Previously, up until last year, only a handful of countries were using location data. But a lot has changed since the beginning of the pandemic. Today, a large number of sectors, such as retail, insurance and pharmaceutical, are using this data for better outcomes. We had anticipated that insurance firms would take three to five years to pick up in terms of adopting this technology, but we already have clients from the sector.
As far as real estate is concerned, all segments ranging from office spaces to multifamily properties have been affected at some level. The biggest question in front of developers today is where to invest. The last one year has seen a lot of movement in the big cities. In the US, for example, there was an exodus from New York. And in other cities, like Houston, we saw people moving from cities to suburban areas.
These are the signs that real estate developers can pick up using location data, to figure out the areas that are growing and the ones that are on the decline. In the big cities, not more than 20% of the workforce has returned to offices, and going forward, the remote working trend will stay, as people have picked it up and it’s working for them. With the help of location data, investors can look at building office spaces in suburbs, closer to where people now live.
Catering to different needs
In the big cities, while a lot of people have moved out, there are those who have come in — primarily enticed by the drop in real estate prices. For instance, in the Tribeca neighborhood in New York, the population that exited had high income, and the one that has come in has relatively lower income. So, based on location data analysis, developers can determine what to build (2 BHK or 3 BHK apartments) and also repurpose the apartment buildings in alignment with what customers need. This year, we will see different kinds of stores and restaurants come up in the vicinity to attract local clientele.
“The innovation has to be around the datasets we create, so that they are more specific to industries.”
Making datasets efficient
In the context of location data, I think more than innovation, it will be the application that will make a difference. The innovation has to be around the datasets we create, so that they are more specific to industries like healthcare, insurance, retail and real estate. Lately, telecommunications companies have realized that they have been sitting on a gold mine of data. However, they don’t know how to turn that data into insights and create datasets that can be used or sold. These companies have been using location data for building internal infrastructure, but are still to figure out how to turn location data signals into revenue streams, by selling datasets to governments, municipalities and transport companies for better infrastructure and mobility.
Picking up the leading indicator
Location data is going to be of immense value in the near future. It acts as a leading indicator and can tell you what’s likely to happen in the next few months. So, it is important to have these datasets at your fingertips. Several sectors can use this data for better outcomes.
