Counting customers in-store: why should you add it to your retail strategy?
- Affluences
- 10 hours ago
- 3 min read
Counting solutions enable you to comply with public capacity limits, but above all, they offer a long-term strategic vision to optimise your sales force, improve the customer experience and manage your sales areas to maximise profitability.
Counting customer footfall: a prerequisite for shops during a health crisis...
As successive lockdown measures related to Covid-19 have been eased, new measures to combat the spread of the virus have emerged. Real-time capacity monitoring has been a key measure introduced by the government, as it was a prerequisite for the opening or continued operation of most public venues. The objective was clear: to enforce social distancing in order to limit the spread of infection among the population.
This has had a significant impact on public access buildings (ERP) and, in particular, shops, which have been closely monitoring the evolution of health measures. With a capacity limit initially set at 4 square metres per person, excluding space reserved for shelving, and then at 8 square metres per person regardless of the space reserved, shops have had to constantly adapt in order to remain open.
From the most traditional to the most effective and original solutions, shops have redoubled their efforts to control their capacity and welcome their visitors in complete safety.
Let's take a look at the solutions found in the midst of the health crisis:
The most traditional but also certainly the most widespread option was to count visitors manually by posting a security guard at the shop entrance. Using a manual people counter, a manual counting app on a smartphone or simply by eye, the guard counted the number of people entering and leaving and calculated the capacity in real time. Once the maximum capacity was reached, no more people were allowed to enter until someone left. This option, while quick to implement, was not the most effective in terms of counting, nor was it the most economical!
An original alternative was to place a number of baskets at the entrance corresponding to the maximum number of visitors allowed in the store. The principle was simple: all visitors had to take a basket, whether they intended to buy anything or not. Once there were no more baskets at the entrance, it meant that the limit had been reached and no more people could enter the store. This solution saved the cost of a security guard, but the logistics were no less tedious, as store staff had to disinfect the baskets after each use. Needless to say, this solution was only applicable to small shops!
The most effective solution for controlling customer numbers was undoubtedly to install real-time people counting systems. In most cases, a sensor at the store entrance was sufficient to reliably count both entries and exits, as well as the occupancy rate in real time. Connected to a suitable display system, the entire solution was completely autonomous, ensuring that the established capacity limit was respected at all times. Although more expensive, this option paid for itself very quickly thanks to its many advantages!
... but above all, it's a long-term opportunity as customers return to stores!
Automatically counting your visitors allows you to gather crucial information about your store's overall footfall. By analysing peak and off-peak periods throughout the year and even throughout the day, you can answer several questions you may have and, above all, take action!
Are visitor numbers in line with those promised by the property developer? If so, that's great, but if not, renegotiate your rent with figures to back up your case.
How can you increase turnover? Identify quiet times and organise events or promotions to attract as many visitors as possible during these periods.
How can you save money? Analyse your footfall and optimise your opening hours and staff schedules.
What about performance indicators?
By equipping yourself with a people counter, you will be able to rely on reliable marketing indicators, also known as retail analytics, which will enable you to increase your turnover.
By combining your footfall figures with your checkout records, you can calculate your store's conversion rate, i.e. the ratio between the number of people who make a purchase and the number of visitors who leave without buying anything. This is an essential indicator for analysing what you need to do to encourage potential customers to become actual customers.
What's more, by installing several sensors in your store, you will gain a precise overview of your hot and cold zones, enabling you to optimise your merchandising and store layout.
These are all significant advantages in the long term that will convince you to continue counting your visitors!