positioning data with customer transaction data. Using fingerprinting as a primary data collection technique, we compared positioning and transaction data before and after critical store layout optimization decisions in order to identify which customer movement patterns generated the highest sales. In contrast to previous works on indoor positioning systems, which focused solely on developing algorithms or techniques to increase accuracy rates, our algorithms in principle integrate computing and marketing perspectives. Our findings can be applied to store layout optimization and personalized marketing.