Mall of America teams with Axis Communications on AI powered analytics for parking intelligence

Mall of America has announced an expansion of its partnership with Axis Communications to deploy car counting video analytics across more than a dozen locations.

Standing at 5.6 million square feet and home to more than 500 retailers, restaurants etc, MOA hosts over 300 events each year, and has 32 million+ visitors annually from around the globe.

Scheduling those events, ranging from a concert to an outdoor food festival, requires careful planning to ensure it can support parking operations and provide safety and security to those in attendance. By expanding its surveillance system and investing in AI enabled video analytics with Axis Communications, it says it was able to meet its requirements for a reliable, accurate, and scalable solution to support its 24/7 security and safety operations.

"We needed technology that could keep pace with our evolving needs and make sure our security team could focus on the highest priority tasks,” says Aaron Nielsen, Vice President of Information Technology at MOA.

“Our previous solution struggled with the unpredictable Midwestern weather, including snow, rain, and cold, all impacting accuracy and reliability. Car counting is one of the most important operational metrics we have. Implementing a system that delivers accurate data allows us to quickly scale from one location to more than a dozen additional locations throughout the Mall, providing efficiency and invaluable information for our team.”

The success of the initial test led MOA to expand the implementation to more than a dozen locations.

“Mall of America presented us with a challenge that required not just technology, but collaboration, trust, and innovation,” says James Stark, Segment Development Manager, Retail at Axis Communications.

“We’re honoured to be part of their forward looking approach to safety and operational intelligence. As Mall of America continues to lead the way in experiential retail and entertainment, we remain committed to delivering the reliability, flexibility, and insight driven technology that their dynamic environment demands.”

MOA is exploring additional possibilities, such as capabilities like people counting and licence plate recognition, and leveraging line analytics to better understand visitor trends (e.g. distinguishing hotel guests from shopping centre visitors).

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