Footfall is defined as the number of people entering a shop or shopping area in a given time. It’s sometimes known as people counting, traffic and shopper counting – but footfall is the most known term.
Footfall figures are often measured on a monthly, weekly, daily and even hourly basis. It’s important because planners can understand peak periods and quiet periods. For example, knowing and predicting that a store is busy at lunchtime – is generally known by someone measuring footfall.
What can you do with footfall figures?
Footfall is one of those really important metrics that is a base of all desk job making in a store:
- It is used to forecast demand – so you can estimate stock levels required
- Because it can be measured at any time interval, you can assess staffing levels required down to the hour
- It is used to decide the value of a lease – a high footfall location will attract more shoppers and therefore a higher rent
- Combined with revenue figures, you can calculate average order value – so you can understand the value of the shops in your store
- also combined with average order value, you can make range decisions. If you add stock that can be cross sold, you can push up average order value for a store with low footfall
With the Covid 19 lockdown footfall figures have sharply declined, which has large implications for store planning.
Many retail outlets have made big decisions on the back of this decline. It’s very clear that store closures and staffing levels have been the hardest hit. The question is what are the options as lockdown eases.
Confer With provides an option to counteract declines
Confer With gives the opportunity for online shoppers, or shoppers outside a store to talk to shop assistants inside a store. Shop assistants are also given clienteling tools and immersion tools, designed to replicate and even improve the customer experience.
