by Yaowei Sun and Beatriz Plaza
ABSTRACT
The key to digital museology and the future of cultural communication is the understanding of visitor behavior. With the transformation of museums as a fixed space of exhibition to an experience of a cultural ecosystem, museums should strike a balance between educational missions and operational survivability. The paper examines the impact of data-based insights on improving audience engagement, the sale of cultural products, and customization by targeting the audience of super visitors, high-frequency, and high-engagement visitors whose actions have an unlawful effect on the museum results. With the help of the data provided by the behavioral and transactional activities of one of the largest metropolitan museums, the study incorporates digital tracking and purchase history as well as mobile interactions in order to determine the patterns connecting visitor interests and product preferences. These observations show that the engagement in such events as exhibitions, augmented reality, and special events is correlated with the interest in books, replicas, and digital media. The results prove that periods of high engagement, including weekends and special situations enhance visitor-product associations, which give a chance to implement individualized digital communication and merchandising initiatives. Using the prism of digital cultural communication to apply behavioral data, this study demonstrates how museums can use data in an ethical, creative way in order to create meaningful, personal, and socially valuable visitor experience in the digital age.
