There Are Dollars In Numbers A Door Counting Sensor Can Help Harness Those Numbers

 

Retail traffic counting – 3                                                                              wc blog 773
door counting sensor – 3
There Are Dollars In Numbers A Door Counting Sensor Can Help Harness Those Numbers
     Can retail traffic counting save a business in a period where retail stores seem to be shutting their doors permanently every time you turn around? I would like to say it can IF and only IF those numbers are used to improve what you do. Here is what I mean; I go to work at my part-time retail job, I look at the daily sales goal and I may even look at the sales goal for the department I am going to work in that day. Does knowing the sales goal do anything to help me improve sales? No. It is good to be aware of how my store is doing and it doesn’t hurt to know what numbers were set by some computer magic at headquarters based on prior year information. Ultimately though I am going to do what I do best when I get on the sales floor and start my day, I am going to give the best service I can give to everyone I meet. I will use suggestive selling and upselling techniques to drive sales. I will help a shopper generate ideas for a project or business they may be working on and that in and of itself may increase sales. What I personally would never do is say, “Hey, we hit our sales goal in this department so I can work on something else now.” If a manager uses data from a door counting sensor as an informational tool only it is a waste of time to look at that data and a waste of money to invest in one. That manager is not leveraging data to improve sales, the very thing that keeps the doors to a business open.
     Retail traffic counting and the data it generates require an analysis of the information it produces. A store manager has to look at the data and be able to make sound decisions based on that information. A counter can show how many people are entering a store, which days of the week they are shopping and what times they are entering. If that manager will take the data and use it to make scheduling adjustments there are many opportunities that he or she take advantage of. Let’s take as an example my part-time job. We take down our ad set for the past week on sat night and start setting up for the next morning. The store is still open so shoppers need help (remember I said I do all I can to reach as many customers as I can). It often happens that I am the only sales floor person available as the remaining staff members are assigned to the cash register or one other department. The only other available employee may be the manager on duty. That doesn’t provide a lot of coverage to get the task of ad take down and set-up complete and sell merchandise. Now, my focus does become the customers rather than the tasks but there have been times when there were not enough people to provide assistance to all our patrons. We get stretched at times when there are just not enough of us and I know I have seen shoppers walk out who I was unable to give assistance to when I saw them. If staffing was based on data from a door counting sensor schedule adjustments could reflect what foot traffic looks like from shopping history. Consider what it could mean to reach one more customer who enters the store. How much could one customer purchase if provided with the proper customer service? Would an additional sales team member have helped to add on to the purchase with proper suggestive selling? Add a $50 chair mat to a chair purchase. Add an extra set of ink cartridges to a new printer purchase. Add a set of baby bottles to that baby formula purchase. You see what I mean.
     How difficult is it to set up a retail traffic counting device? For stores with a Sensormatic anti-theft system it may be a very simple installation. Many of the Sensormatic towers can easily have an integrated people counting sensor installed seamlessly into the tower. Stores with older towers can contact Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. to learn how affordable it would be to upgrade their existing system and install the people counter at the same time.
     Not knowing how many people are shopping in your store is folly. You may be missing opportunities for sales growth you never dreamed of. Let Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. help you set up a door counting sensor and glean the data that can take your store to the next level. Knowledge with a purpose makes a powerful combination.
Need information on retail traffic counting? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
     

Can retail traffic counting save a business in a period where retail stores seem to be shutting their doors permanently every time you turn around? I would like to say it can IF and only IF those numbers are used to improve what you do. Here is what I mean; I go to work at my part-time retail job, I look at the daily sales goal and I may even look at the sales goal for the department I am going to work in that day. Does knowing the sales goal do anything to help me improve sales? No. It is good to be aware of how my store is doing and it doesn’t hurt to know what numbers were set by some computer magic at headquarters based on prior year information. Ultimately though I am going to do what I do best when I get on the sales floor and start my day, I am going to give the best service I can give to everyone I meet. I will use suggestive selling and upselling techniques to drive sales. I will help a shopper generate ideas for a project or business they may be working on and that in and of itself may increase sales. What I personally would never do is say, “Hey, we hit our sales goal in this department so I can work on something else now.” If a manager uses data from a door counting sensor as an informational tool only it is a waste of time to look at that data and a waste of money to invest in one. That manager is not leveraging data to improve sales, the very thing that keeps the doors to a business open.

Retail traffic counting and the data it generates require an analysis of the information it produces. A store manager has to look at the data and be able to make sound decisions based on that information. A counter can show how many people are entering a store, which days of the week they are shopping and what times they are entering. If that manager will take the data and use it to make scheduling adjustments there are many opportunities that he or she take advantage of. Let’s take as an example my part-time job. We take down our ad set for the past week on sat night and start setting up for the next morning. The store is still open so shoppers need help (remember I said I do all I can to reach as many customers as I can). It often happens that I am the only sales floor person available as the remaining staff members are assigned to the cash register or one other department. The only other available employee may be the manager on duty. That doesn’t provide a lot of coverage to get the task of ad take down and set-up complete and sell merchandise. Now, my focus does become the customers rather than the tasks but there have been times when there were not enough people to provide assistance to all our patrons. We get stretched at times when there are just not enough of us and I know I have seen shoppers walk out who I was unable to give assistance to when I saw them. If staffing was based on data from a door counting sensor schedule adjustments could reflect what foot traffic looks like from shopping history. Consider what it could mean to reach one more customer who enters the store. How much could one customer purchase if provided with the proper customer service? Would an additional sales team member have helped to add on to the purchase with proper suggestive selling? Add a $50 chair mat to a chair purchase. Add an extra set of ink cartridges to a new printer purchase. Add a set of baby bottles to that baby formula purchase. You see what I mean.

How difficult is it to set up a retail traffic counting device? For stores with a Sensormatic anti-theft system it may be a very simple installation. Many of the Sensormatic towers can easily have an integrated people counting sensor installed seamlessly into the tower. Stores with older towers can contact Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. to learn how affordable it would be to upgrade their existing system and install the people counter at the same time.

Not knowing how many people are shopping in your store is folly. You may be missing opportunities for sales growth you never dreamed of. Let Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. help you set up a door counting sensor and glean the data that can take your store to the next level. Knowledge with a purpose makes a powerful combination.

 

Need information on retail traffic counting? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.