Asia Research Institute

What Asia Research Institute does

Asia Research Institute Inc. is a Tokyo-based data intelligence firm founded in 2012 as a spin-off of 商業科学研究所 (Commercial Science Research Institute), a Japanese consultancy with a track record across 3,000+ retail and distribution stores. The company collects and analyzes BigData across Asian markets, primarily using GPS signal collection from mobile devices and web scraping, to deliver location intelligence, foot traffic analytics, visitor behavior analysis, and commercial distribution insights. Its product portfolio is packaged into four core dashboard products — GPS Human Flow Dashboard, Visitor Behavior Analysis Dashboard, Distribution Channel Dashboard, and Data Sales — supplemented by consulting services that incorporate AI modeling for market and trade area analysis.

The underlying technology stack centers on GPS data acquisition, large-scale web scraping, data cleaning and organization, and dashboard visualization, with AI modeling applied as a layer within consulting deliverables rather than as a standalone product. ARI claims to hold the largest volume of commercial facility data in Japan for the Asia region, which forms the basis of its competitive positioning.

The business model combines three revenue streams: data sales (data monetization of commercial facility, location, and marketing datasets), packaged dashboard products (subscription/recurring), and professional services consulting. Go-to-market is a direct B2B sales motion through the corporate website, with a contact-inquiry funnel and no publicly disclosed pricing. Target customers are global retailers, manufacturers, developers, consumer goods firms, and consulting companies operating in major Asian cities, with no named customer logos disclosed. The company operates from a single Shibuya, Tokyo headquarters with 1-10 employees and no disclosed funding.

Name

Asia Research Institute

Legal name

Asia Research Institute Inc.

Website

https://ari-biz.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Asia Research Institute is a Tokyo-based data intelligence firm that collects BigData across Asian markets via GPS and web scraping to deliver foot traffic, visitor behavior, and commercial distribution analytics to global retailers, developers, and consumer goods companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Location Analytics and Market Intelligence Software

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191), Advertising Agencies (541810)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Market Research & Consumer Insights (BPAHALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Data Analytics Integration & Insight Platforms (Research Ops, Dashboards, Insight Repositories) (MPAAALAO), Competitive & Market Intelligence (Competitive Tracking, TAM/SAM/SOM) (MPAAALAL), Shopper Insights & Path-to-Purchase Research (MPAAAJAL)

Keywords

• Location analytics
• Foot traffic analysis
• Commercial facility data
• Market intelligence consulting
• Bigdata collection

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Data Sales: Sale of commercial facility data, location data, and marketing data. The company claims to hold the largest volume of commercial facility data in Japan for the Asia region.
2. Dashboard Products: GPS analysis foot traffic dashboards, visitor behavior analysis dashboards, and commercial distribution dashboards as packaged products.
3. Consulting Services: Market analysis and commercial area analysis consulting for the Asian region, as well as data utilization and visualization modeling consulting.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Asia Research Institute collects, analyzes, and monetizes BigData across Asian markets — including mobile GPS foot traffic signals, in-facility visitor behavior, commercial facility data, and e-commerce distribution data obtained through web scraping. The company packages these datasets into dashboard products (GPS Human Flow Dashboard, Visitor Behavior Analysis Dashboard, Distribution Channel Dashboard), sells commercial facility and location data directly, and delivers market/trade-area analysis consulting with AI-based modeling for global retailers, manufacturers, real estate developers, consumer goods companies, and consulting firms.

Product overview

Asia Research Institute operates as a data intelligence company offering an integrated suite of BigData collection and analytics services for the Asian market. The portfolio consists of GPS人流ダッシュボード (GPS Human Flow Dashboard) for tracking human movement via mobile GPS signals, 来店客行動分析ダッシュボード (Visitor Behavior Analysis Dashboard) for facility visitor analysis, 商流ダッシュボード (Distribution Channel Dashboard) for e-commerce visualization, and データ販売 (Data Sales) for commercial facility and location data. Supporting services include Marketing Data Collection through GPS data and web scraping, ダッシュボード可視化 (Dashboard Visualization) for data cleaning and dashboard creation, and コンサルティング (Consulting Services) incorporating AI modeling. The company focuses on serving global retailers, manufacturers, and developers across Asia's major cities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• GPS Human Flow Dashboard (GPS人流ダッシュボード)

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• 商業科学研究所 (Commercial Science Research Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe company was established in 2012 based on the know-how and expertise of 商業科学研究所 (Commercial Science Research Institute). This parent organization has consulted over 3,000 major retail and distribution stores, providing the foundation for Asia Research Institute's data collection and analytics capabilities for the Asian market.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Similarweb: Digital market intelligence platform covering web/app traffic, e-commerce, and consumer behavior. Comparable to ARI's e-commerce distribution dashboard and web-scraping intelligence offerings.
• Esri (ArcGIS Business Analyst): GIS and location analytics incumbent used by retail and real estate for trade area, site selection, and demographic analysis. Comparable in trade area/commercial distribution analytics offered by ARI.
• NielsenIQ: Global market research and consumer intelligence incumbent serving CPG, retail, and media clients with panel, retail measurement, and analytics. Overlaps with ARI's commercial distribution and shopper insights work at a much larger scale.

Direct peers

• SafeGraph: Provides commercial places/POI data and foot traffic datasets to enterprises and analysts. Comparable as a data licensing peer for retail and commercial real estate customers.
• Cuebiq: Location analytics and consumer insights company leveraging opted-in location data for foot traffic measurement and audience analytics. Comparable product offering to ARI's foot traffic and visitor behavior dashboards.
• INTAGE Inc. Japan's largest market research firm offering consumer panel, shopper insights, and retail analytics. Direct comparable in offering market/consumer research and consulting to Japanese enterprises and global brands entering Japan.
• Placer.ai: US-based foot traffic and location analytics platform using GPS/mobile data to deliver dashboards and insights for retail, real estate, and CPG customers. Closest direct functional competitor to ARI's GPS Human Flow Dashboard.
• Near (Near Intelligence): Global location intelligence platform providing footfall, audience, and consumer behavior analytics across APAC, North America, and Europe. Direct comparable in cross-border retail location intelligence.
• Macromill (now Macromill Group): Japan-headquartered digital market research and analytics company serving global brands with consumer insights, panels, and online research. Closest direct Japanese peer to ARI's marketing research and consumer insight business.

Emerging players

• GeoPoll: Mobile-based market research and data platform operating in emerging markets. Comparable as an emerging-market-centric research/insights peer to ARI's Asia focus, though more survey- than location-data-driven.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/AsiaResearchInstit

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Asia Research Institute