In this project Bitsence partnered with Good Goods —a flexible retail store in the heart of Manhattan- to understand space usage dynamics using technology. The goal of the deployment was to collect data to make the design of the space more agile and responsive to the needs of its users.
We installed custom hardware to sense pedestrian activity. Pedestrian analytics included counting, the pattern of usage, and the dwell time.
— Indoor and outdoor sensing to offer a comprehensive picture of visitor activity.
Using the Google Places API, we queried data on the traffic from stores in the vicinity, which enables us to measure the difference in daily and hourly traffic of neighboring stores selling similar products.
By comparing the in store traffic with the sidewalks traffic we are able to deduce a conversion rate, or “how attractive is the store?”
After benchmarking the store with its neighborhood, we turn to analyze the in-store traffic and movement patterns.
We can characterize a place's vibrancy at different intervals and times of the day. We identified trends in the captured data such as periodic rises in the number of people, stay durations that are useful to drive actionable insights for store owners. Moreover, this project exemplifies the advent of flexibility in our built environment. An on-demand urban realm, able to react to predicted usage offers a fascinating new perspective for cities.