HELSINKI, October 23 /PRNewswire/ —
– Analysis of Consumer Shopping Patterns Enable Home Improvement
Retailer to Optimize Store Layout and Increase Marketing ROI

Ekahau Inc., a leading provider of Wi-Fi-based Real Time
Location Systems (RTLS), announced that Rautakesko Ltd, a market leader in
its operating area and the fifth biggest in do-it-yourself (DIY) business in
Europe, has selected Ekahau Wi-Fi-based RTLS solution for retail store
customer behavior analysis.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081014/324879-a )

Rautakesko will be using the RTLS technology from Ekahau to capture data
on customers’ shopping patterns. Customers at Rautakesko stores will have a
special tag associated with them when they are shopping, enabling the Ekahau
RTLS system to identify their location and time spent within the store.

“The analysis of visitor behavior, including their walking
routes, stopping patterns and wait times, produces invaluable knowledge about
consumer habits and motivation,” said Konsta Kuokkanen, project manager at
Rautakesko. “This information helps us to arrange the store layout optimally
and develop retail concepts.” The system has been used to collect customer
traffic data at Rautakesko’s Byggmakker Trondheim in Norway and at K-rauta
Orebro in Sweden.

Unlike competing solutions, that are based on a proprietary
Infrared (IR), Ultrawide Band (UWB) wireless infrastructure, or using wall
mount video cameras, Ekahau RTLS is utilizing the stores’ existing Wi-Fi
network, which already is being used for data and voice services. Retail
stores also extensively use Wi-Fi handheld barcode and RFID scanners. By
leveraging the existing Wi-Fi networks, Rautakesko eliminates the need to
deploy new expensive infrastructure for behavior analysis purposes.

“Understanding how customers behave in the store – including
what sections they visit and why – helps retailers improve their in-store
layouts, increase ROI on marketing dollars and enhance customer service,”
said Antti Korhonen, Ekahau’s president and CEO. “This concept and outcome
similarly applies to patient flow in hospitals or work-in-progress processes
in a manufacturing facility. With Ekahau’s RTLS technology, users can
visualize this previously invisible process – in retail, healthcare,
manufacturing and other industries in a new innovative way.”

Rautakesko’s new customer tracking system is leveraging
Ekahau’s proven RTLS technology. One key component to the Ekahau RTLS
solution for this application is a patented “rail tracking” method that
enables Rautakesko to analyze the process flow paths with an improved
accuracy along the retail store aisles.

“The performance of Wi-Fi-based RTLS solution can vary
depending on what types of algorithms are being used for location tracking,”
said Pauli Misikangas, Ekahau’s CTO. “Ekahau’s patented technology ensures
that the historical location data of a moving person can be analyzed along
the pathways more accurately than has ever been possible before.”

About Rautakesko Ltd

Rautakesko (http://www.rautakesko.com) is engaged in the hardware and
builders’ supplies and interior decoration trade through the K-rauta, Rautia,
Byggmakker and Senukai retail chains. Rautakesko manages its chains, combines
their purchasing power, arranges efficient logistics, acquires store sites
and ensures strong marketing and development support for the stores.
Rautakesko operates in the Nordic and Baltic countries, Russia and Belarus.

About Ekahau Inc.

Ekahau Inc. is the industry leader in providing Wi-Fi-based
RTLS solutions. Ekahau’s customers, including several Fortune 500 companies
worldwide, are realizing the benefits of Wi-Fi based location services and
innovative Wi-Fi network planning and optimization tools. Ekahau’s solutions
are being used in more than 150 hospitals around the world, as well as by
manufacturers, mining/oil/gas companies, government agencies and the
military. Ekahau partners include wireless software developers, leading
system integrators and international OEM partners, who develop and market
wireless enterprise applications. Ekahau is a U.S. based corporation, with
offices in Saratoga, Calif.; Reston, Va.; Helsinki, Finland; and Hong Kong,
China. For more information about Ekahau, please visit at
http://www.ekahau.com.

(c) Copyright 2008, Ekahau, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Ekahau Inc.

Europe Media Contact Annina Pierson Marketing Manager EMEA APAC +358-20-743-5913 annina.pierson@ekahau.com; Rautakesko Media Contact: Heidi Talja Communications Officer +358-1053-20950 heidi.talja@kesko.fi