Footfall
Footfall is the number of people entering an area, shop or building in a given time. The time is the period of your choosing - each hour, day, week, month or even every 5 minute interval.
Why measure footfall? | How to measure footfall?
Why measure footfall?
Measuring footfall lets businesses:
- gain valuable analytics and key performance indicators,
- improve the visitor experience,
- understand customer behaviour,
- see current occupancy and
- optimise operations.
Retailers
Retailers use footfall figures to calculate:
- sales conversion rate,
- dwell times,
- queueing times,
- popular store areas,
- average shopping time and
- other key performance indicators.
Zooming into various indicators lets retailers identify badly performing areas and act to improve matters. For example by:
- Comparing footfall and sales conversion at different hours of the day
- Comparing footfall and sales conversion at different properties
- Monitoring how many people pass by
- Mapping "hotspot" areas to discover which places are most popular and where the dead zones are.
City Centres
Councils and city centre managers measure footfall to see precisely how their towns are being used:
- Asess the impact of development initiatives on people's movements
- Provide key data to inform future decisions aimed at improving their area
- Help determine the potential for new retail stores
A footfall metering system provides feedback on changes in people's behaviour within the city and allows the council to effectively manage the flow of people, vehicles and bicycles around the area. Businesses looking to open a new shop or restaurant gain precise figures for footfall past their proposed location to help them assess the potential for their new venture.
How is footfall measured?
The most accurate systems use video counting. A cctv or ip camera connects to a people counter which accurately detects and records how many people pass through the counting zone. The footfall is logged and made available in real-time in web browsers, mobile phone apps or via the Internet-of-Things. See How it Works. There are other ways to measure footfall - see our comparison of seven footfall technologies for more information.
Find out more: send us an e-mail, telephone +44 (0)161 839 6437 or fill in this form.
