GPT Group to gather shopper data through free wi-fi

ASX-listed property services giant GPT Group will offer free wi-fi to shoppers at its Melbourne Central and Casuarina Square retail centres in exchange for their data through a partnership with Australian retail analytics startup SkyFii.

GPT Group had previously rolled out the wi-fi offering at two of its centres - MLC Centre in February this year and Rouse Hill Town Centre in August 2014.

SkyFii’s technology tracks the movements and behaviour of registered and unregistered users through in-store networks it sets up on behalf of its clients.

Data collected through the company’s platform can be integrated with a client’s point of sale or CRM systems, while targeted messages can be sent to customers in real-time through wi-fi, SMS, email or app-based push notifications.

The data collected through the service, which GPT will have access to, will be anonymous in most cases.

While usage limits are usually in the form of a daily download or a time limit, this can be adjusted from centre to centre.

Under the deal, GPT Group will pay for the setup and infrastructure costs alongside a monthly fee for SkyFii’s services.

“It allows [GPT] to provide a reliable, efficient and secure service to its customers by giving them access to a state-of-the-art wi-fi network. It makes shopping more pleasant and provides retailers with a key benefit for retailers being increased time spent in a centre,” Skyfii chief executive Wayne Arthur said.

The extended master services agreement will govern the further rollout of the services. Arthur said there was a prospect of additional rollouts across GPT's 16 shopping centres in the future.

The new deal continues a period of rapid growth for SkyFii, which was founded in late 2011 and now offers its services across Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia and Australia.

In July last year, SkyFii was one of 13 tech startups that pitched for $40,000 in Mondelez International’s Mobile Futures Pitch competition.

By November, it raised $3.5 million in two weeks at 20 cents a share through a backdoor listing involving a reverse takeover of former investment company RKS Consolidated.

Skyfii signed a major “precursor” deal with Optus this past February under which the telco became a reseller of Skyfii's free wi-fi into its existing enterprise customer base.

In the last few years GPT Group drove through a major transformation that saw it push 95 percent of its IT environment into the cloud, including its core SAP applications and central leasing system.