Retail Traffic Counting-3 wc blog 844
Door Counting Sensor-4
Cure Lengthy Checkout Lines Using Retail Traffic Counting Devices
How many times when I am standing in a long line to check out in a retail store do I wish I had a personal retail traffic counting device. I want to know how many people are in front of me and why there are other lines that are just as long with a minimum number of cashiers working. Oh it is really easy to dismiss it as a fluke and I just happened to get in at the wrong time but when it happens over and over again it isn’t a fluke. It is poor staffing and scheduling by some scheduling manager or it may be the result of an automated scheduling system. The worse-case scenario in my mind is someone creating a cashier schedule with no concept of customer traffic patterns. It is those situations when a door counting sensor would be a help.
Consider the difference it would make if a store was basing scheduling not off of an equal allocation of budget dollars for each day of the week but rather on the flow of customer traffic. Is 4:00pm on a Monday afternoon in the winter the same as 4:00pm on a Monday in the summer? Living in a tourist town I can say for certain it is not. Customer traffic is much different here based on seasonal activity and by the days of the week. Saturday at 1:00pm for a store can look nothing like 1:00pm on a Tuesday. If you don’t believe me try strolling through your local mall on those days and see what I mean. The same holds true for your own store. Your traffic patterns are not going to be the same every day. If you are scheduling your team as though the days are all the same you are probably hurting sales and losing more merchandise to shoplifters. The fix is easy and only requires a retail traffic counting device be attached to your Sensormatic security system.
A door counting sensor will enable store owners to see how many people are entering the store and at what time of the day/night they are coming in. Schedules can be created around those hours. Now, think about me standing in that long line at the local big box store. There are too few cashiers for the number of patrons because of some scheduling screw-up. Using retail traffic counting managers can begin evaluating the shopping patterns of clientele. Open the doors at 8:00am and you may only need a single cashier until 10:00am. You may have had two cashiers in the past but numbers show that only one is necessary. Perhaps you choose to put that two hours of payroll into your 5:00pm-7:00pm shift. Maybe you add it to your Saturday at 1:00pm when you have more customers. Wait lines go down and shoppers are happier. Happier customers are willing to return and spend money.
Lest I neglect to mention it the use of a door counting sensor can also help in decreasing theft in a store as well as cut down checkout wait times. If shortage due to theft is believed to be a concern it could be because shoplifters are taking advantage of the busy times of the day. If the store does not have adequate coverage on the salesfloor during peak hours crooks will find it much easier to steal from a business. Using the data from a door counting sensor managers can better spread the salesfloor coverage around to impact those busier days and hours. That translates to improved customer service reducing opportunities to steal while enhancing the opportunities to increase sales through suggestive selling and add-on sales.
Retail traffic counting can have a tremendous impact on a store. When used properly it can enhance the customer service satisfaction of your patrons by helping to allocate payroll dollars to the times when you have more shoppers in the store. When used with a Sensormatic security system camera it can help in tracking electronic article surveillance alarm activity and employee response to those alarms. It can also assist in improving salesfloor staffing to ensure shoplifters are deterred through better customer service. That will drive up sales and decrease theft and who can argue with that?
Door counting sensors are important and we can help you with them. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
How many times when I am standing in a long line to check out in a retail store do I wish I had a personal retail traffic counting device. I want to know how many people are in front of me and why there are other lines that are just as long with a minimum number of cashiers working. Oh it is really easy to dismiss it as a fluke and I just happened to get in at the wrong time but when it happens over and over again it isn’t a fluke. It is poor staffing and scheduling by some scheduling manager or it may be the result of an automated scheduling system. The worse-case scenario in my mind is someone creating a cashier schedule with no concept of customer traffic patterns. It is those situations when a door counting sensor would be a help.
Consider the difference it would make if a store was basing scheduling not off of an equal allocation of budget dollars for each day of the week but rather on the flow of customer traffic. Is 4:00pm on a Monday afternoon in the winter the same as 4:00pm on a Monday in the summer? Living in a tourist town I can say for certain it is not. Customer traffic is much different here based on seasonal activity and by the days of the week. Saturday at 1:00pm for a store can look nothing like 1:00pm on a Tuesday. If you don’t believe me try strolling through your local mall on those days and see what I mean. The same holds true for your own store. Your traffic patterns are not going to be the same every day. If you are scheduling your team as though the days are all the same you are probably hurting sales and losing more merchandise to shoplifters. The fix is easy and only requires a retail traffic counting device be attached to your Sensormatic security system.
A door counting sensor will enable store owners to see how many people are entering the store and at what time of the day/night they are coming in. Schedules can be created around those hours. Now, think about me standing in that long line at the local big box store. There are too few cashiers for the number of patrons because of some scheduling screw-up. Using retail traffic counting managers can begin evaluating the shopping patterns of clientele. Open the doors at 8:00am and you may only need a single cashier until 10:00am. You may have had two cashiers in the past but numbers show that only one is necessary. Perhaps you choose to put that two hours of payroll into your 5:00pm-7:00pm shift. Maybe you add it to your Saturday at 1:00pm when you have more customers. Wait lines go down and shoppers are happier. Happier customers are willing to return and spend money.
Lest I neglect to mention it the use of a door counting sensor can also help in decreasing theft in a store as well as cut down checkout wait times. If shortage due to theft is believed to be a concern it could be because shoplifters are taking advantage of the busy times of the day. If the store does not have adequate coverage on the salesfloor during peak hours crooks will find it much easier to steal from a business. Using the data from a door counting sensor managers can better spread the salesfloor coverage around to impact those busier days and hours. That translates to improved customer service reducing opportunities to steal while enhancing the opportunities to increase sales through suggestive selling and add-on sales.
Retail traffic counting can have a tremendous impact on a store. When used properly it can enhance the customer service satisfaction of your patrons by helping to allocate payroll dollars to the times when you have more shoppers in the store. When used with a Sensormatic security system camera it can help in tracking electronic article surveillance alarm activity and employee response to those alarms. It can also assist in improving salesfloor staffing to ensure shoplifters are deterred through better customer service. That will drive up sales and decrease theft and who can argue with that?
Door counting sensors are important and we can help you with them. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
