Analytical workflow of monitoring human mobility in big event settings using Bluetooth

Abstract

In recent times, consumer research at major social events received significant interest by organizing companies. Understanding the movements and motivations of the customers enables new business strategies and is needed to minimize the risk of investment. The spatiotemporal complexity of major events poses high demands on survey and analytical methods. New technological advances in both event monitoring systems and evaluation methods of movement data provide new insights into the behavioral patterns of customers by preserving their privacy. In this paper we present a work that seeks to systematize the research process of design, collection, and analysis of visitor behavior in a mixed indoor-outdoor event setting using Bluetooth sensor technology. The defined workflow is comprised of 5 steps and designed to answer heterogeneous business questions with respect to customer movement behavior in a single event context. Our approach is applied in a real-world business application for a Formula 1 event.