BENEFITS OF DIGITAL WAYFINDING AND FUTURE PLANS FOR OPPNA DIGITAL
Jeffery Sarenpa discusses the benefits of digital wayfinding, our prject with Mall of America, and the future plans for Oppna Digital in an interview with Superb Crew. SuperbCrew is a tech news website covering innovative technology and internet companies – sharing news, experience and knowledge from the tech world.
Oppna Digital is a completely custom, full-service solutions provider with an intense focus on user experience design and development. From software development to hardware procurement, the company provides all aspects to its digital solutions. One of the items they specialize in is designing custom, multi-level map displays based on the location’s layout and users orientation.
Below is the interview between Superb Crew and Jeffery Sarenpa, Director, Customer Facing Technology at Oppna Digital.
Q: You’ve recently announced the expansion from 6 to nearly 100 digital wayfinding directories at Mall of America. Could you tell us more about these directories and their capabilities?
A: We specialize in custom digital wayfinding directories. For Mall of America, we developed personalized touch screen kiosks to help guests better navigate the mall. In addition to the interactive map, guests can search stores by name, category, and brand. Once the guest finds their desired destination, they receive easy-to-understand, step-by-step directions from the kiosk, to their destination. The kiosks also have the capability to send the directions to the guest’s personal media device.
Q: What is the biggest benefit of adopting a digital wayfinding solution?
A: The benefits vary by industry and depend on our client’s goal(s). Mall of America was looking to enhance the guest experience by reducing the time it takes to find a store at their directories. It was taking guests, on average, 3 to 4 minutes to find their destination and understand how to get there from looking at the old, printed directories. The new digital wayfinding directories have reduced this time by over 85%. It now takes roughly 30 seconds for guests to find their destination and understand how to get there. Another huge benefit is long-term cost savings over printed directories. Take an airport for example – we have seen costs as high as $100,000 to update all the printed directories in an airport. If the airport is updating their directories 3 – 4 times per year, the digital wayfinding kiosks could have a positive ROI in less than 12 months.
Q: Who are your primary customers?
A: There are many industries that we see needing a complete overhaul of their wayfinding solutions. A few that we are focusing on are shopping centers, airports, hospitals, retail locations, and even city centers.
Q: What are your plans for the future?
A: We plan on bringing our custom, full-service wayfinding solutions to more industries and customers around the country and the world. We strive to be on the cutting edge with regards to the features we provide and the technologies we integrate into our solutions. Our larger goal is to create a better wayfinding experience for as many people as possible.