CBRE has made a strategic equity investment in Sydney-based prop-tech startup Pathzz as landlords and occupiers heighten their focus on the value of customer insights.
Pathzz’s customer analytics product applies advanced Artificial Intelligence and Big Data processing to a stream of mobility signals and other descriptive data sets to help inform property decision-making. CBRE forged an exclusive alliance with Pathzz earlier this year to roll out the group’s analytics in the Pacific property market.
Recognising the power of the product, CBRE has taken an equity stake in the business and a board seat to accelerate the penetration of Pathzz into the Pacific market and beyond.
CBRE’s Advisory CEO for Australia & New Zealand, Phil Rowland noted that customer insights have typically been difficult to access in the commercial property sector.
“While occupiers and, to a lesser extent, landlords have previously had some visibility about the behaviours of their customers, Pathzz allows for a detailed analysis from an individual business level through to analysing and comparing entire regions to assist with rent negotiations, portfolio strategies, acquisitions and leasing decisions,” Rowland said.
“Pathzz empowers property owners and occupiers to understand their customers in greater detail, creating profiles of the types of people who visit any location and how frequently and map how trends change over time.”
CBRE’s Pacific Senior Managing Director, Advisory & Transaction Services, Matt Haddon, will serve as CBRE’s board representative.
Pathzz CEO Jason San Diego said a key benefit of Pathzz was that it lowers the barriers to access customer insights across all industries.
“We are excited to extend our partnership with the world’s largest commercial property services firm, CBRE. The natural synergies and alignment between our organisations will enable us to provide market-leading analytics solutions to the commercial property market across the globe,” San Diego said.
CBRE is also harnessing the Pathzz platform to inform key research insights, such as mapping changing consumer behaviours as Sydney emerges from recent COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.
The Galeries, Sydney
While visits to the Sydney CBD are still approximately 70% below 2019 levels across most parts of the city, Pathzz data highlights that more people are flowing back to the CBD each week. Data for the week ending November 14 shows an increase in visits of 38% in Martin Place, 42% in Pitt Street Mall and 63% around Wynyard compared to the week prior.
CBRE’s Pacific head of Retail Analytics, Matt Copus, said the increases highlighted a relatively healthy bounce back for the Sydney CBD following a harsher lockdown than that experienced in 2020.
“This is driving expectations that visits to the Sydney CBD will surpass those seen in the build-up to Christmas last year. Pathzz data has also highlighted changes in visitor demographics and behaviours, including an ageing visitor profile and fewer commutes by car. We will be using Pathzzz to monitor how enduring these changes are and the progress of the city’s recovery to pre-COVID levels,” Copus said.
Existing Pathzz clients include major landlords such as ISPT and leading retailers Lululemon and Just Cuts.
