Investing in a new system or technology is never easy, especially if you’re an alien to said new tech. However, the world is changing, and so does the retail environment and customer behavior. Brick-and-mortar businesses have to stay in shape and become more flexible than ever, or else they start lagging behind all the changes, and the bigger they’re, the harder they fall. 

Like POS systems, people counters (also known as traffic counters) play an important role in the physical business world, they’re not essential yet, but they are getting there rapidly. In a nutshell, retail businesses rely heavily on foot traffic to drive sales and maximize revenue; hence, understanding what the visitors want is extremely important for them. This is why the key to success lies in understanding visitor flow.

Of course, not all people counting sensors are built the same, and to understand and optimize visitor flow in a real-world establishment, you need a traffic counter that’s powered by 3D Active Stereo Vision (the latest and most reliable sensors for detecting people), and an online visitor analytics tool that can transform visitor data into actionable insights. 

Understanding customer behavior and visitor flow can significantly impact a retail business’s bottom line, and it’s one of the most crucial details in growing a company and taking it to the next level. In this article, we’ll explain what exactly “Visitor Flow” refers to. We’ll then explain the benefits of using an accurate and reliable people counting system and how understanding visitor flow can help you optimize your operations, maximize your revenue and save resources.

Before we dive any further, we’d like to underline that there are many people counting systems and providers out there on the market, but at the core of this solution lies high accuracy. Tailoring your efforts based on distorted visitor data can do more harm than good for your business. 

What is Visitor Flow?

In simple terms, visitor flow in the real world refers to a shopper’s movement and behavior within a specific zone. In order to study visitor flow across your establishments, you need to invest in at least one people counting sensor capable of accurately tracking the visitor journey. If you want to cover more zones, you’ll need more sensors. You also need an online solution that can transform this data into easy-to-understand reports and insights. 

Visitor flow data also includes factors such as customer entry and exit points, the amount of time they spend in the establishment, and which areas they tend to frequent. As a decision-maker, you can gain valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences, use visitor data to make strategic decisions to grow your business, improve customer experience, save or reallocate resources, and more. 

Even if you’re running a luxury store with low visitor numbers per day, people counting systems are significantly more cost-effective; plus, these systems come with several other perks and benefits. Visualized and extremely accurate visitor data can help you understand why customers visit your store specifically, when they do and how long each customer spends at your store. Precise visitor flow data can help you develop targeted ads or launch tailored marketing and promotional campaigns. What you can do with highly accurate visitor information is, of course, up to you. 

Optimize Store Layout and Design

There are numerous benefits to understanding visitor flow, and one standout benefit is optimizing the store layout and design to maximize profits. This data-driven approach allows you to discover which certain areas customers tend to avoid and which zones they frequent. If you want to improve foot traffic in a poorly performing zone, you can use zone analytics and make the area more attractive and appealing to customers. 

You can use visitor flow data to rearrange merchandise to drive more sales and make your visitors roam a bit more, add displays or signage to hot zones for promoting products or even change the lighting or flooring.

Redesigning your store based on accurate people counting data can increase your sales, make it easier for your employees to keep track of inventory and restock and maintain the store itself, improve customer satisfaction and loyalty, and increase foot traffic. You can also use the data to launch a cross-selling campaign by changing the store layout to suggest related products to shoppers. 

Improve In-store Customer Experience

Another great benefit of understanding visitor flow across your establishment is the ability to improve in-store customer experience drastically. You can leverage visitor flow data to identify areas of congestion, detect prime times, and discover when long queues become a problem within your store. Not only will eliminating long queues improve customer satisfaction, but it will also boost your sales noticeably.

Creating a pleasant shopping experience for your visitors will also improve branding and increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. Good words travel fast, and loyal customers are highly likely to recommend your store to their loved ones and friends.

Understand Customer Demographics and Preferences

As a brick-and-mortar store decision-maker, you can leverage visitor flow data to identify which areas of your establishment are most popular among different age groups and genders provided your traffic counter provider offers accurate demographic analysis.

Using age and gender information, you can tailor marketing and promotional efforts to specific customer segments and create targeted product assortments. Targeted marketing campaigns are more likely to reach their target audience, which in turn can increase your ROI (return on investment) efforts.

You can also optimize service and product prices based on your store’s demographic data and boost all the metrics that matter. Understanding visitor flow will help you discover which items are more popular with certain age groups and genders. 

To wrap it all up, understanding visitor flow and optimizing operations according to accurate people counting data is crucial for retail businesses aiming to stay ahead of the competition and grow. Visitor flow data gives valuable and actionable insights into customer behavior and preferences, and by using a precise, modern, and reliable people counter, you can increase sales, save valuable resources, improve in-store customer experience and launch tailored marketing and promotional campaigns based on demographics.

V-Count’s Ultima Series People Counting Sensors offer 99% accuracy, even under zero light conditions. These sensors are GDPR-compliant, meaning no facial or personal data is ever saved and deleted within milliseconds. V-Count’s online visitor analytics tool (Business Intelligence Platform or BIP) functions similarly to Google Analytics and can work with other counters as well. 

If you’re interested in taking your business to the next level, reach out to us now, and we’ll connect you with one of our people counting experts. Let’s grow your business together!