RCEA
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Business

Footfall counters for shopping centres

It can be very demanding to manage the complicated patterns of footfall and the number of people in large areas such as shopping centres. Therefore, it is advised to use footfall counters to make sure customers are having a great shopping experience in your shopping centre. Correctly analysing and interpreting footfall data will allow you to stay ahead of your competition.

Managing or owning a shopping centre means you need to take care of two things. The first is being able to attract retailers to rent a space in your shopping centre. Footfall data can help set realistic rents for retailers. The second thing you have to do is to provide a positive shopping experience and environment for your shoppers. The data will help you understand how shoppers move through your area and where obstacles can be found. If you fix these obstacles, you will have happier shoppers. And happy shoppers are exactly the kind of shoppers you want in your shopping centre because chances are higher that these shoppers will come back.   

What benefits can you expect from a footfall counter?

People counting systems can help you:

  • Determine rental rates for retailersYou will be able to charge realistic prices as well as be able to locate the best (and busiest) and less crowded areas in your shopping centre.
  • Improve the experience of shoppers Understanding customer behaviour and recognizing obstacles are important factors in making customers happy while they are shopping in your shopping centre. You can spot areas that are over or under-used and thus find where you can make necessary changes for improvement. Visitor trend analysis is also interesting because it tells you how well your shopping centre is performing.
  • Optimising staff allocationIf you know when your visitors are using which area of the centre, you can allocate staff more effectively in the areas that need it. This, in turn, also causes a more convenient customer experience.  
  • Make the most out of promotional and marketing activities Comparing your footfall figures before, during and after marketing campaigns means you can calculate your return on investment and plan your future marketing activities more effectively.
  • Benchmark Compare traffic flow and overall performance to industry standards.
  • Determine peak hours Discover when your shopping centre is at its busiest and act accordingly.