Collecting Consumer Behavior Data with WLAN

Knowing consumers’ shopping paths is an essential part of successful retailing. Good space management requires accurate data about consumer behavior. Traditionally, these data have been collected through, for example, panel interviews, camera tracking, and in-store observation. Their nature is more or less subjective. Modern technology makes it possible to use more objective methods, such as wireless local area network (WLAN) and radio frequency identification (RFID). In this article we examine the possibilities WLAN provides information systems studies. The empirical data is collected from a large DIY (do-it-yourself) store. The results show that WLAN has great potential for accurate and objective data collection processes and modeling data in retailing.