this approach to an SaaS solution so individual planners can
achieve these broad benefits of optimization.
In addition, universities and other organizations are
using a novel approach to analytics applications called Core
Planning. This brings advanced analytics to campus,
regional and real estate planning, making projects go faster
and delivering smarter data-driven decisions.
Another startup turns location analysis on its head by taking any given location and making it an analytical machine.
Placer.ai is a location-based retail intelligence
platform that provides foot traffic analysis for
retailers. This platform provides access to precise
human movement analytics and a deeper understanding of audiences and competition. By harnessing mobile data from millions of devices,
Placer.ai applies the latest in AI, machine learning and big data analytics to generate insights and
behavioral predictions for any location, store or
geographic area.
“The industry understands it’s in the midst of
rapid change, and there is now consensus that it’s
time to evolve or die,” says Noam Ben-Zvi, chief
executive officer and co-founder of Placer.ai.
“Many companies are learning from their e-com-
merce counterparts, hiring innovation, GIS and
marketing analytics personnel. Our early adopt-
ers are already seeing valuable results, and together, we’re all
learning how to apply this new technology to everyday chal-
lenges and questions.”
Ben-Zvi says the commercial real estate market is not new
to data, especially in retail, which has been using in-store
analytics for some time. This industry uses data to make
critical decisions around buying, leasing and marketing
properties, as well as expansions and M&A. But retailers
may be missing an opportunity for insight into what’s going
on outside a store and with competitors, along with how
consumers are behaving.
“ Placer.ai allows you to see where customers are coming
from, what do they do before and after going to a store,
how much is being spent there, and where they live and
work—essentially, it provides stats in the real world,” Ben-
Zvi relates. “You can type in the address of a property to
compile data that may bring you closer to a decision, or to
forecast or understand how this will impact business.”
He adds that the learning model technology also allows
users to gain insight into other nearby stores in order to
predict how a particular store might perform, or to project
opening new locations.
“If you have the right data and you’re asking the right
questions to train the model, it can be very powerful,” he
observes. “Leasing departments are using this to get the
right tenants. It’s smarter than the traditional ‘hey let’s see
who lives in a three-mile radius’. It can be used in the
acquisition process for evaluating a new property, in due
diligence to determine the health of a center, to see how it
stacks up versus competitors in foot traffic, to analyze
the health of specific tenants and how they stack up versus
comparables in that area. It makes marketing dollars go
further.”
The development and implementation of technology
have always been dynamic, and some early adopters have
paid a price for being ahead of the curve, according to an
analysis by PwC. But the current body of evidence would
suggest that there is a market for these innovations, investors
are growing more knowledgeable and the success stories of
technology being implemented across multiple commercial
real estate sectors are piling up.
That convergence of these factors, PwC believes, may just
be signaling a major pivot point is on the horizon. That’s
something on which many startups and industry adopters
alike would heartily agree. ◆
“The industry understands it is in
the midst of rapid change, and there
is now consensus that it’s time to
evolve or die. Early adopters are
already seeing valuable results.”
NOAM BEN-ZVI
PLACER.AI
AdIndex
1 CIBC World Markets
3 PNC Financial Services
Group
5 Marcus & Millichap
7 AG Net Lease Acquisition Corp
9 Northmarq Capital
11 PGIM
23 Bellwether Enterprise
30 Newmark Knight Frank
35 Key Bank
36 Northmarq
37 Hunt Real Estate Capital
39 US Realty Advisors LLC
C2 Fidelity National Title Group
C4 CAPITAL ONE
This advertising index is provided as an additional service. While every attempt has been made to this as complete as possible, listing accuracy cannot
be guaranteed.
