In-person venues have the chance to transform customer experiences by capitalising on insights, writes Shaun Bossons, Chief Revenue Officer, Purple
The physical world is undergoing a digital reckoning.
Unlike the digital realm, where online retailers routinely know their customers, tailor engagements in real time, and measure results daily through tools like cookies and behavioural tracking, physical venues traditionally lack this level of visibility and responsiveness. The resulting gap leaves many businesses unable to fully capitalise on the rich interactions happening right inside their spaces.
For years, brands have chased personalisation through significant investments in loyalty programmes, customer surveys, mobile apps, and increasingly sophisticated tools like AI-driven segmentation, omnichannel attribution, and dynamic content platforms.
And yet, many of these strategies are still disconnected, especially when it comes to linking digital tools with what’s happening in physical spaces. Some of the most actionable customer insights are happening right under our noses — literally inside our venues, stores, and public spaces. The irony is that they often go unrecognised and unused.
We’ve reached a pivotal moment in the evolution of connected environments. Traditionally, brands have used insights to target customers, either to drive them to the venue or to analyse behaviour after a visit. But too often, these insights aren’t applied within the venue itself, where the opportunity to engage in real time exists. It’s no longer enough to simply know who your customer is or what they do. The true competitive edge comes from understanding when they are most open to engagement, and being able to respond instantly, within the physical space they’re already in.
This is where the next chapter of IoT-enabled customer experience begins, where insight turns to action.
From presence to engagement
The traditional view of in-venue technology has been infrastructure-first: install Wi-Fi, deploy sensors, collect data, whether through product scanners at shelves, tabletop devices in restaurants, or other connected tools. But the focus has largely been on connectivity and passive data collection. Today, the strategic mindset has shifted. IoT is no longer just about collecting data; it’s about activating it in real time to drive meaningful engagement.
The most successful businesses today are using their connected environments not only to passively observe customer behaviour but to influence it, thereby transforming each moment of presence into a potential moment of value.
Think about a fan arriving early at a football stadium. Or a shopper lingering near a premium display in-store. These are what we call ‘receptive moments’ — behavioural micro-signals that indicate an openness to influence. The opportunity lies in combining those signals with a real-time engagement engine that can deliver something meaningful, whether it’s a reward, an offer, a simple gesture of brand recognition, or even loyalty.
Hyper-personalisation that feels personal
There’s been a lot of noise around hyper-personalisation in recent years. The promise of delivering the right message to the right person at the right time is nothing new. But what’s missing is the right context, especially in physical spaces.
We’ve seen first hand how powerful this can be through our recent work with partners across retail, attractions, and hospitality. For example, integrations between in-venue data platforms and loyalty or promotions systems can enable real-time offers triggered by customer behaviour inside the physical space. This means that when someone visits a store multiple times or demonstrates specific buying behaviours, the system recognises those patterns and delivers a tailored incentive at the moment it matters most.
It’s a fundamentally different approach to engagement. Instead of broadcasting promotions and hoping for clicks, we’re meeting people where they are — literally and figuratively — and turning their behaviour into an ongoing journey and dialogue.
The value of intent data you can see
First-party data has become the new gold standard, especially as third-party cookies are phased out. However, not all first-party data is created equally.
The data generated in physical spaces—such as dwell time, visit frequency, time of day, and movement patterns—offer rich behavioural insights that reveal what customers actually do, rather than just what they say or claim to intend to do. By combining these behavioural signals with an understanding of customer attitudes, brands can gain a deeper, more accurate picture of loyalty and know how to act on it effectively.
When captured ethically and used responsibly, this data can supercharge marketing performance. We’ve seen venues drive significant uplifts in ROI simply by refining the timing and relevance of their messages—even without changing the content itself. Why? Because when the context is right, the message lands differently. Consider how many times a day brands try to influence you—through social media, email, TV—yet most efforts fail because you simply aren’t receptive at that moment.
Physical spaces as engagement engines
This evolution isn’t about replacing digital channels. Rather, it’s about elevating the role of the physical world as a fully integrated part of the customer journey.
Physical venues have a unique advantage: they can engage the customer with all five senses. They offer presence, serendipity, and human connection in a way digital commerce experiences often struggle to replicate.
When IoT technology is layered on top of a strong physical presence with intelligent data capture and real-time personalisation, a new kind of value is unlocked. It’s no longer about tracking behavior or simply counting visitors in a vacuum. It’s about orchestrating meaningful experiences that drive loyalty, advocacy, and revenue.
What comes next
We’re at the beginning of what I call the ‘receptivity economy‘ — a shift in focus from who the customer is, to when they are most open to connection.
This has implications far beyond retail. In healthcare, it could mean guiding patients through physical environments more effectively and ensuring they are aware of important health services. In airports, it could enable stress-free, personalised passenger journeys that reduce risk and also increase revenue. In stadiums, we could see fan experiences similar to what is expected at home, but far more engaged in the action.
The technology is available. The data is available. The question now is whether brands are ready to shift the way they think about engagement, from campaigns and cohorts to moments and motion.
Because in the end, it’s not only about having more data. It’s about knowing how to use that data in the moment and having the right tools to turn it into revenue-driving action.
Based in Chicago, Shaun is a strategic and performance-focused commercial executive with over 20 years of innovative, energetic leadership across North America, Europe and Asia. He is currently Chief Revenue Officer of Purple.
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