Finnish retail chain uses crowd movement data for better advertising ROI

Traditionally, customer surveys at HalpaHalli were conducted at cash registers in stores by salespeople askingcustomers where they came from. Although important information on customers was obtained in this way, it was difficult to know the reliability of the sample.

"Telia's method was new, but we had been researching customer flows from cash register surveys for years,"says Juha Hakala, Marketing Manager at HalpaHalli. “During the pilot in Äänekoski, we compared results from these surveys with data from Telia's tool. The data collected was almost completely consistent between the two measurement methods. We realized that if data can be collected continuously and reliably - and above all so easily - the benefits of Telia's tool were clear."

Telia Crowd Insights was initially tested in the stores in Äänekoski, Saarijärvi and Vaasa. The Vaasa store was of particular interest as it had recently moved to new premises, further away from the center of Vaasa. 

“In the new Vaasa store, we could start the analysis from the beginning. With Telia Crowd Insights, we got real-time data that we could compare on a weekly basis. It would have been impossible to carry out the same frequency of data collection with cash register surveys. ”

Telia's crowd analysis, showed not only from where people arrived to the new store, but also on what days and times customers flowed to the area to shop. 

“In addition, when Telia's data is combined with population data such as that from Statistics Finland, demographics such as age can be accurately estimated for customers. In this way, it is possible to plan targeted advertisements more effectively and analyze the market situation in a more granular way, ”says Tiia Palvimo, location analysis expert at Telia.

A POWERFUL TOOL TO OPTIMIZE ADVERTISING ROI

After the pilots, HalpaHalli started to use Telia Crowd Insights for all their stores. The data has been useful in planning, for marketing decisions and for optimizing marketing activities.

"Thanks to Telia's data, we have been able to modify catalog decisions, which has made advertising more cost-effective."

“When we know where our customers come from, we know in which areas to reach them. Thanks to Telia's data, we have been able to modify the distribution areas of catalogs, which has made advertising more cost-effective,” says Hakala. “We also better understand the target groups of the stores. Once you know what types of customers visit your stores, you can target catalogs just right for them. For example, if some of our customers live in an area of detached houses, we have a better understanding for what kind of products they probably could be interested in , as opposed to someone living in a city center area.”

SMOOTH AND INTERACTIVE COLLABORATION

According to Hakala, the cooperation with Telia has run smoothly. HalpaHalli can view the data in a customized dashboard, which has been modified according to the retailer’s wishes to show data that’s relevant for them.

“Telia's experts have been active in developing the tool, which is why it has been rewarding to be involved in this project. In addition, with the feedback provided, the look of the dashboards we use has been developed according to our needs, ”says Hakala.

Challenge: HalpaHalli wanted to better understand its customers and where they came from in order to optimize advertising for better ROI. The cash register surveys used in the past were a labor-intensive way to gather the necessary information.

Solution: Telia Crowd Insights for Retail uses anonymized movement data from the mobile network to measure crowd movements and size. This enables more data-driven decision making.

Benefits: The distribution areas of HalpaHalli's advertising catalog have been optimized and the actual advertising materials have been better targeted to customers. The new solution continuously collects data, in the same way over time, making marketing more cost-effective than before.