Measuring Retail Traffic to optimise store performance

Understanding and improving your store operations with people counting and related data science is vital these days. If you own a retail store you will definitely benefit from being aware of the following aspects:

• Number of people entering the store
• Number of people making a purchase
• Route customers take in the store
• The time customers waited to be serviced

These elements are key in understanding what is going on in the store, and what can be improved.

Boost store operations to expand sales and lower costs

It is necessary to use traffic to calculate store performance, focusing solely on sales numbers just is not enough. Looking at the ratio of traffic converting into sales, retailers can now systematically examine the difference between shops with a low volume and shops with a high volume. Stores that take customer needs and wishes into account will reach much higher conversion ratios. On top of this, retail analytics can be used to plan staff most effectively for all stores. If retailers have more information and reliable data to base their decisions on about labor allocation, they will improve sales and lower (labor) costs. The data will point out where visitor-to-staff ratio is too low and needs adjustment. People counting systems will also detect weak spots and obstacles in day-to-day operations that can be fixed. If you only compare store performance based on sales data and revenue, you will find which store is performing best. But when you also add the data and insights provided by a people counting device you will really find your true potential.  

How to look at sales conversion

Sales conversion is an important metric that accounts for traffic volume. If you compare stores that have the same sales conversion, but one has more traffic than the other, you could say both stores are performing the same, because both stores have the same capability to turn visitors into customers. If you are used to take only traffic into account, the store that has the higher traffic would look like the store that is performing better.  

People counting could be used to answer the following questions:

• What is the reason that certain stores have a higher sales conversion than others?
• Do seasonal events or marketing campaigns have an impact? And if so, in what way?
• Could customer service be improved by planning staff more effectively?

People counting in other areas

People counting is not only beneficial to retail stores but also to other commercial areas such as shopping centres, streets and stations. Naturally each of these areas needs a different strategy and approach. The counting solutions provided by PFM Footfall Intelligence enable a tailor made solution based on reliable data that fits your needs perfectly.