The Short Version

• Shopping centers are adopting e-commerce tactics like Wi-Fi, QR codes and audience segmentation to better target shoppers.
• Partnerships with firms like Adentro help landlords build shopper profiles and generate new revenue streams.
• Tools like augmented reality are expanding how malls engage customers in-store and beyond.

The Rise of Data-Driven Personalization for Shopping Centers

Brick-and-mortar is catching up to e-commerce’s ability to track customer behavior and spending. Shopping center landlords can capture mobile phone data and gauge shopper movements via internet connections and engagement with web-based experiences. That improves their ability to define customers based on demographics, spending habits and other metrics, information they and their retailer tenants can use for personalized marketing campaigns.

“You can track the steps that happen on e-commerce, but the challenge for shopping centers has always been finding a way to have a one-on-one relationship with customers,” said David Blumenfeld, co-founder of NextRivet, which advises shopping center owners, retailers and others implementing proptech.

Eventually, marketing will be able to target individuals, not just the cohorts of people that today’s tech can identify. “It’s starting to happen,” Blumenfeld said. Adentro CEO Ben Matlin agreed. His company provides omnichannel marketing for retail, restaurant, entertainment and hospitality companies. “As we understand real-world behaviors and mix them with [customers’] spending history, we’ll be able to serve up personalized ads,” he said. “We’re not too far off.”

Adentro and Simon Turn Mall Wi-Fi Into a Marketing Engine

Adentro signed on in April to deliver personalized shopping experiences for customers at Simon’s wholly owned shopping centers. Adentro supplies Wi-Fi to those properties, gleans information from phones that connect to the Wi-Fi and then enables Simon’s tenants to directly advertise directly to customers even after they leave the properties. That fuels sales, either through e-commerce or on return trips. The strategy turns the internet connection from an operating expense into a revenue generator, Matlin said.

Here’s how it works. Adentro has segmented some 160 of Simon’s shopping centers into more than 1,000 zones and collects data on foot traffic, where shoppers spend their time, at what times and days of the week shoppers visit various areas and other information to better understand shopping behaviors. It then combines that data with personally identifiable information gathered through the Wi-Fi opt-in consent and with other third-party data to build a “curated, 360-degree view” of different consumer groups — or cohorts — based on spending habits, Matlin said. Adentro also matches millions of other consumers who are already part of its network to the various cohorts, greatly expanding the audience that Simon’s tenants can reach, he added.

Tenants then pay Simon to access Adentro’s customer profiles and omnichannel retail media network to target the assorted cohorts outside of the malls. Among other platforms, the strategically placed ads appear on social media like Facebook and Instagram; programmatic channels like mobile apps, websites and connected TV streaming services like Peacock or YouTube TV; and other platforms, Matlin explained.

The off-site advertisements represent a new revenue stream for Simon, he said. Equally important, Adentro tracks an individual’s online and in-store sales within a defined period after they’ve clicked an ad, which allows retailers to measure the impact of their marketing expenditures.

“We’re bringing performance marketing to physical locations in the same way that retail e-commerce brands have,” Matlin added. “Retailers are paying for the curated data and media activations, and the objective is to drive both e-ecommerce and footfall sales.”

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Aria Network Captures Customer Data and Offers Cutomer Experience at Brookfield Centers

The Aria Network is taking a different route to identify customers and build personalized marketing strategies. In 2021, it started operating at Brookfield Properties’ U.S. shopping centers. Aria would not disclose the partnership’s financial terms.

A visitor to a property scans a QR code to access the platform via web, not an app, according to Aria co-CEO Darren Mann. Once the visitor gives opt-in consent, Aria captures data from the phone and in exchange provides visitors with digital directories, wayfinding and a rundown of actual inventory in the stores, among a host of other features. It also features a virtual assistant similar to Alexa or Siri to answer questions and make shopping suggestions when prompted.

Aria also displays marketing content from influencers and celebrities who sign up with Aria to participate in various retail promotions. For example, a Brookfield customer on the Aria platform may see a men’s suit special being promoted by George Clooney along with a link to a certain store. Once a shopper clicks that link, Mann added, they receive a QR code for the retailer to scan at the point of sale. Each month, Aria receives a commission based on the number of conversions and then pays the influencer.

Additionally, Aria sells ad space on its platform to retailers, Mann said. Some ads are tailored based on the data accessed from that phone, and others pop up when shoppers ask the Aria virtual assistant questions like where to buy a watch or swimsuit for a vacation. The latter then may elicit ads not only from mall tenants but also from non-mall companies like airlines or travel booking sites, he added. Additionally, Aria reengages customers when they revisit the property by highlighting sales and promotions at stores where they previously shopped.

Facial Recognition and AR Will Shape the Future of Retail Marketing

Aria also is ready to leverage facial recognition as artificial intelligence and augmented reality progress. And users of the platform already can participate in immersive experiences via their phone cameras.

By way of example, Klarna, which offers flexible payment plans and buy-now-pay-later services, drove customers to certain retailers by scattering virtual coins throughout a property. Augmented reality using a phone’s camera allowed users to see the coins on Aria’s platform, collect them and exchange them for discounts and deals at the retailers Klarna was promoting.

And soon, customers using Aria’s platform will be able to take selfies and create personalized avatars for virtual experiences like trying on clothes, Mann said.

“Brookfield has a billion-and-a-half customers entering its 100-plus locations each year,” Mann noted. “The ability to know those customers and interact with them will allow us to personalize the shopping experience. It’s about collecting data, working with the endemic tenants and targeting and retargeting consumers to drive foot traffic and promote the property.”

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