Hereford City, located in the picturesque landscape of Herefordshire, UK, is utilising data to invigorate its city centre. This historic place, renowned for its medieval charm and iconic Hereford Cathedral, is filled with a blend of history and modern energy. Alongside its famed architectural landmarks, the city hosts a variety of shops, dining establishments, and cultural experiences.
In 2016, Hereford BID wanted to gain deeper insights into its city and, in doing so, enhance the visitor experience by using the combined power of Wi-Fi and footfall technology Geo-Sense.
The challenge:
Prior to implementing the solution, Hereford lacked comprehensive data on foot traffic within the city centre. This made it difficult to assess the effectiveness of various initiatives and events, which hindered decision-making. Additionally, the city aimed to provide free Wi-Fi access to enhance the visitor experience.
The solution:
Hereford BID carefully assessed various suppliers before selecting Proximity Futures. Hereford opted for a combined Geo-Sense and Wi-Fi solution from Proximity Future. This unique approach addressed both challenges simultaneously. The Geo-Sense technology captures anonymous foot traffic data, providing valuable insights into visitor movement patterns and dwell times. At the same time, the Wi-Fi component offered free internet access to residents and visitors, enriching their city experience. The Wi-Fi also offers people the chance to opt into marketing, which enhances the value of the BID and showcases current and future events and offers. By combining both solutions, they were packaged into one cost-effective solution, providing greater value.
The results:
The implementation of the combined Geo-Sense and Wi-Fi solution has yielded significant benefits for Hereford. Now with access to 8 years of data to analyse, the city generates detailed foot traffic reports segmented by day and night-time economy, empowering various stakeholders like businesses and the local authority to achieve multiple objectives. These include benchmarking performance by tracking year-over-year foot traffic trends and evaluating the effectiveness of initiatives, making data-driven decisions to optimise future events and strategies for enhancing city centre performance, and providing free Wi-Fi access to improve visitor experience and make the city centre more attractive and user-friendly. As well as being able to communicate with visitors.
“For what we pay, it’s fantastic value for money,” says Mike Truelove of the Hereford City BID, highlighting the solution’s cost-effectiveness. Mike further emphasises the value of sharing data with local authorities, enabling informed city planning and development strategies.
Overall, Hereford BID expresses utmost satisfaction with the sales, implementation, and support teams. The responsive and collaborative approach demonstrated by Proximity Futures has fostered a strong partnership, enabling Hereford City to maximize the value of the solutions provided. The seamless integration, robust support, and tangible benefits derived from Geo-Sense and Elephant Wi-Fi highlight Proximity Futures’ commitment to driving positive change and facilitating sustainable urban development.
