Last month Telefónica Digital set up a new Telefónica Dynamic Insights business unit and said its first product would be called ‘Smart Steps’. It’s now announced the launch of ‘Smart Steps’ in the UK.
Smart Steps is a joint initiative with market research company GfK. It uses anonymised information from mobile phone users to help organisations measure and understand the number of people visiting an area. As a result, businesses and other organisations will be able to track footfall by time, gender and age.
For example, retailers could plan the location of future shops, customise promotional offers and measure the impact of marketing activity, while local councils could check the effect of car parking charges or late-night shopping.
Steve Alder, Chief Executive Officer at Telefónica Dynamic Insights, said “Smart Steps generates far richer insights than existing footfall measurement products. It shows not only the size of a crowd visiting an area but also anonymised trends on the age and gender composition of the crowd. The information is drawn from a larger sample and is updated far more regularly than traditional tools. It will help a range of organisations - including retailers, town councils, sporting arenas and emergency responders - to make better informed decisions and better understand and serve the needs of their customers.”
Telefonica Dynamic Insights points out that it does not sell personal information and does not track individuals.