Page 46 - November 2020

TECHNOLOGY PROFILE | ART SOFTWARE GROUP
Building Connected
Environments
ART Software Group connects mixed-use retail
and leisure destinations with its market leading
analytics platform, Retail Advantage. After
interviewing Director Gareth Jordan last year,
RLI catches up with him to discuss how the
business is doubling down on its mission in the
unique and challenging circumstances that the
world has found itself in throughout 2020.
“Retail Advantage supports a new type of
community, one with connected partners
working in collaboration to achieve the best
performance fuelled by up-to-date information
– A truly connected retail”
RT Software Group is an experienced UK-based the relationship between occupiers and managers to drive routine has altered. He feels that it is important to assess
company with an international reach and they sales and profitability,” explains Jordan. the impact of social media and to take an understanding of
have been working with property groups and He continues by saying that effective destination these interactions and also other initiatives and correlate
A retail assets for over two decades. Their key focus management tools and smart data-visualisations provide those with site and store performance metrics.
and expertise is in supporting and connecting mixed-use, the right reporting and foresight, whilst the digitisation of Whilst discussing client relationships during the
retail and leisure destinations through applied technology. processes reduces friction and cuts working timelines with interview, Jordan summarises that: “For our team, it is really
A lot may have changed in the intervening years since versatile data connection and sharing designed to create an important to stay in sync and maintain a close connection
they were formed, but the same concepts remain true when environment working as a community. with people to understand where our partner businesses
measuring the progress and success of these destinations One of the group’s USPs is the intuitive feel and operation are now and where they are heading to continue to
– drawing value still relies upon immediate access to the of its software that is both simple to use and flexible. Their provide innovation and new tools as their needs evolve.
right information. solutions come with a huge amount of experience and This keeps us aligned with our clients and helps us grow
“Our digital platform – Retail Advantage supports a new industry knowledge, providing what professionals across together and I think the pandemic has only heightened the
type of community, one with connected partners working the industry want and need. Instead of a universal, one- need for strong collaboration.”
in collaboration to achieve the best performance fuelled by size fits all approach; the group is adept at working closely Looking to the future, Jordan is looking to make the most
up-to-date information – A truly connected retail,” explains with its clients and partners to create new modules or to of precious real-world experiences as much as possible
Gareth Jordan, Director of ART Software Group. “This enhance its software’s standard features so that it delivers and says this year was about doubling down on its mission
utilises relevant and accurate insight to help users enhance exact needs on a project by project basis. to arm retail destinations with technology that helps them
perform better and be connected in smarter ways.
Jordan says that with any data, the key is getting a good
growth and develop retail and leisure communities focused
on performance objectives.” return on investment on what is already available and “I genuinely believe that the future will benefit hugely
With aspects of life such as shopping, working and then enhancing or supplementing that with other relevant from a connected environment full of insights that supports
socialising looking much different these days, the offerings information and insights. everyone in retail and leisure and that it will be a future that
that ART Software Group provide are arguably more relevant For example, social media is a medium that has become inspires competition in a positive way,” Jordan concludes.
than ever. In these difficult times, landlords, asset managers even more important in the last few months as people’s daily www.artsoftwaregroup.com
and their tenants have to work much more closely together
to get results. In many of these cases, store lease agreements
are being restructured and Gareth and the team are seeing an
increase in the move to performance-related rental charges.
“So, what we are providing is really a live, strategic view
of a constantly evolving situation. That means things like
supporting retail initiatives with the right data, knowledge
and communication. Creating a digital environment that
gets business critical insights to where they need to be.
Never has the “real” in real estate been more important
and yet also held so much opportunity,” Jordan comments.
The expertise that ART offers is in helping companies to
truly understand more about their business and activities
through better access and a better understanding of the
data. They offer a range of IT services including consultancy,
project management and custom software, with their Retail
Advantage platform being one of their most used solutions.
“Retail Advantage collects data from tenants through a
variety of methods and brings that information together
with other data such as weather, movement, traffic, staff
commentary, sustainability metrics and other benchmarks
to provide reporting and insights that come through 20
years of experience working with landlords and bridging RETAIL ADVANTAGE COMMUNITY BUILDING APP