Most geo-location applications have been for outdoor use because they were the low-hanging fruit: simply put, GPS devices and satellites made it very easy to design these applications. Now, though, geo-location is targeting indoor use, led in no small part by shopping center companies that want to bring more traffic to their malls.
CBL & Associates Properties is the latest example, partnering with mallMerlin LLC to provide a mobile shopping application that delivers special features and promotions, high definition video and in-mall navigation to shoppers at its 61 properties. The app also allows participating retailers to customize their offers in real time by region or even at the store level. Upon entering a mallMerlin mall, consumers can elect to shop by category, by store, or by 'stroll,' meaning they are browsing and window shopping. The app will be available in the iTunes app store.
Simon Property Group is another example. It recently teamed up with a Silicon startup, Shopkick, to give its retailers a new option with digital couponing: an application that beams offers to shoppers as they walk by the stores. Simon Property Group is one of the largest retail real estate owners in the country, with some 370 shopping centers. It will be launching this program in 25 of its stores in New York, Chicago, southern California and San Francisco, with plans to introduce it in 100 centers over the next several months.
It is little wonder companies have only recently broached this piece of the geo-location market, says Inventor Spot. Mapping is costly and time-consuming because every shopping mall, airport, trade-show and other indoor venues is unique.
Other examples include:
Micello, which has developed hundreds of geo-location maps for indoor public venues in its factory in Chennai, India. The process begins with a map supplied by the venue proprietors. The Micello map is then superimposed onto a Google Map to develop a mobile map to navigate indoors.
Point Inside, which just released its Indoor Smart Map with SmartFix functionality for iPhones and iPads, It features over 100,000 stores and service directory listings for malls in the US and Canada. There is an advertising component that is "hyper-local and hyper-relevant," Inventor Spot says.
