Over the past 10 years, this term and the market have evolved to include a host of indoor location services such as Digital Wayfinding, Asset Tracking, and more relevant than ever Guest WiFi.
The exponential growth witnessed has proven there is a real need to understand physical spaces and the visitors in them, just as much as online environments. So much so that the market shows no signs of slowing and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 22.4%.
This growth will take the market value from $8.8 billion in 2022 to £24 billion in 2027!
10 years of change: What has affected the growth of the ILS market?
Numerous elements have contributed to the increased adoption of indoor location technology. Below we have identified the areas which have had the most significant impact.
Consumer technological adoption
Reflecting on the success of the market, it’s worth noting that the catalyst for data collection lies with consumers. Expectations to integrate online and offline environments have partially driven the uptick in business adoption of indoor location solutions.
Consumer technology such as hand-held and desktop devices have become an essential part of everyday life and with the leaps in mobile [2G/3G in 2013 vs 4G/5G in 2022] and WiFi [WiFi 5 released in 2013 vs WiFi 6E released in 2020], network capabilities for businesses across the globe understand now more than ever the importance to capitalize on their venue technology investments.
Paired with the rise of remote working, businesses can reach visitors in new ways and observe and learn from the changes in behavior, enabling them to adapt to provide the best experience possible easily.
The addition of data privacy
The rising importance of data privacy highlights how much more aware consumers are of the ways in which their data is stored and used, meaning businesses must adhere to global regulations and become increasingly transparent with how they operate. Perhaps seen as a barrier to growth for some businesses, data privacy is an undeniably important element to the success of the ILS market.
When followed, the regulation of consumer data allows businesses to collect great insights, get the most out of their findings and reward visitors for providing their data. By having data regulations in place each element of the data ecosystem is legally protected and can be rewarded.
Businesses can be championed for their endeavors in implementing measures that protect customers and their data. An example of this can is gaining Cyber Essentials Certification which Purple achieved in 2021. Additionally, end users that provide their data are rewarded directly by the business in the form of discounts and greater personalization of their experiences.
Examples of data protection acts
- General Data Protection Act (GDPR)
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
- California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
- World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
The era of social media
Since the launch of early social networks such as MySpace and Facebook, social media adoption has become a primary method for people and businesses to stay connected. One report identified that 4.26 billion people (more than half the global population) were using social media in 2021, and this number is expected to hit 6 billion in 2027.
But how does this impact the ILS market?
- Public connectivity expectations will put pressure on venues to provide free online services.
- The combination of online and offline spaces (adopting a unified commerce strategy) is quickly becoming a requirement for businesses to stay relevant and competitive.
- The ability to collect new data will prove a golden opportunity for businesses to attract new customers and understand their visitors’ preferences better than ever before resulting in data-driven business decisions and more effective marketing strategies.
So, what now?
We have identified that the growing rate of indoor location service adoption shows no signs of slowing, yet there are some opportunities and challenges that should be mentioned.
Opportunities
- Through indoor location services, many business operations can be automated to save time and become more efficient
- Indoor location solutions can enable extraordinary growth in revenue and equally impressive reductions in cost
- All industries can adopt ILS to exceed staff and visitor expectations
- Macro and micro space planning will enable venues to pay greater attention to logistical insights resulting in informed decision making
Challenges
- Business leaders must educate themselves on the importance of investing in ILS to ensure senior buy-in
- With the primary adoption coming from NA and EMEA regions, ILS so far has struggled to capture the attention of APAC
- Many ILS providers create solutions that only work with their hardware or a select list creating doubt about the value of the investment
Purple is among the markets leading Indoor Location Services providers and works with a long list of manufacturers to increase compatibility, boost the speed of implementation, and greatly reduce the cost of replacing existing hardware infrastructure.
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