HELSINKI, October 23 /PRNewswire/ --

- Analysis of Consumer Shopping Patterns Enable Home Improvement Retailer to Optimize Store Layout and Increase Marketing ROI

Ekahau Inc., a leading provider of Wi-Fi-based Real Time Location Systems (RTLS), announced that Rautakesko Ltd, a market leader in its operating area and the fifth biggest in do-it-yourself (DIY) business in Europe, has selected Ekahau Wi-Fi-based RTLS solution for retail store customer behavior analysis.

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Rautakesko will be using the RTLS technology from Ekahau to capture data on customers' shopping patterns. Customers at Rautakesko stores will have a special tag associated with them when they are shopping, enabling the Ekahau RTLS system to identify their location and time spent within the store.

The analysis of visitor behavior, including their walking routes, stopping patterns and wait times, produces invaluable knowledge about consumer habits and motivation, said Konsta Kuokkanen, project manager at Rautakesko. This information helps us to arrange the store layout optimally and develop retail concepts. The system has been used to collect customer traffic data at Rautakesko's Byggmakker Trondheim in Norway and at K-rauta Orebro in Sweden.

Unlike competing solutions, that are based on a proprietary Infrared (IR), Ultrawide Band (UWB) wireless infrastructure, or using wall mount video cameras, Ekahau RTLS is utilizing the stores' existing Wi-Fi network, which already is being used for data and voice services. Retail stores also extensively use Wi-Fi handheld barcode and RFID scanners. By leveraging the existing Wi-Fi networks, Rautakesko eliminates the need to deploy new expensive infrastructure for behavior analysis purposes.

Understanding how customers behave in the store - including what sections they visit and why - helps retailers improve their in-store layouts, increase ROI on marketing dollars and enhance customer service, said Antti Korhonen, Ekahau's president and CEO. This concept and outcome similarly applies to patient flow in hospitals or work-in-progress processes in a manufacturing facility. With Ekahau's RTLS technology, users can visualize this previously invisible process - in retail, healthcare, manufacturing and other industries in a new innovative way.

Rautakesko's new customer tracking system is leveraging Ekahau's proven RTLS technology. One key component to the Ekahau RTLS solution for this application is a patented rail tracking method that enables Rautakesko to analyze the process flow paths with an improved accuracy along the retail store aisles.

The performance of Wi-Fi-based RTLS solution can vary depending on what types of algorithms are being used for location tracking, said Pauli Misikangas, Ekahau's CTO. Ekahau's patented technology ensures that the historical location data of a moving person can be analyzed along the pathways more accurately than has ever been possible before.

About Rautakesko Ltd

Rautakesko (http://www.rautakesko.com) is engaged in the hardware and builders' supplies and interior decoration trade through the K-rauta, Rautia, Byggmakker and Senukai retail chains. Rautakesko manages its chains, combines their purchasing power, arranges efficient logistics, acquires store sites and ensures strong marketing and development support for the stores. Rautakesko operates in the Nordic and Baltic countries, Russia and Belarus.

About Ekahau Inc.

Ekahau Inc. is the industry leader in providing Wi-Fi-based RTLS solutions. Ekahau's customers, including several Fortune 500 companies worldwide, are realizing the benefits of Wi-Fi based location services and innovative Wi-Fi network planning and optimization tools. Ekahau's solutions are being used in more than 150 hospitals around the world, as well as by manufacturers, mining/oil/gas companies, government agencies and the military. Ekahau partners include wireless software developers, leading system integrators and international OEM partners, who develop and market wireless enterprise applications. Ekahau is a U.S. based corporation, with offices in Saratoga, Calif.; Reston, Va.; Helsinki, Finland; and Hong Kong, China. For more information about Ekahau, please visit at http://www.ekahau.com.

(c) Copyright 2008, Ekahau, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Europe Media Contact Annina Pierson Marketing Manager EMEA APAC +358-20-743-5913 annina.pierson@ekahau.com; Rautakesko Media Contact: Heidi Talja Communications Officer +358-1053-20950 heidi.talja@kesko.fi