Interviews

MarTech Interview with Or Shin, Chief Business Officer, Oriient

Today GPS technology is an important part of everyone’s life. How can this technology be leveraged indoors?

Oriient’s technology leverages the sensors that already exist inside smartphones, such as the compass, and combines it with the earth’s magnetic field to identify indoor magnetic landscapes.

1. Please give us a brief description about Oriient.
Oriient (oriient.me) is a software-only, hassle-free indoor positioning system bringing the GPS revolution inside with a scalable, accessible solution for retail and smart buildings, successfully integrating the convenience of online shopping within brick-and-mortar stores. The technology allows retailers to provide simple-to-use navigation and search, making it easier for their customers to find products and receive real-time, location-based promotions. Smart buildings can use technology to improve their services, as well.
In addition, this technology allows retailers to plan smarter and more profitable routes throughout the store by using Oriient data to track and improve their store layouts.

2. How did Oriient begin?
When Amiram Frish found himself lost in the aisles of a massive supermarket in Virginia Beach, he knew something needed to be done. Big box stores and mega-outlets are spread across the US and overwhelm many.
Frish, a successful geo-engineer, knew he had the power to create a solution that would keep shopping from becoming a dreaded chore.
For the first couple of years, Frish gathered a team to find what did and didn’t work in indoor positioning. Bluetooth and GPS were ruled out. Once the team discovered that each indoor location had a unique magnetic field that could be detected by smartphones, Oriient was born.

3. How does Oriient’s technology work?

Oriient’s technology leverages the sensors that already exist inside smartphones, such as the compass, and combines it with the earth’s magnetic field to identify indoor magnetic landscapes.

By pinpointing the location of the smartphone and combining it with state-of-the-art proprietary algorithms, Oriient’s technology accurately provides positioning within three feet (1 meter).

4. How is it different from traditional indoor GPS technologies?
Traditional indoor GPS technologies rely on costly hardware infrastructure, such as beacons that must be continuously maintained and updated. Oriient’s software-only solution is a simple SDK that can be integrated into any app. This resourcefulness gives Oriient a head start both in terms of cost and efficiency, making it the only scalable solution.

5. Can you please give us some marketing-focused use cases?
Indoor proximity marketing is the best example. By sending customers promotions and coupons based on their geographical location within the store, marketers are better able to target their customers exactly when it is relevant. If a customer is lingering in front of the dog food shelf for more than a few seconds, he’ll get an offer for one of the brands directly in front of him. If a customer has already purchased bacon, she’ll get an offer for range-free eggs when she’s in front of the egg case.
Change this example to say that if you’re lingering for a few seconds in front of the dog food shelf then you’ll get an offering for one of the relevant brands. And add another example for moving next to the shelf with X and since it’s complementary to an item already purchased then we’ll push a promo to get your attention.
A coupon for dog food will be sent while the customer is physically standing in front of the dog food. This type of marketing results in higher conversion rates and helps retailers better track and understand customer behavior.

6. How does it integrate into the retail customers’ experience?
For shoppers, Oriient helps them find products easier, shop more efficiently, and receive personal, location-based promotions, with and without navigation to products and promoted items.

7. Who can benefit from Oriient and how?
Retailers, CPG brands, malls, and individual customers all benefit from using Oriient. Customers receive a more efficient shopping experience as well as location-based promotions, while stores no longer have to worry about lost revenue due to unfound items. Additionally, retailers and mall owners receive quality data and insights into customer behavior, allowing them to better plan, place, and execute. Digitized and proximity-based marketing provides CPG brands better access to their customers – with hard data, retailers can demand higher prices for specific store placements and promotions – or use the information to promote their private-label brands instead.

8. Where is Oriient is being used?
Oriient is already in hundreds of stores across North America and Europe.

9. What can you offer in proximity marketing?
Proximity marketing improves targeted marketing. Instead of showing general promotions, these promotions pop up based on location – and can easily be combined with loyalty data to further fine-tune offers.
Additionally, proximity marketing offers retailers a unique perspective into buyer behavior. By tracking customer movement, retailers can find where their customers are lingering, which products most people walk right by, and which areas of the store garner the most traffic.
Can you personalize the offering by location?
Yes! Oriient’s technology allows marketers to promote items based on real-time location. Imagine getting a coupon for olive oil while standing in the aisle deciding which brand to purchase.

10. Can someone navigate to a specific marketing offering?
In a store, customers are able to navigate their way to specific products. If a customer knows of a promotion or has a coupon for a specific item, they can use these maps to direct themselves to the product they need.

11. Uplift vs. coupons
With Oriient technology, uplift complements the coupon experience. With customer loyalty data combined with the customer’s real-time location, the right coupon can be offered at the right time on the right channel, reinforcing both. Furthermore, using the app as the means of customer communications ensures that the retailer can reinforce customer loyalty with real-time, relevant offers – contextual promotions presented at the right time and place convert up to four times more than generic digital coupons.

12. Do I need to download an app?
Oriient is a component (SDK) added into the retailer’s app. It can work seamlessly in the background to pop-up promotions in real time or with a user interface that includes a map feature with navigation.

13. Why invest in in-store experience, everyone is moving to online?
92% of shoppers have reported missing the in-store shopping experience. The main advantage ecommerce has to brick-and-mortar stores is the convenience factor. By using Oriient, customers can seamlessly take the convenience of online shopping and pair it with the more enjoyable experience of in-person shopping. By providing more value to consumers in the app and improving the in-store experience, retailers increase customer loyalty.

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Or Shin leads Strategy and Business Operations at Oriient Indoor GPS, providing a convenient indoor navigation experience for end users while allowing facilities to improve their service and operations. In his last role, he was responsible for identifying commercial opportunities for Johnson Controls (Fortune 500 co.) and managing all aspects of the Open Innovation program. He was previously the COO at Nielsen Innovate, where he facilitated the setup and growth of a successful Israeli technological incubator by Nielsen, the global information and research company. His background is in managing multi-million dollar projects, mainly for the public (government) sector e.g. Tel Aviv Municipality, using his experience in operations, production, marketing, and business development. Or holds an MA in Legal Studies from Bar-Ilan University and a BA with honors in Business Management and Finance from The College of Management Academic Studies.


Oriient provides the first GPS-like service indoors.

Hyper accurate Indoor Location Awareness, without the hassle.
You don't need to install anything, you don't need to maintain anything.
It's like GPS - a service you simply use.

Whether you operate a mall, megastore, hospital, university or an office building, your visitors and staff expect the place to be convenient, accessible and friendly.
It is what they have online, and it is what they expect offline.
We can help you achieve that, without any hardware installation or maintenance.
http://www.oriient.me

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