The City Council has completed the first phase of implementation of the 'Phygital' project, aimed at boosting sales and promoting shopping tourism in the main commercial areas of Benidorm. The Councilor for Innovation and European Funds, Aida García Mayor, explained that this first phase has consisted of “the deployment of the technology and sensors that support the project, as well as the initial anonymised collection of data on flows of pedestrians in the different areas included in the project.” A project in which the Department of Commerce directed by Javier Jordá also participates.
According to García Mayor, the 67 sensors that collect in an anonymised manner the mobile signals from which tourist flows are detected have already been installed. These nodes are located in a wide area that includes Tomás Ortuño, Ruzafa, Apolo XI, Gambo, Gerona and Esperanto streets; the Almendros and Martínez Alejos avenues; the Paseo de la Carretera and the first line of the Levante and Poniente beaches, as well as several surrounding roads.
The councilor has indicated that "once this first phase is completed, we now begin the second, which is the implementation and launch of the digital marketing platform." This platform is key since through it personalised messages will be sent to registered users with promotions and offers in nearby establishments or information of interest such as, for example, cultural events. These messages will depend on the user's tastes, preferences or interests.
Likewise, he has clarified that "the user will only receive these messages, which will be periodic, when he is in the area of influence, not when he is outside that radius, so we are talking about a project that is not invasive and that seeks not to saturate ”.
This second phase also includes the registration of participating establishments and users.
To date, there is already the collaboration of 469 commercial, leisure, restaurant, etc. establishments, a figure that is expected to increase in the coming weeks. Regarding user registration, this can be carried out through the QRs displayed on the project's posters, which in the near future will begin to be placed in participating establishments, as well as in different centres and public spaces.
The person in charge of Innovation and European Funds has stressed that Phygital “contributes to the digitalisation of our productive fabric” and brings “many advantages at a commercial level since it will favour an increase in sales and customer loyalty.” But interesting data can also be extracted for commercial and municipal management, such as the hours of highest traffic on each of the streets or the possible variations at different times of the year, which will favor decision-making when scheduling activities or actions. .
For the implementation and development of Phygital, the City Council has obtained a subsidy of 165,326.52 euros from the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce from Next Generation funds. This contribution of European funds represents 55% of the cost of the project; while the City Council assumes the remaining 45% with its own resources.