People counting technologies are not yet widely adopted by every retailer, despite their long-time availability. They are typically not even considered an essential necessity – and in doing so, they inadvertently suppress the success of their stores.
Retailers of any size need to have a people counter. Still, it is especially crucial for small businesses that do not have the advantage of analyzing data from many locations when making important decisions. Using a people counter intelligently allows you to gain insight into many aspects of your business besides foot traffic.
Having a Proper Counter in a retail store- A few advantages
The following are some benefits of having a people counter in a retail store
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Provides insight into customer behavior
A people counter is the perfect tool for businesses who cannot spend a lot of time or money in order to understand more about their customers.
An affordable door counter near the entrance of your store will give you valuable information regarding how many customers are visiting your store on specific weekdays and what your busy times are.
It is possible to view your business through the customers’ eyes by analyzing foot traffic data. For example, you might notice that your store traffic is steady during the week but spikes on weekends. Or you might observe that you have more visitors during the afternoon compared to the midday hours.
If you have this information, you can make necessary changes like hiring more staff or adjusting your store’s operating hours.
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Helps you optimize staff scheduling
If you speak of your in-store staff, most retail managers know it is essential to maintain a delicate balance between the number of employees and the amount of time they spend on the floor. Using a customer counter could be the answer for you if you have trouble keeping track of your weekly or monthly schedule.
Utilizing a door counter for store traffic can help to analyze when your busiest times are and ensure that you have sufficient staff in your store to handle inquiries. The reverse can also be done: You can use foot traffic data to determine when there are fewest in-store visitors and then schedule only the employees who need to be on duty at that time.
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Enables you to measure customer conversion rates
Having a customer counter is essential for your business if you want to know the convert rate-or how many shoppers make a purchase among all the people who walk into your store. It is impossible to know specific percentages of customers that made purchases if you do not know how many people walked into your store?
A door counter like those offered by IDTElectronics.com can be used with your point-of-sale (POS) devices to display customer conversion rates in a format you can understand. Taking actions to improve your retail business may help low conversions, whether you are targeting merchandizing selection, pricing, pricing strategies, or customer service.
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Assist you in measuring and improving marketing efforts
The chances are you’ll want to know how well your marketing campaigns did, whether you promote your products online, through TV or radio commercials, or by placing ads in newspapers and magazines. Because of advances in people counting solutions, retail managers can now measure the success of marketing campaigns without focusing only on sales figures.
You can gather more consumer awareness about your campaigns by comparing store traffic and sales data. Does a catchy TV jingle encourage more people to visit your store, even if they don’t all buy? You can answer these types of questions more accurately if you have a customer counter than by looking solely at sales figures.
It is necessary to measure the effectiveness of your window display, a key brick-and-mortar marketing element, even if your shop does not have much media exposure. To keep your audience interested in your store, you can experiment with different display styles until you realize which kind draws customers more frequently.
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Let’s you assess and compare performance across multiple stores
The importance of foot traffic counter to your success as an entrepreneur whose business has over one location may be greater than you might have imagined. While single-store retailers use people counting tools to maximize sales at a single location, multi-store retailers have access to foot traffic data from several areas to determine improvement opportunities quickly.
You can get valuable information about your store traffic, conversion rates, average transaction value, and total sales using people counter integrated into your POS system at multiple locations. By comparing this data, you can see which of your stores are performing well and those that are underperforming—you can then do the same at your other locations to capitalize on the success of those stores.
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Give you the chance to plan ahead
As mentioned earlier, a customer counter can be an invaluable tool for a retailer to plan. You can prepare well in advance if you know when your peak times are, so your customers and you are as stress-free as possible during those times.
Suppose you run a store that becomes extremely busy during the holidays every year. Using foot traffic data can determine when customers start to shop for the holidays-if your store receives more customers from late November onward, that means you need to make sure you have enough inventory, staff, and marketing resources before the holiday rush.
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Inform your business expansion decisions
Suppose you already have a successful retailer and are looking to expand into new markets. Here, foot traffic data can guide your business decisions once again.
When you analyze foot traffic and conversion data from your existing stores, you can assess future business opportunities and determine whether they fit your business model.
For example, you can compare foot traffic data from new locations with the traffic from your other stores to determine whether they would be as successful. A location in a mall, as opposed to the city center, could mean the difference between your new business location succeeding or failing, a decision that will undoubtedly affect your company’s bottom line.
