In a move to gauge the vibrancy of its retail landscape, the city of Dijon turned to the cutting-edge Orange Flux Vision solution, yielding a wealth of actionable insights on store and boutique popularity within both its historic heart and surrounding areas. This data-driven initiative not only demystified foot traffic trends for local businesses but also empowered the city with the precision needed to fine-tune its commercial strategies effectively.
Seeking to establish precise data on the popularity of stores and boutiques in its city centre and peri-urban areas, the city government of Dijon opted to employ the Orange Flux Vision solution. In a short time, the application produced a multitude of reliable statistics for the city to put into use.
In the market for a reliable measurement solution
In this city of 260,000 residents, some store owners in the historic centre had come to suspect that their shops were experiencing a drop in footfall – but was this really the case? The city government recognised the need to address their concerns and, if necessary, to readjust its commercial strategy if they were true; however, it lacked the tools required to provide an objective response. With the goal of obtaining precise numerical data on visitor flows in the city centre, as well as in peri-urban areas, for comparison, Dijon set out in search of a precise measurement and analytical tool.
“We tried various different solutions, notably involving GPS data from cell phones, but they could only provide data aggregated over three years, which was not sufficient to refine the need over specific periods,” explains David Fau, Chief Data Officer for the Digital Department of Dijon. The historic capital of Burgundy finally opted for Flux Vision, the application developed by Orange Business whose results are built on data pulled from the mobile phone network.
A multitude of information at the user’s fingertips
Where are visitors coming from, and where are they going? What is their socio-demographic background? Are they staying around, or just passing through? Which area has the highest footfall on a given day, and which parts are quieter than others? These are some of the key questions Flux Vision has answered for Dijon.
“The Flux Vision solution provides in-depth statistical knowledge of catchment areas, attractiveness and visit duration by different populations,” confirms David Fau. Of course, all this is achieved in full compliance with GDPR, as the data is anonymised at the source.
So what was the result of Dijon’s investigation? With data collected in record time, the first survey performed with Flux Vision showed an equivalent level of popularity between stores in the city centre and those in peri-urban areas – which is reassuring news for shopkeepers.
Easy to use, with rapid results
Gone are the days when a city would have to put people on the streets to measure visitor footfall.
“Regarding the time it took before, we had to send out agents to do the counting – now, from the first days of the campaign, we have access to reliable and precise data,” notes the CDO. Another of Flux Vision’s assets is the ergonomic working environment, which is easy to use even for users with no prior experience.
“Orange Business provides a dashboard environment that’s easy to understand, even for people who aren’t data experts,” explains David Fau. “Charts can be extracted to illustrate our presentations in public meetings with elected officials or merchant associations. This has really simplified life for us.”
Further projects already lined up
The success of this initial measurement campaign performed and Flux Vision quickly gave Dijon ideas about further applications. These notably include obtaining a clearer picture of the popularity of the International Gastronomy and Wine Centre, which opened its doors in 2022. David Fau has also received a number of questions about the tool, indicating growing interest in Flux Vision.
“We’ve already had discussions with other regions about how to recover data, and some of them have already switched to Flux Vision,” confirms the CDO. “I can only recommend that my colleagues in other communities work with Orange Business and Flux Vision.”
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