Rajalla mall using crowd movement analysis to understand where their customers are coming from

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company owns various properties throughout Finland. One year ago, Varma and the commercial real estate consultancy firm T2L Finland Oy, were considering how to obtain accurate data on the Rajalla Shopping Center, in the heart of the twin cities of Tornio and Haparanda.

“In order to control the shopping centre's operations, high-quality data is needed, on the basis of which customer value can be developed and strategic measures can be planned. Last year, we started cooperating with Telia on crowd analysis,” says Tuire Nyberg, an expert at T2L . T2L is responsible for directing the commercial activities of the shopping center.

“We share an enthusiasm for data with Telia. We have worked well together to develop the analysis tool, and Telia has identified and implemented the most suitable solutions for us according to our wishes, ”says Nyberg.

DATA IS A STRATEGIC ASSET

Telia's crowd analysis tool, Crowd Insights, can be used to provide up-to-date and comprehensive information on customer flows and customer mobility in the vicinity of the shopping center. By combining the data with Statistics Finland's population statistics, it is also possible to understand general demographics ofpotential customers in more detail.

"When Telia's data is combined with Statistics Finland's data, it is possible, for example, to target advertisingmore effectively and analyze the market situation in a more versatile way," says Telia's expert Tiia Palvimo.

“Data enables continuous monitoring and control of the shopping centre's operations. Information plays a major strategic role: when planning something new, information about the baseline is needed to monitor the effectiveness of the changes, ”says Nyberg.

“Telia's data supports decision-making in, for example, retail lease negotiations and the planning of marketing communications. When we know where customers come from, we also know which nearby cities are worth targeting and what kind of stores are in demand,” adds Tytti Juhokas , Varma's CustomerRelationship Manager . "For example, we've found to what extent distance doesn't matter when a campaign has a good appeal."

Customers flow to the mall for shopping from both the north and the south. The widespread customer base has also been kept in mind when designing the visuals of the shopping center. "The Tornio River unites the people of the region, which has been taken into account in the design of our new logo," says Juhokas.

CUSTOMERS BETWEEN TWO COUNTRIES IN A PANDEMIC SITUATION

The Rajalla shopping center, is literally located on the border between Finland and Sweden. Many cross the border between the countries on a daily basis under normal circumstances, but the pandemic has changed the daily lives of locals.

“Tornio and Haparanda form a strong and unified business area. Many families from Tornio and Haparanda go to work and school on both sides of the border, ”says Juhokas. "Before the pandemic, about 40 percent of our mall's customers went shopping on the Swedish side. The closure of the borders caused by the pandemic has so far stifled the flow of Swedish customers to the mall, but it has been interesting to monitor the movement of people on both sides of the border during the pandemic,” Nyberg adds. 

“We see for example in the data that people arrive to the center of Haparanda mainly from Luleå. In the future, data orientation will also guide marketing planning and targeting on the Swedish side, as soon as the boundaries open up again,” says Nyberg.

UNDERSTAND WHERE YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE COMING FROM

Telia Crowd Insights for Retail uses anonymous and aggregated data e.g. traffic flows in the vicinity of shops, restaurants and shopping centers. 

Read more about using real data to make data-driven decision-making easier.