One of the main concerns when owning a mall is foot traffic. Without it, store owners suffer and oftentimes cannot keep up with rent which forces them to move or close down their stores. People counting has offered a way to measure the success of stores and malls and determine which marketing techniques work and should be performed more frequently.
In this article, we will discuss how people counters for malls can increase revenue as well as explain how they work.
What are People Counting Systems?
People counting systems consist of technology that is placed at the entrances, exits, and throughout a mall or store. These technologies count the number of people exiting and entering a store or mall and can provide many metrics that will allow you to optimise your business and increase revenue.
Different Types of Technology Used in Shopping Malls
People counting used to be performed by making use of sensors, and sometimes this is still the case. However, this technology has decreased in popularity as it is not as accurate as the metrics and data that is provided by newer technology. The main problem with sensors is that they count someone entering and exiting a store without intent. For example, a child playing by running in and out of a store or mall entrance is counted as multiple people. However, the newer technologies on the market have the ability to make this distinction.
- Video Counting: Video counting makes use of cameras to detect and identify people walking in and out of a store or mall. Video counting is mostly used to determine the number of people entering and exiting a store or mall.
- Wi-Fi Counting: Wi-Fi counting can distinguish between people walking in and out of a mall or store. Therefore, one can determine whether it is a returning customer. The people counting systems can distinguish between people walking past and people turning into stores, this is also referred to as turn-in rate. Customer time spent in the store is also determined by WiFi counting. All of these people counting features are important information for shopping malls and tenants.
How People Counter Systems Can Benefit a Mall Owner
There are multiple ways in which an accurate foot traffic counter can benefit mall owners. Some of the most notable information these systems can provide includes:
- Shopping Behaviour: It is important to understand the behaviour of your shoppers. Effective people counters can indicate which entrances are more popular, where customers spend most of their time in the mall, the popularity of the mall, when the mall is busiest, and more.
- Marketing Effectiveness: One can measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and events by comparing the foot traffic before and after these campaigns were launched. This will give you information on how successful the campaigns were and allow you to focus on those efforts that yielded better results.
- Rental Rates: Once you understand which stores receive the most traffic due to passers-by. This will indicate whether a store should be charged more or less rent. Therefore, you can re-evaluate where you could be potentially losing money due to inaccurate rental rates.
- Staff Allocation: You will be able to allocate staff e.g. security or cleaning to certain areas of your mall at busy times to ensure everything runs smoothly in overcrowded areas e.g. restrooms. This will ensure that your clientele has a better shopping experience and that your mall remains popular.
Milestone is a company that specialises in people counting. We make use of the latest technology to ensure that you receive accurate and efficient readings, so that you may optimise your mall to increase revenue. Contact us to find out more about our people counter technology.
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