The Ultimate Solution for Safe Store Analytics

Have you ever considered how much more secure your privacy could be if your appearance changed constantly, thousands of times per second?

If you bought your phone after 2014 for iOS or after 2016 for Android, it is likely that it is randomly assigning a new physical address every time it sends out data. This is a feature implemented by the operating system manufacturers to comply with GDPR and various other privacy regulations around the world.

Given this information, which tracking method would you recommend for ensuring the privacy of both yourself and your customers: cameras or signal-based tracking?

At Ariadne, we prefer signal based tracking, for three very important reasons: Privacy, Costs and Scalability. Let me elaborate:

Privacy

Ariadne offers methods that allow you to demonstrate mathematically that you are in compliance with privacy regulations. For example, the K-Anonymity method, which is a mathematically proven technique, is available through Ariadne, and its proof can be found here. By utilizing K-Anonymity, you can consistently group your visitors, which prevents any violation of their privacy. This method is an essential component of the Ariadne algorithm.

Cost

Ariadne did not face any issues with the chip shortage due to two reasons: (a) our method can be implemented on most readily available wireless chips, and (b) these wireless chips are inherently cost-effective and easily scalable in production by their manufacturers. Ariadne can be even implemented in your existing WiFi routers or other hardware that you might have already installed in your infrastructure.

Scalability

In the event that an Ariadne surveyor malfunctions, we will still offer location analytics by generating a mesh using the remaining sensors. Furthermore, if you desire to increase the area for which analytics are being generated, you can effortlessly do so by adding more Ariadne surveyors without the need to modify the configuration of the current devices.

But if there is no Unique Identifier How Can Ariadne Provide Customer Flow?

At Ariadne, we can provide customer flow analysis by conducting an in-depth analysis of the aforementioned data. Initially, we utilize advanced Particle Filter Algorithms to estimate the origin of a transmitted signal, taking into account various factors such as signal atenuation, geometry, topology of the location, properties of the antenna used for signal transmission, and others. Once the signal source is determined, we utilize probabilistic techniques to estimate the most probable path taken by each visitor. Our tracking method is patented, and the patent is available for access here.

Is it possible to perform the same tracking as Ariadne with cameras or depth sensors?

The answer is yes, but it would be considerably more expensive to do so.

It is possible to obtain location data using cameras and still adhere to GDPR regulations, but the cost would be significantly higher. For instance, a single camera can cover a maximum area of 20m2, whereas an Ariadne surveyor can cover up to 1200m2. This means that for a 40,000m2 area, you would require only 34 Ariadne surveyors, while you would need a minimum of 2,000 cameras, assuming that you always have a line of sight.

Are Ariadne's Sensors limited by the Line-of-Sight?

cameras, which are obstructed by objects and therefore require numerous installations to monitor a specific area, Ariadne surveyors utilize phone signals that propagate uniformly in space like an expanding sphere, and cannot be obstructed.

Even a 5GHz signal can penetrate through solid objects such as cement and metal, albeit with some attenuation, but it will not be delayed. It always travels at the speed of light and can be timed accurately. This means that you won't face any line-of-sight limitations with Ariadne surveyors.

What can I do with Ariadne that my current People Counting System does not do?

1. More Accurate KPI monitoring

As previously mentioned, Ariadne doesn't simply tally the number of individuals passing through your threshold. Instead, it calculates unique trajectories, which allows you to exclude staff members or anyone who enters and exits the store multiple times. Moreover, Ariadne's functionality enables you to establish limits, enabling you to filter out people who enter your store for only a brief period, or better yet, to determine the group size of people who entered and exited the store together, providing a clearer picture of your conversion rate. Additionally, Ariadne will report separately on the number of individuals who simply passed by your store.

2.Dwell Time

Simply counting your visitors is not enough. Understanding how long they stay in each area of your store is crucial, and this is where Ariadne stands out. By analyzing this data, you can reduce waiting times and improve the overall customer experience. You can explore different strategies to reduce wait times and increase the time customers spend browsing.

3.More accurate employee scheduling

Using Ariadne, you can divide your store into smaller sections and organize your staff needs accordingly. By providing the number of employees and their corresponding working hours, Ariadne can forecast your staffing needs for each hour of the upcoming week. Based on this data, it can generate an optimized schedule that will distribute your employees efficiently in space and time to handle peak visitation times. This will result in a potential doubling of visitor-to-customer conversion rate and help you stay well-prepared during busy periods.

4.Better Product Placement and Product Pricing

Integrating your sales data with Ariadne allows for immediate correlation between visitation and cross-sales, providing insight into the preferred order of product visitation and purchase. Analyzing the conversion rate of each product and comparing it to others can also help identify pricing limitations. For instance, some products may outperform the average visitation and sales conversion, while others may struggle.

5.Indoor Logistics

As previously stated, Ariadne has the capability to track any signal transmitted by any digital device, which includes monitoring the whereabouts of your barcode scanners, POS machines, Electronic Shelf Labels, and eventually even your store robots, whether they are engaged in cleaning or securing your store.

6. Communicating with your customers

Who said that communication has to be always one way? Ariadne can enable bidirectional communication for your visitors. Through this feature, visitors can locate products on a map and be navigated there. Additionally, you can communicate discounts for loyal customers, provided that they have given their consent. Ariadne even offers functionality to manage customer consent.