FILE- In this Nov. 23, 2018, file photo shoppers walk through Dolphin Mall in Miami. The 2018 holiday season turned out to be a mixed bag for retailers, with some of them defying a gloomy government report in December that raised concerns that shoppers were hunkering down everywhere. Mall-based clothing chains and department stores, particularly those that target the middle-income shoppers, continue to muddle along. Macy’s had weak holiday sales, ending a year-long recovery after a three-year slump. J.C. Penney and Gap are both closing more stores after lackluster holiday sales. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
Retailers are finding all kinds of uses for location data from customers’ phones.
Hill Country Galleria in Bee Cave, Texas, used the information to determine that a lot of shoppers owned pets. So it installed water fountains, babysitting stations and “Santa Paws” photo ops for furry friends. The time customers spent in the mall rose by 40%, according to CBRE Group Inc.
