Improve Incremental Sales When You Use A Customer Counting Device


Retail Traffic Counting –3                                                                                                  WC Blog 736
Customer Counting Device – 4
Improve Incremental Sales When You Use A Customer Counting Device

      You may not have given much thought to retail traffic counting in the past but after reading an article in cnbc.com, by Sarah O’Brien, 23 Feb. 2018 titled, “Consumers cough up $5,400 a year on impulse purchases” I found some statistics that will make you reconsider it. According to the article she cites a survey that was conducted by Slickdeals.net in which they studied 2,000 consumers. On average the consumers were making three impulse purchases a month that could equate up to $450 for the month. If this is the average American it can translate to approximately $5,400 a year. Now let’s think about this. If you are the owner of a small or even medium sized retail store and you can get each customer to spend an additional $5,400 a year there are TWO things you need to do. First, keep your checklanes, displays and endcaps full. One of the top items on your manager’s daily tasks should be filling these areas that drive impulse sales. Second, you need to get more people into your store. The problem is that if you don’t know how many customers are already visiting on a daily basis you can’t know if you are seeing increased patronage or how many are not making purchases.

      The CEO of Loss Prevention Systems, Inc., Bill Bregar recognizes the importance of knowing how many people are leaving a store empty handed and that is why he recommends HIS clients incorporate a Customer Counting Device. His company focuses on theft prevention but Bill’s high-level experience as a former Director of Loss Prevention makes him keenly familiar with ALL aspects of a business. His goal is to make businesses profitable whether it is through theft prevention, improved hiring practices like the Applicant Management Center his company now offers, pre-employment background checks and drug testing or retail traffic counting. He also knows the ins and outs of product placement and how impulse purchases drive incremental sales. Through his experience Bill has learned that customer counting can lead to increased profits.

     In case you are concerned about the difficulty of installing a counting device, don’t be. If you are already protecting merchandise with a Sensormatic security pedestal the Integrated EAS Traffic Counter can be fitted to many existing towers. Preventing theft and adding sales is a win-win for store owners.

     Some people would argue that you already have a good idea of how many people are visiting your store based on the number of transactions in a day. Unfortunately you can’t measure what doesn’t happen. If shoppers walk in and leave without a purchase you have no way to measure that if you only rely on sales data. A customer counting device DOES count how many people walk in and how many people leave a store. Use that information to compare to your sales data to get see how much you may really be losing. I would even suggest that based on the information from the CNBC article you multiply the total number of non-purchases by $450 to get a picture of how much you could be potentially losing per customer each month.

      Another way is to get an idea of how many lost sales are taking place is to track abandoned shopping carts in the store. The problem with this method is distinguishing if the abandonment was related to theft taking place or someone just leaving an empty buggy and continuing on to buy just one item. Another problem with this method is that you have to track the buggies and/or the merchandise. Why bother doing all of this counting when a retail traffic counting device can make the job simpler and more accurate?

     I can hear it now, if addressing the problem is as easy as filling empty spaces why don’t I focus on that? The reason is that a customer counting device can also help you determine if sales promotions or advertising campaigns are effective. Supposing you spend $1,000 a month on a new billboard sign, how do you know if more people are coming to the store, by sales increases? Maybe, but then we are right back to the earlier point I made how many potential sales did you miss? Maybe you could have used prior traffic counts to improve staffing to get more service on the salesfloor when it would have been more effective.

     Fill your endcaps, your checklanes, displays and clip strips to drive impulse buys. Know how many people are visiting and walking out empty handed then strategically move products to grab their attention when they enter and before they leave. Knowledge is power and knowledge is attainable with a customer counting device at your doors.
For more information about retail traffic counting contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.

You may not have given much thought to retail traffic counting in the past but after reading an article in cnbc.com, by Sarah O’Brien, 23 Feb. 2018 titled, “Consumers cough up $5,400 a year on impulse purchases” I found some statistics that will make you reconsider it. According to the article she cites a survey that was conducted by Slickdeals.net in which they studied 2,000 consumers. On average the consumers were making three impulse purchases a month that could equate up to $450 for the month. If this is the average American it can translate to approximately $5,400 a year. Now let’s think about this. If you are the owner of a small or even medium sized retail store and you can get each customer to spend an additional $5,400 a year there are TWO things you need to do. First, keep your checklanes, displays and endcaps full. One of the top items on your manager’s daily tasks should be filling these areas that drive impulse sales. Second, you need to get more people into your store. The problem is that if you don’t know how many customers are already visiting on a daily basis you can’t know if you are seeing increased patronage or how many are not making purchases.
     

The CEO of Loss Prevention Systems, Inc., Bill Bregar recognizes the importance of knowing how many people are leaving a store empty handed and that is why he recommends HIS clients incorporate a Customer Counting Device. His company focuses on theft prevention but Bill’s high-level experience as a former Director of Loss Prevention makes him keenly familiar with ALL aspects of a business. His goal is to make businesses profitable whether it is through theft prevention, improved hiring practices like the Applicant Management Center his company now offers, pre-employment background checks and drug testing or retail traffic counting. He also knows the ins and outs of product placement and how impulse purchases drive incremental sales. Through his experience Bill has learned that customer counting can lead to increased profits.
     

In case you are concerned about the difficulty of installing a counting device, don’t be. If you are already protecting merchandise with a Sensormatic security pedestal the Integrated EAS Traffic Counter can be fitted to many existing towers. Preventing theft and adding sales is a win-win for store owners.
     

Some people would argue that you already have a good idea of how many people are visiting your store based on the number of transactions in a day. Unfortunately you can’t measure what doesn’t happen. If shoppers walk in and leave without a purchase you have no way to measure that if you only rely on sales data. A customer counting device DOES count how many people walk in and how many people leave a store. Use that information to compare to your sales data to get see how much you may really be losing. I would even suggest that based on the information from the CNBC article you multiply the total number of non-purchases by $450 to get a picture of how much you could be potentially losing per customer each month.
     

Another way is to get an idea of how many lost sales are taking place is to track abandoned shopping carts in the store. The problem with this method is distinguishing if the abandonment was related to theft taking place or someone just leaving an empty buggy and continuing on to buy just one item. Another problem with this method is that you have to track the buggies and/or the merchandise. Why bother doing all of this counting when a retail traffic counting device can make the job simpler and more accurate?
     

I can hear it now, if addressing the problem is as easy as filling empty spaces why don’t I focus on that? The reason is that a customer counting device can also help you determine if sales promotions or advertising campaigns are effective. Supposing you spend $1,000 a month on a new billboard sign, how do you know if more people are coming to the store, by sales increases? Maybe, but then we are right back to the earlier point I made how many potential sales did you miss? Maybe you could have used prior traffic counts to improve staffing to get more service on the salesfloor when it would have been more effective.
     

Fill your endcaps, your checklanes, displays and clip strips to drive impulse buys. Know how many people are visiting and walking out empty handed then strategically move products to grab their attention when they enter and before they leave. Knowledge is power and knowledge is attainable with a customer counting device at your doors.

 

For more information about retail traffic counting, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.

 

Combining Retail Traffic Counting Devices With Other Technologies

People Counting Systems – 4                                                                                                        WC Blog 733
Retail Traffic Counting – 3


Combining Retail Traffic Counting Devices With Other Technologies

     I was looking at technology on the Sensormatic.com website for information on people counting systems because I like to see what is new as well as how different technology can be tied together. It is my opinion that frequently retailers do not use the systems they install to the fullest potential. For example, I understand the advantages a door counting sensor can provide to help boost sales. Sometimes this is called measuring the conversion rate for the retailer. This measurement is useful to know how many people have walked through the doors and how many transactions were completed. A big difference in those numbers indicate something in the store is not right, whether it is poor customer service or a lack of products that shoppers came in to purchase. In this sense I see how retail traffic counting can be related to Loss Prevention. I have been in retail a LONG time so I recognize that shoplifting does impact merchandise in-stocks and product availability. What I am looking for when I am researching information on different websites is how various technologies complement each other so store owners and managers can leverage more out of their Loss Prevention systems.

      It was during the course of my searching that I found something that could be quite useful from Sensormatic if paired together. This company offers a Sensormatic Synergy Camera that I believe could be coupled with their people counting device to make a giant leap for retailers, especially small and medium sized stores. The company information on this camera is that it “provides clear, high-definition video recordings or snapshots of loss events at the storefront”. The camera is mounted to a Sensormatic electronic article surveillance pedestal and captures video when alarms are detected which includes systems that can detect booster foil-lined bags. It will also capture video when a Sensormatic tag or label sets off the alarm. Now, I want you to picture this in conjunction with the pedestals that are fitted with people counting systems. You track how many customers are entering your store AND you are capturing video when alarm activations take place. You can get high-definition video and pictures of potential shoplifters who are visiting your business. If you have high foot traffic counts compared to sales as I mentioned earlier and you start to view images from your camera when alarms are set off you can begin to identify who the regular shoplifters are visiting your store. Along with the losses they are causing you through their theft activity they may be the ones causing empty spaces on your shelves. This could be why sales are low compared to your retail traffic counting numbers.

     Another advantage for store management if they combine the people counting systems with the Synergy Camera is that they can view how their teams are responding to electronic article surveillance alarms. It is one thing to know how many alarms are sounding and who the people are who are causing activations but the response to those alarms is just as important if not more so. If alarms are activated and employees are simply waving people out the door without conducting proper package and receipt checks thieves are going to take advantage of this and steal even more. From my personal experiences as a Loss Prevention Manager I have seen employees who do not address alarms properly. Some of those are theft related and those people return to your store over and over until something is done to address how responses are handled. Again, I believe combining the videos with numbers from your retail traffic counting data can aid in improving sales by identifying issues taking place in the store.

     Like so many other processes in a retail environment, one process has a direct impact on other areas of the business. If data itself is gathered and you are only counting patrons with people counting systems and you are not tying that information into other areas it becomes useless. Tie it into a Sensormatic Synergy Camera and you can begin to improve shortage numbers through suspect identification AND alarm response training. Do that and you begin to improve on hand quantities and improve sales and that should be your ultimate goal.
Retail Traffic Counting is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.

I was looking at technology on the Sensormatic.com website for information on people counting systems because I like to see what is new as well as how different technology can be tied together. It is my opinion that frequently retailers do not use the systems they install to the fullest potential. For example, I understand the advantages a door counting sensor can provide to help boost sales. Sometimes this is called measuring the conversion rate for the retailer. This measurement is useful to know how many people have walked through the doors and how many transactions were completed. A big difference in those numbers indicate something in the store is not right, whether it is poor customer service or a lack of products that shoppers came in to purchase. In this sense I see how retail traffic counting can be related to Loss Prevention. I have been in retail a LONG time so I recognize that shoplifting does impact merchandise in-stocks and product availability. What I am looking for when I am researching information on different websites is how various technologies complement each other so store owners and managers can leverage more out of their Loss Prevention systems.
     

It was during the course of my searching that I found something that could be quite useful from Sensormatic if paired together. This company offers a Sensormatic Synergy Camera that I believe could be coupled with their people counting device to make a giant leap for retailers, especially small and medium sized stores. The company information on this camera is that it “provides clear, high-definition video recordings or snapshots of loss events at the storefront”. The camera is mounted to a Sensormatic electronic article surveillance pedestal and captures video when alarms are detected which includes systems that can detect booster foil-lined bags. It will also capture video when a Sensormatic tag or label sets off the alarm. Now, I want you to picture this in conjunction with the pedestals that are fitted with people counting systems. You track how many customers are entering your store AND you are capturing video when alarm activations take place. You can get high-definition video and pictures of potential shoplifters who are visiting your business. If you have high foot traffic counts compared to sales as I mentioned earlier and you start to view images from your camera when alarms are set off you can begin to identify who the regular shoplifters are visiting your store. Along with the losses they are causing you through their theft activity they may be the ones causing empty spaces on your shelves. This could be why sales are low compared to your retail traffic counting numbers.
     

Another advantage for store management if they combine the people counting systems with the Synergy Camera is that they can view how their teams are responding to electronic article surveillance alarms. It is one thing to know how many alarms are sounding and who the people are who are causing activations but the response to those alarms is just as important if not more so. If alarms are activated and employees are simply waving people out the door without conducting proper package and receipt checks thieves are going to take advantage of this and steal even more. From my personal experiences as a Loss Prevention Manager I have seen employees who do not address alarms properly. Some of those are theft related and those people return to your store over and over until something is done to address how responses are handled. Again, I believe combining the videos with numbers from your retail traffic counting data can aid in improving sales by identifying issues taking place in the store.
     

Like so many other processes in a retail environment, one process has a direct impact on other areas of the business. If data itself is gathered and you are only counting patrons with people counting systems and you are not tying that information into other areas it becomes useless. Tie it into a Sensormatic Synergy Camera and you can begin to improve shortage numbers through suspect identification AND alarm response training. Do that and you begin to improve on hand quantities and improve sales and that should be your ultimate goal.

 

Retail Traffic Counting is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.

 

Score Big When You Use A Customer Counting Device – Part 2

Retail traffic counting – 3                                                                                                              WC Blog 719
Door Counting Sensor -4

Score Big When You Use A Customer Counting Device – Part 2


     Since you are here I am hopeful that you are interested in more information on how retail traffic counting can help build your sales as we started to explore in Part 1 of this series. For those who have missed Part 1, please continue reading because you can benefit too (and you can go back later and read part 1). In Part 1 we talked about how Bill Bregar the founder of Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. sees a missed opportunity for sales when store owners and managers focus attention on transaction totals. There are customers who are invisible to them, the people who walked in but never bought anything so they don’t show up on the receipt tapes. Invisible customers equate to lost sales but Bill found the solution to the problem. Install a Sensormatic door counting sensor. Stores already equipped with a Sensormatic electronic article surveillance system may be able to have an existing system fitted with a sensor. When managers start to see that there are people in the store not making purchases they can begin to look for methods to capture those missed opportunities.

     Before we turn to methods for capturing missed sales and using the data retrieved from a retail traffic counting system I want to talk about why the electronic article surveillance piece of this equation is so important. You do have people entering the store not being accounted for on a point of sale receipt tape but they are also not leaving empty-handed. These are shoplifters and employees who are stealing merchandise and causing you shortage. In fact if left unchecked they could be costing you 2% or even more in lost merchandise. An electronic article surveillance system can cut that shrinkage by half and can produce results almost immediately once installed. Purchase an electronic article surveillance system with a door counting sensor installed in it and you can kill two birds with one stone. Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. can help you with a Sensormatic system and if cost is a concern they can help with financing. You can also try their Free ROI Calculator to see how fast a system can pay for itself over time. I mention this because I don’t want people to focus on a system purchase and overlook all of the advantages a system can provide your business because of a misconception they cannot afford a Sensormatic system.

      As mentioned the missed opportunities for sales can be corrected with the installation of a door counting sensor let’s examine how that can be accomplished.
A sensor can provide data that includes the time of the day when shoppers are entering a store. Managers can begin to see trends based on the day of the week and the hours customers are coming in. Scheduling of employees can be focused on those particular hours to put more workers on the sales floor. More employees focused on helping customers translate to more sales.
Just as you can focus scheduling based on foot traffic to add sales floor coverage, the same information can help to improve cashier scheduling as well. It is not uncommon for shoppers to leave without making a purchase if they perceive a wait time in line will be too long (I’ve done it myself).  Having enough cashiers to improve checkout wait times will increase your overall sales. 
Effective ad campaigns are those that draw in more customers. How do you know if you are spending money on the right advertising platforms? I would argue that knowing how many people are already visiting your establishment and then monitoring the numbers after the initiation of the campaign would be the best way to do so. Rather than basing your determination on point of sale information which can fluctuate traffic counters give hard numbers. If you find you are not seeing increases in customer traffic after a reasonable time you can change your strategy and spend your money on another format.
Finally, though it may not seem like it is related to increasing sales it does help in the long term. Adding a retail traffic counting sensor and staffing the salesfloor as I mentioned will deter shoplifting. The improved customer service (along with the Sensormatic towers and tags) will prevent theft which improves your merchandise in-stocks. In turn merchandise is now available to the paying customers.
  Missed sales opportunities are often unseen. Install a door counting sensor and you can begin to see a whole group of customers you did not know existed. Meet THEIR needs and watch your sales truly take off.
Retail traffic counting is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.

Since you are here I am hopeful that you are interested in more information on how retail traffic counting can help build your sales as we started to explore in Part 1 of this series. For those who have missed Part 1, please continue reading because you can benefit too (and you can go back later and read part 1). In Part 1 we talked about how Bill Bregar the founder of Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. sees a missed opportunity for sales when store owners and managers focus attention on transaction totals. There are customers who are invisible to them, the people who walked in but never bought anything so they don’t show up on the receipt tapes. Invisible customers equate to lost sales but Bill found the solution to the problem. Install a Sensormatic door counting sensor. Stores already equipped with a Sensormatic electronic article surveillance system may be able to have an existing system fitted with a sensor. When managers start to see that there are people in the store not making purchases they can begin to look for methods to capture those missed opportunities.
     

 Before we turn to methods for capturing missed sales and using the data retrieved from a retail traffic counting system I want to talk about why the electronic article surveillance piece of this equation is so important. You do have people entering the store not being accounted for on a point of sale receipt tape but they are also not leaving empty-handed. These are shoplifters and employees who are stealing merchandise and causing you shortage. In fact if left unchecked they could be costing you 2% or even more in lost merchandise. An electronic article surveillance system can cut that shrinkage by half and can produce results almost immediately once installed. Purchase an electronic article surveillance system with a door counting sensor installed in it and you can kill two birds with one stone. Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. can help you with a Sensormatic system and if cost is a concern they can help with financing. You can also try their Free ROI Calculator to see how fast a system can pay for itself over time. I mention this because I don’t want people to focus on a system purchase and overlook all of the advantages a system can provide your business because of a misconception they cannot afford a Sensormatic system.

     

As mentioned the missed opportunities for sales can be corrected with the installation of a door counting sensor let’s examine how that can be accomplished.

A sensor can provide data that includes the time of the day when shoppers are entering a store. Managers can begin to see trends based on the day of the week and the hours customers are coming in. Scheduling of employees can be focused on those particular hours to put more workers on the sales floor. More employees focused on helping customers translate to more sales.

Just as you can focus scheduling based on foot traffic to add sales floor coverage, the same information can help to improve cashier scheduling as well. It is not uncommon for shoppers to leave without making a purchase if they perceive a wait time in line will be too long (I’ve done it myself).  Having enough cashiers to improve checkout wait times will increase your overall sales. 

Effective ad campaigns are those that draw in more customers. How do you know if you are spending money on the right advertising platforms? I would argue that knowing how many people are already visiting your establishment and then monitoring the numbers after the initiation of the campaign would be the best way to do so. Rather than basing your determination on point of sale information which can fluctuate traffic counters give hard numbers. If you find you are not seeing increases in customer traffic after a reasonable time you can change your strategy and spend your money on another format.

Finally, though it may not seem like it is related to increasing sales it does help in the long term. Adding a retail traffic counting sensor and staffing the salesfloor as I mentioned will deter shoplifting. The improved customer service (along with the Sensormatic towers and tags) will prevent theft which improves your merchandise in-stocks. In turn merchandise is now available to the paying customers. 

 

Missed sales opportunities are often unseen. Install a door counting sensor and you can begin to see a whole group of customers you did not know existed. Meet THEIR needs and watch your sales truly take off.

 

Retail traffic counting is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.

 

Score Big When You Use A Customer Counting Device – Part 1




retail traffic counting – 4                                                                                            WC Blog 718
Customer Counting Device – 4




Score Big When You Use A Customer Counting Device – Part 1

     As retailers we count money as the measure of our success but I believe often we overlook the importance of retail traffic counting as a measure of success (or missed opportunity). I will use one of my favorite analogies to demonstrate what I mean. I attended a Coastal Carolina Football game some time ago and the announcer heralded the attendance numbers for this game based on “ticket sales”. He didn’t say ticket sales but that was what he meant. I can make this conclusion because looking around the stadium there was absolutely no way the attendance matched the numbers he was giving us. Had his numbers been actual people in the stadium the stands would have been packed and would have added energy to the home team. Unfortunately things just did not match up which I believe does not help the morale of the team. That is simply my assumption but a safe one I think since we lost the game. Now I would like you to think about this in terms of your own store. Do you focus on your “sales” dollars but fail to see how many people are walking through your doors? Do you use a customer counting device in your business? The CEO of Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. Bill Bregar has been in the business of improving sales and decreasing shortage for stores for over 30 years. As a business owner himself and a former Director of Loss Prevention for several major retailers he has learned to look at numbers from a different perspective than many of us would. He recognized that sales represent only a portion of the overall retail picture. Shortage and customer traffic are two major factors that cannot be overlooked but often are due to a lack of information.

     In order to follow through on his business commitment to helping retail businesses improve sales and profits Bill wanted to help store owners see that sales numbers are not providing a complete picture of store activity. He found that Sensormatic has a customer counting device that accurately tracks the number of people entering a store. The data gathered by the systems helps store managers see a bigger picture than just point of sale information. For example, let’s say you had a great sales day for your business with $10,000 in sales and 500 transactions. For this example we will assume that no customer returns took place on this day. This means on average each customer spent $20.00 in your store if you use your transaction total as your measure for success. Now the way Bill sees it you didn’t have 500 people in your store that day despite what your transaction tally says. You focus on retail traffic counting using a Sensormatic   

Customer counting device and find out you had 800 people walk through your doors. Sure, some of those were children with an adult but some of those were people who walked in and walked out without making a purchase! Good Grief, what happened that those potential customers left empty handed? Was there a missed opportunity for another $6,000 in sales or even $3,000 assuming some of those were children or couples? Do you see that you have only been looking at a small piece of a bigger picture? Bill does and wants to help you change how you look at your business. That begins with the installation of a retail traffic counting system.

     Retail owners that have a Sensormatic anti-theft system in place may already be half way there since a customer counting device can be added to many existing Sensormatic towers. If you don’t have a Sensormatic system don’t fret, Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. can help you with that as well as the door counter. In part 2 we will discuss why the anti-theft system is important to your store for more than just adding a people counter. As I said earlier, Bill wants to help stores improve profits through shortage reduction and increasing sales which go hand in hand. But if you want to find out more you will have to tune in for part 2 of this series to learn how you can score a touchdown in increased sales with a retail traffic counting system.
Need information on a customer counting device? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.

     

As retailers we count money as the measure of our success but I believe often we overlook the importance of retail traffic counting as a measure of success (or missed opportunity). I will use one of my favorite analogies to demonstrate what I mean. I attended a Coastal Carolina Football game some time ago and the announcer heralded the attendance numbers for this game based on “ticket sales”. He didn’t say ticket sales but that was what he meant. I can make this conclusion because looking around the stadium there was absolutely no way the attendance matched the numbers he was giving us. Had his numbers been actual people in the stadium the stands would have been packed and would have added energy to the home team. Unfortunately things just did not match up which I believe does not help the morale of the team. That is simply my assumption but a safe one I think since we lost the game. Now I would like you to think about this in terms of your own store. Do you focus on your “sales” dollars but fail to see how many people are walking through your doors? Do you use a customer counting device in your business? The CEO of Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. Bill Bregar has been in the business of improving sales and decreasing shortage for stores for over 30 years. As a business owner himself and a former Director of Loss Prevention for several major retailers he has learned to look at numbers from a different perspective than many of us would. He recognized that sales represent only a portion of the overall retail picture. Shortage and customer traffic are two major factors that cannot be overlooked but often are due to a lack of information.
     

In order to follow through on his business commitment to helping retail businesses improve sales and profits Bill wanted to help store owners see that sales numbers are not providing a complete picture of store activity. He found that Sensormatic has a customer counting device that accurately tracks the number of people entering a store. The data gathered by the systems helps store managers see a bigger picture than just point of sale information. For example, let’s say you had a great sales day for your business with $10,000 in sales and 500 transactions. For this example we will assume that no customer returns took place on this day. This means on average each customer spent $20.00 in your store if you use your transaction total as your measure for success. Now the way Bill sees it you didn’t have 500 people in your store that day despite what your transaction tally says. You focus on retail traffic counting using a Sensormatic   
Customer counting device and find out you had 800 people walk through your doors. Sure, some of those were children with an adult but some of those were people who walked in and walked out without making a purchase! Good Grief, what happened that those potential customers left empty handed? Was there a missed opportunity for another $6,000 in sales or even $3,000 assuming some of those were children or couples? Do you see that you have only been looking at a small piece of a bigger picture? Bill does and wants to help you change how you look at your business. That begins with the installation of a retail traffic counting system.
     

Retail owners that have a Sensormatic anti-theft system in place may already be half way there since a customer counting device can be added to many existing Sensormatic towers. If you don’t have a Sensormatic system don’t fret, Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. can help you with that as well as the door counter. In part 2 we will discuss why the anti-theft system is important to your store for more than just adding a people counter. As I said earlier, Bill wants to help stores improve profits through shortage reduction and increasing sales which go hand in hand. But if you want to find out more you will have to tune in for part 2 of this series to learn how you can score a touchdown in increased sales with a retail traffic counting system.

 

Need information on a customer counting device? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
     

 

Proper Use Of Retail Traffic Counting Data Drives Sales

 

Retail Traffic Counting – 3                                                                                                               WC Blog 697
Door Counting Sensor – 4
Proper Use Of Retail Traffic Counting Data Drives Sales
     I had not thought about the importance of retail traffic counting or its relationship to conversion rates until recently in my retail job. Quite honestly I had never even heard of retail conversion rates as a measurement tool until three years ago. It happened that our store manager, with whom I have a great working relationship, was talking to the employees working one night about our conversion rate and I asked him more about it. He told me the company was adding it as a measurement (everything in large retail chains is measured these days) to the store reporting tools. Well I learned that the company was concerned about the amount of measured foot traffic versus the number of transactions. They had installed cameras at the doors and a door counting sensor to track this activity. As I thought about it I understood and realized it could be a very beneficial measurement if used properly. The key word here is properly. Unfortunately these types of measures can also be a nuisance when used on their own without keeping it in context of a larger sales picture.
     By now you can probably figure out what a retail traffic counting system does but you may not know that if you have a Sensormatic electronic alarm system (EAS) tower you might be able to add a counter quickly and easily. The Sensormatic door counting sensor can be incorporated into many existing towers OR if you do not have an anti-theft system yet you can purchase one with the counting sensor installed. If you are not sure you need an anti-theft system I would like to ask you to visit the Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. website and learn more about the advantages of having a system and how it can save you thousands of dollars a year (hint: You might even want to take a look at their ROI Calculator, it is free to use and you will see how a Sensormatic system can pay for itself). 
     When used in a sensible manner data retrieved from a door counting sensor is useful in everything from planning to scheduling and even measuring the effectiveness of advertising and new product lines. Here are the perks of measuring door counts:
When a store embarks upon a new advertising campaign the door counts will give a picture of how many more people have visited the store when compared to prior days. Increased foot traffic can be an indicator of a successful ad campaign.
Retail sales receipts only give a partial picture of store activity. You can see how many transactions you had but you don’t know how many shoppers were in the store. The advantage of retail traffic counting is that you can compare the number of people that were physically in the store to sales transactions. The difference will be a good estimate of how many opportunities were missed for additional sales. Managers can strategize to pick up those missed sales.
A traffic counter also pinpoints the activity by times of day. The advantage of knowing peak traffic in the store is a manager can allocate payroll more efficiently. Schedule more staff during those busy times so that customer service is optimized. Customers who would have walked out empty-handed may be persuaded to make the purchase they were on the fence about.
These are effective methods for using data that can help drive sales and manage payroll allocation.
     What is a nuisance is when such data is used to penalize a store for not meeting an arbitrary goal. Not meeting that goal means risking bring the wrath of some faceless, higher corporate power down upon the collective head of the store management team. Well, that may be a slight exaggeration but the numbers do seem arbitrary and often scores are assigned as red, yellow and green. Score less than a green and a manager does begin to feel pressure. Stay under a green score too long and your store starts to be a focus store and after that a problem store. Having experienced the pressure of staying green rather than simply understanding numbers and working to use them to my advantage I know it can lead to an unnecessarily high stress situation.
     To all of you store owners I say this, buy a Sensormatic security system WITH the door counting sensor. Enjoy the increased profits you will see with reduced theft from the EAS technology. Increase efficiency and improve sales with the proper analysis and planning gleaned from the data of a door counter. Don’t stress about it just get started with a call to Loss Prevention Systems, Inc.
Retail Traffic Counting is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.

I had not thought about the importance of retail traffic counting or its relationship to conversion rates until recently in my retail job. Quite honestly I had never even heard of retail conversion rates as a measurement tool until three years ago. It happened that our store manager, with whom I have a great working relationship, was talking to the employees working one night about our conversion rate and I asked him more about it. He told me the company was adding it as a measurement (everything in large retail chains is measured these days) to the store reporting tools. Well I learned that the company was concerned about the amount of measured foot traffic versus the number of transactions. They had installed cameras at the doors and a door counting sensor to track this activity. As I thought about it I understood and realized it could be a very beneficial measurement if used properly. The key word here is properly. Unfortunately these types of measures can also be a nuisance when used on their own without keeping it in context of a larger sales picture.

By now you can probably figure out what a retail traffic counting system does but you may not know that if you have a Sensormatic electronic alarm system (EAS) tower you might be able to add a counter quickly and easily. The Sensormatic door counting sensor can be incorporated into many existing towers OR if you do not have an anti-theft system yet you can purchase one with the counting sensor installed. If you are not sure you need an anti-theft system I would like to ask you to visit the Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. website and learn more about the advantages of having a system and how it can save you thousands of dollars a year (hint: You might even want to take a look at their ROI Calculator, it is free to use and you will see how a Sensormatic system can pay for itself). 

When used in a sensible manner data retrieved from a door counting sensor is useful in everything from planning to scheduling and even measuring the effectiveness of advertising and new product lines. Here are the perks of measuring door counts:

When a store embarks upon a new advertising campaign the door counts will give a picture of how many more people have visited the store when compared to prior days. Increased foot traffic can be an indicator of a successful ad campaign.

Retail sales receipts only give a partial picture of store activity. You can see how many transactions you had but you don’t know how many shoppers were in the store. The advantage of retail traffic counting is that you can compare the number of people that were physically in the store to sales transactions. The difference will be a good estimate of how many opportunities were missed for additional sales. Managers can strategize to pick up those missed sales.

A traffic counter also pinpoints the activity by times of day. The advantage of knowing peak traffic in the store is a manager can allocate payroll more efficiently. Schedule more staff during those busy times so that customer service is optimized. Customers who would have walked out empty-handed may be persuaded to make the purchase they were on the fence about.These are effective methods for using data that can help drive sales and manage payroll allocation.

What is a nuisance is when such data is used to penalize a store for not meeting an arbitrary goal. Not meeting that goal means risking bring the wrath of some faceless, higher corporate power down upon the collective head of the store management team. Well, that may be a slight exaggeration but the numbers do seem arbitrary and often scores are assigned as red, yellow and green. Score less than a green and a manager does begin to feel pressure. Stay under a green score too long and your store starts to be a focus store and after that a problem store. Having experienced the pressure of staying green rather than simply understanding numbers and working to use them to my advantage I know it can lead to an unnecessarily high stress situation.

To all of you store owners I say this, buy a Sensormatic security system WITH the door counting sensor. Enjoy the increased profits you will see with reduced theft from the EAS technology. Increase efficiency and improve sales with the proper analysis and planning gleaned from the data of a door counter. Don’t stress about it just get started with a call to Loss Prevention Systems, Inc.

 

Retail Traffic Counting is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.