This is part of a series of articles written in partnership with the University of Minnesota Community Development. Look for more articles in this series in the coming months.
For communities that rely on tourism, knowing who visits their businesses, attractions, and festivals—and in what numbers—is crucial. This information helps shape marketing strategies, improve storefronts, create positive visitor experiences, and predict activity demands effectively (Liang et al., 2023). Mobile analytics, the collection and analysis of data from mobile devices using location-based applications, is gaining interest among economic development and tourism professionals. It provides insights into visitors’ demographic characteristics and behaviors in specific locations. However, like any tool, it comes with both opportunities and challenges.
How Mobile Analytics Work
Mobile analytics tools, typically purchased as subscriptions, provide a range of data and analysis features within the platforms. Users can select a point of interest (e.g., a business, a downtown area, park/recreation area) on a map and choose specific criteria including a timeframe and types of visitor data needed (e.g., local vs. tourists, distance traveled from home). The platform then provides anonymized and aggregated location data to estimate visit trends and visitor demographics, offering a detailed view of who is visiting and their behaviors. This helps communities understand their visitors better and make informed decisions.
Expert Insights and Case Studies
To explore the practical applications of mobile analytics, we at the BBER spoke with Steve Sharkey, director of the Consumer Insights & Analytics (CIA) Program and Marketing instructor at the University of Minnesota Duluth. We also reviewed research from the University of Minnesota Tourism Center.
Here is what we learned:
- Mobile analytics tools provide a detailed picture of visitor behavior and demographic characteristics. They can estimate visitor counts, track daily, weekly, monthly, yearly visitation patterns, and identify where people are coming from to visit specific areas, as well as infer visitors’ age, gender, race/ethnicity, and household income. For example, a project conducted by Sharkey and one of his students showed where visitors traveled from before arriving at a business and where they went afterward (e.g., their homes, different specific businesses). Communities can use this information to improve directional signage to their downtown business district, promote festivals and events, tailor marketing materials to better match intended audiences and more. By tapping into these insights, communities can make data-driven decisions that enhance visitor experiences and drive economic development.
- Mobile analytics can help communities understand how marketing strategies influence visitor behavior. For example, Sharkey gave an example of using mobile analytics to determine the effectiveness of a change to a business’s storefront, window display, or other outdoor beautification efforts by calculating the change in car or foot traffic after the change was implemented.
- Comparing mobile data with traditional methods provides greater insights. Traditional methods like trail counters and surveys, are effective for understanding visitor demographics and patterns, but they can be costly and time-consuming. Mobile analytics offers similar insights much more efficiently, though the results might not always align with those attained through traditional methods. A combined approach can save time and labor while providing accurate results. A recent study from the University of Minnesota Tourism Center (Choi, 2024) compared traditional survey and trail count data with mobile analytics data. While mobile analytics provided detailed insights into visitor patterns, it was less accurate in some areas, such as visitors’ race, education, and income levels. The study suggested using mobile data with caution and emphasized considering local context and external factors like special events that can skew visitor numbers. Communities can benefit by combining mobile analytics with existing data sources, such as mailing lists, social media followers, and other metrics, to gain a comprehensive understanding of their visitors. This approach helps in making informed decisions to enhance visitor experiences and improve local attractions.
There are several potential challenges to consider.
Data concerns—While mobile analytics platforms do considerable work to validate their data to ensure that it is as representative of the population as possible, there is still a potential for bias. It’s important for communities to understand the data source and its limitations before making decisions.
Cost—Mobile analytics platforms can be quite expensive—in some cases tens of thousands of dollars—which could be prohibitive for many potential users.
Amount of information—While mobile analytics have the potential to provide comprehensive data quickly, traditional surveys may offer more detailed data, such as the reasons behind tourist visits.
If you want to learn more about mobile analytics or need assistance with a research question, contact us, and we can help you get started!