How Westpac DataX insights helped build Western Sydney International Airport
Data analytics has exposed Western Sydney as Australia’s third-largest economy, with residents matching greater Sydney’s $950 travel spending despite being consistently overlooked by airlines.
As Western Sydney International Airport prepares to open next year, it has used insights from Westpac DataX to attract airlines, car hire companies, retail food outlets and the rest of the vast ecosystem an airport needs to operate.
Westpac is proud to have played a part in getting one of Australia’s biggest infrastructure projects off the ground.
“We worked with Western Sydney International Airport to help them understand the travel behaviours of the residents of Western Sydney, and they were able to use those evidence-based insights when they were planning for the airport and dealing with potential suppliers and tenants,” says Lila Conomos, executive director and head of DataX. Westpac DataX uses de-identified data from the group’s operations – principally card transactions – to provide aggregated insights into what’s happening in consumer spending, helping businesses like Western Sydney International Airport make more informed strategic decisions and measure their impact.
The insights provided by Westpac form the backbone of the pitch that Alison Webster, WSI’s chief customer and commercial officer, uses to help airlines build a business case for using the airport.
“We’ve found that airlines have been incredibly impressed with the insights that we could share as a result of DataX’s work,” Webster says. “They look for any kind of insight that helps them understand how likely they are to build their load: propensity to travel, wallet size and wealth in the area, and also the diversity of the population,” she said.
“Westpac DataX helps us provide examples like: Western Sydney residents are almost flying the same amount, on average per annum, as the rest of Sydney residents, and it’s growing at a much faster rate,” says Webster.
Conomos says insights like these allow companies to improve lives by identifying service gaps.
“We’re helping Australian businesses in many industries make better decisions, to provide better products and services for Australians, and help successful Australian businesses that are looking to benefit the community by meeting the needs of consumers,” she says.
“A healthy economy is better for Australia and businesses that deeply understand their customers’ needs will provide better services, benefiting the end consumer and the community.”
When Sydney Airport opened on the shores of Botany Bay in 1920, the city’s population was a little over one million and its geographic heart was the City of Sydney. Today, despite greater Sydney’s expansion to 5.5 million people and its geographic centre of gravity shifting to Parramatta, Western Sydney’s economic power – let alone its potential – is often overlooked.
Among the insights yielded by Westpac DataX’s deep dive into the region’s spending habits are the facts that Western Sydneysiders spend $950 a trip, just as much as the greater Sydney average; that they are travelling on average three times a year; and that Western Sydney contributes 40 per cent of Sydney’s overall airline spend.
Webster says she often finds herself selling the region as much as the airport.
“Part of the work we’re doing is we’re shining a light on Western Sydney: it is the third-largest economy in Australia, and it’s growing at a faster rate from a population perspective, but there’s not a lot of information that’s easily to hand on that, so Westpac DataX has helped us pull together a very comprehensive insights pack,” she says.
Conomos stresses that the data used by DataX is thoroughly anonymised and aggregated so customer and merchant data is protected.
“We take privacy very seriously. The data insights we produce to assist our customers’ strategic decision making are fully anonymised”,” she says.
Powerful insights based on high quality, relevant data have never been more valuable or accessible. For clients like Western Sydney Airport, Westpac DataX provides the fuel for a successful pitch for one of Australia’s most important infrastructure projects.
