Footfall counting increases sales over a 1000-strong chain of stores

Edinburgh Woollen Mill owns not only the EWM stores but also the Peacock’s chain – a total of over 1000 sites. They needed a footfall system which could pull in data from all the stores around the UK and integrate the information with other key performance indicators and influencers.

To help them they turned to Retail Sensing.

Retail Sensing manufacture sophisticated video counting systems called Video Turnstile. After a successful couple of months’ trial in a limited number of shops, the company started installing CCTV cameras and intelligent counting units across all their properties. We are happy to say that the full rollout, to over 1400 locations, is now complete.

The smart counting units detect people in the CCTV video and send the counts over the internet to the EWM server. Here it is combined with other key information including sales figures, weather conditions and staff numbers.

The sites are accessible remotely – so the accuracy of the footfall counts can be easily checked simply by viewing the video and the counts together. Adjustments can be made centrally via a software application for each individual store’s counts. For example, the operator can fine-tune the system to cope with shadows or reflections in particular entrances.

The Edinburgh Woollen Mill is now successfully implementing business strategies to increase performances across clusters of stores. This is resulting in larger profits and increased revenue. Data gained from the Video Turnstile footfall system is thus enabling the EWM to successfully improve sales.

For more information contact sales@retailsensing.com