GISCafe Industry Predictions for 2023 – Wejo

By, Chris Rose, Channel VP and James Eaton, VP solutions consulting, Wejo

Chris Rose

James Eaton

GIS with connected vehicle data will help organizations optimize operations in 2023

GIS will have a growing and more impactful effect across industries in 2023. However, the economic realities of the post-pandemic world and the likely pending recession will be driving forces behind use cases for business optimization in 2023. Connected cars, in particular, will play an important part in how businesses will work to better leverage GIS which feeds into it for better footfall analysis for marketing and pricing and digital twins.

In fact, connected vehicle data has already shown us with real-time visibility that traffic patterns aren’t what they used to be with the how, when, and where people work, having flipped the economy, particularly the retail sector, on its head. With tough economic times likely on the horizon, it is critically important that organizations look to data and solutions that leverage real-time information to understand where people live, work and travel daily. The currency of real-time big data available is driving dynamic decision-making. And organizations that successfully embrace it will be the ones that can optimize their businesses best in 2023.

With GIS data use cases spanning government and commercial industries, we see an increase in real-time IoT data sources, including connected vehicles. With businesses looking to optimize their operations critical activities based on the insights from these sources and the current economic conditions, we anticipated seeing real-use-case digital twins, historical and real-time footfall analysis for pricing, marketing, staffing, and more in 2023.

Better Footfall analytics

With people working, living, and traveling drastically different than they did just a few years ago, organizations will be adopting new approaches to understanding it in 2023. It is critical to have a method of measuring and analyzing footfall for organizations to increase sales and profit. At its most basic, Footfall analysis involves counting the number of people who visit a store. Historically this has been done manually, which takes time and personnel time. Organizations must recognize the opportunities to streamline information and how the economy has changed. For example, where and when people are working. Things as simple as the working lunch in the office have become a thing of the past for many, particularly in major metropolitan areas, as more workers are working from home. So, in this example, the question is, with all these cafes, shops, and restaurants that were visited by those having working lunches in the area, no longer having that footfall, how can they better learn where people are commuting from, what demographics are those people, and how long they are staying at specific locations? With real-time connected vehicle data powering GIS, organizations will be looking to get analytics from how yesterday’s marketing and yesterday’s pricing went based on footfall and how to adjust for tomorrow. Regardless of where footfall is being analyzed, organizations in 2023 will need more information around demographics, customer spending, customer basket spending, where they are going to, and what other stores are in the area, all in real-time to make the best decision for their business. Connected vehicle data incorporated into a GIS tells you visitations to your store or another store and how long they’re staying there. Organizations in 2023 that harness that data will make informed decisions to be a step ahead of the competition.

Dynamic pricing (Fuel costs)
Another use case of understanding when and where people are and for how long in 2023 will be around fuel pricing, which is often an economic indicator. With that information in hand, fuel pricing, both gas, and electric can be adjusted based on consumption and need. Some oil and gas companies are already leveraging GIS with connected vehicle data to price in near real-time fuel prices based on real-time insights into traffic to and from their stations. This backs into simple supply and demand economics, traffic management at those stations, and opportunities to market additional offerings. And when alternative fuel is in use, understanding the potential pull on the grid based on vehicle visits will also directly affect pricing, which may affect usage too. For example, the common view is that electric vehicles are cheaper to charge than filling up with traditional fuel. But that is only sometimes the case. A level 3 charger can cost more than a tank of gas, whereas a level 2 charger which takes longer, can offer significant savings, not to mention the environmental impacts. All these factors and more are areas for which gas, oil, and electric charging organizations will be turning to GIS as they aim to optimize their operations in 2023. It is not a stretch that GIS with connected vehicle data can be extended to any number of other industries for similar initiatives.

Connected Vehicles and IoT devices will drive digital twin adoption.

There has been a lot of talk about the advent of digital twins. At the same time, GIS has been used to model real-world systems with high accuracy for years. Utility networks, legal parcel boundaries, and traffic networks have all been represented in GIS for asset management, maintenance, and planning purposes. However, most organizations still use outdated data from closed-loop traffic counting processes, which means they don’t have an accurate foundation data set. These organizations will need to embrace updated and real-time data sources immediately by re-looking at their assumed foundational data to see how it stacks up compared to what is available from more modern sources. They will also need an awful lot of reliance on being able to automate the flow of that data into their systems. The digital twin concept builds on older techniques and technologies for data warehousing and object-based data models by adding realism, interactive user experience, and high-resolution 3D and 4D models of assets and systems. Ultimately, the digital twin must help users to solve business or mission-critical applications and, in 2023, help optimize operations. In the past, there was a lot of heavy lifting to get this data. However, with connected vehicle data and more IoT devices in the market, the data has rapidly become more available and accessible. Those who can deliver it in real-time will generate insights via digital twins for accurate and rapid decision-making based on historical records of situational events, operational performance monitoring, and testing or predicting future performance.

Regardless of the organization or initiative, the economy and the need for business optimization will drive advancements in GIS. At a minimum, GIS will help analyze any recession and further understand the post-pandemic world. You don’t need data to conclude that fewer people will visit a store when economic times are tough; however, real-time visitation data can give instant insights for rapid decision-making regarding expected footfall, pricing, advertising, staffing, and more. Organizations that not only survive but are more likely to thrive in 2023 will use real-time data from GIS to understand precisely where people are traveling, how far, and how long they spend in different areas. This data provides insights into addressing congestion, better mapping, what stores are being visited for how long, and if their ad and marketing campaigns are driving footfall. Data that ends up helping organizations drive revenue through delivering increased value will be used by organizations that thrive in 2023.

About Authors:

Chris Rose is Vice President of Channel Sales at wejo Mold, Wales, United Kingdom

James Eaton is Vice President of Solutions Consulting at wejo Greater Stoke-on-Trent Area, England , United Kingdom

Category: Industry Predictions

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 25th, 2023 at 11:59 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.