Set New And Profitable Goals For Your Store By Using People Counting Systems

Customer Counting Systems-5                                                                                                 WC Blog 286
People Counting Systems-4
Door Counting Sensor-3
 Set New And Profitable Goals For Your Store By Using People Counting Systems
     I think back to 1990 when I first started working in retail as a Loss Prevention Associate. It was here that I learned not only about the ins and outs of merchandise theft, I started learning about store operations as well. I learned that the corporate office gave sales goals for the day and that the store managers based a successful day on meeting or exceeding those goals. As I progressed in my career with other companies I became a Loss Prevention Manager, then a Loss Prevention Manager with Manager On Duty Responsibilities followed by a stint as a Logistics Manager. I still work in retail after 26 years. One thing I have learned is that every company I work for bases successful days on meeting and exceeding sales goals. Fair enough. You have to have goals in order to know where you want to go otherwise a company stagnates or worse yet wanders aimlessly since they have nothing to shoot for except a non-specific goal of “To Be Successful”. But then what does that look like? I have been rethinking sales goals recently especially as the company I work for has focused some store measurements on patron “conversion” rates and also as I have investigated People Counting Systems.
     People counting systems or customer counting systems as they are sometimes referred to, use a door counting sensor to track how many people enter and exit a business or building during the day. Reporting data from these customer counting systems can provide managers with data showing how many people entered and exited by the hour of the day. Stores that have measures in place to stop shoplifting and reduce merchandise shrinkage with a Checkpoint Security System can have a Visiplus customer counting device attached to the Checkpoint electronic article surveillance (EAS) antennas. Using the Smart Alarm Management tool, those stores can monitor EAS alarm activity and compare the information to door counting sensor numbers to better manage EAS activity levels.
     Here is where my recent thinking has been taking me. We get excited over meeting a sales goal, usually a number based on historical sales information like the prior year sales for that same day. Adjustments may be made based on an overall picture of how the economy is performing or whether an event the prior year may have impacted sales. An example of this would be a store that had to close due to a hurricane evacuation the prior year is not going to have a sales goal based off of last year’s sales data. If a store has a daily sales goal of $10,000 and makes $11,000 the management team is going to be pleased and that would properly be something to be happy about. But let me toss out a new idea. What if the stores used people counting systems and found that they had 400 customers enter the store during the day and only had 300 transactions. What in the world happened to those other 100 customers? What could have been done to get those 100 people to purchase something before leaving the store? Without using customer counting systems you would never know you missed selling opportunities to another 100 customers.
      All your information is from sales transactions and yes, you beat your sales goal by $1,000 but could you have beaten it by $1,100 or more? By using a door counting sensor you could set new goals, you had 400 customers in your store last Wednesday, how will you attract 410 THIS Wednesday. You missed 100 potential sales last Wednesday, what will you do differently to try to help more customers find what they need or can use while in the store? Can you entice your customers to make an impulse purchase with a cool display of food or drinks at the font of the store? Maybe the new goals you set for your store are dollar related AND customer driven.
     It is one thing to aim for increased sales dollars it’s another thing to find ways to draw in more customers. If you can attract those customers then your goal is to get them to buy and that is a challenge but one that is necessary if you want your business to grow. The only way to know how many customers are visiting your store is by using customer counting systems. Invest in people counting systems today and see a whole new set of goals to achieve and with it, more growth and profit.
 Get more information on People Counting Systems, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.

I think back to 1990 when I first started working in retail as a Loss Prevention Associate. It was here that I learned not only about the ins and outs of merchandise theft, I started learning about store operations as well. I learned that the corporate office gave sales goals for the day and that the store managers based a successful day on meeting or exceeding those goals. As I progressed in my career with other companies I became a Loss Prevention Manager, then a Loss Prevention Manager with Manager On Duty Responsibilities followed by a stint as a Logistics Manager. I still work in retail after 26 years. One thing I have learned is that every company I work for bases successful days on meeting and exceeding sales goals. Fair enough. You have to have goals in order to know where you want to go otherwise a company stagnates or worse yet wanders aimlessly since they have nothing to shoot for except a non-specific goal of “To Be Successful”. But then what does that look like? I have been rethinking sales goals recently especially as the company I work for has focused some store measurements on patron “conversion” rates and also as I have investigated People Counting Systems.
     

People counting systems or customer counting systems as they are sometimes referred to, use a door counting sensor to track how many people enter and exit a business or building during the day. Reporting data from these customer counting systems can provide managers with data showing how many people entered and exited by the hour of the day. Stores that have measures in place to stop shoplifting and reduce merchandise shrinkage with a Checkpoint Security System can have a Visiplus customer counting device attached to the Checkpoint electronic article surveillance (EAS) antennas. Using the Smart Alarm Management tool, those stores can monitor EAS alarm activity and compare the information to door counting sensor numbers to better manage EAS activity levels.
     

Here is where my recent thinking has been taking me. We get excited over meeting a sales goal, usually a number based on historical sales information like the prior year sales for that same day. Adjustments may be made based on an overall picture of how the economy is performing or whether an event the prior year may have impacted sales. An example of this would be a store that had to close due to a hurricane evacuation the prior year is not going to have a sales goal based off of last year’s sales data. If a store has a daily sales goal of $10,000 and makes $11,000 the management team is going to be pleased and that would properly be something to be happy about. But let me toss out a new idea. What if the stores used people counting systems and found that they had 400 customers enter the store during the day and only had 300 transactions. What in the world happened to those other 100 customers? What could have been done to get those 100 people to purchase something before leaving the store? Without using customer counting systems you would never know you missed selling opportunities to another 100 customers.
     

All your information is from sales transactions and yes, you beat your sales goal by $1,000 but could you have beaten it by $1,100 or more? By using a door counting sensor you could set new goals, you had 400 customers in your store last Wednesday, how will you attract 410 THIS Wednesday. You missed 100 potential sales last Wednesday, what will you do differently to try to help more customers find what they need or can use while in the store? Can you entice your customers to make an impulse purchase with a cool display of food or drinks at the font of the store? Maybe the new goals you set for your store are dollar related AND customer driven.
     

It is one thing to aim for increased sales dollars it’s another thing to find ways to draw in more customers. If you can attract those customers then your goal is to get them to buy and that is a challenge but one that is necessary if you want your business to grow. The only way to know how many customers are visiting your store is by using customer counting systems. Invest in people counting systems today and see a whole new set of goals to achieve and with it, more growth and profit. 

 

Get more information on People Counting Systems, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.

 

Don’t Let Traffic Jams And Front End Slow Downs Hurt Sales; Find Out How Retail Traffic Counting Companies Can Drive Profits

 

Retail traffic counting companies-4                                                                          WC blog 281
Door counting sensor-4
Customer counting device-3
Don’t Let Traffic Jams And Front End Slow Downs Hurt Sales; Find Out How Retail Traffic Counting Companies Can Drive Profits
     Do you ever watch your morning traffic report before you go to work? Sometimes the information we get from those reports can be useful, we learn where an accident has taken place and we can find an alternate route if necessary.  We may find out road construction is tying up traffic causing delays. We even get a heads up that school buses are out so expect slow- downs stops and buses pick up children. Retail traffic counting companies can provide store owners with valuable information that can be useful for improving sales and customer service issues using reporting information from a customer counting device or door counting sensor. Much like the traffic reporter it can give the information that can help ensure you take a better, more efficient route to your destination which is running a successful and profitable business.
      A door counting sensor placed at the entrance(s) of a store can provide data on how many people have entered the business during the day.  Reporting can provide hourly breakdowns so an owner or manager can see when the peak periods of that day were. If a store has an electronic article surveillance system the door counting sensor can be tied into it. For stores that have taken steps to prevent theft with an electronic article surveillance system, a customer counting device can report how many alarm activations took place during the day and what times those alarms happened. In a sense, retail traffic counting companies provide valuable information that can help shop owners prepare for future traffic patterns, whether it is how many people will visit the store and may need sales advice or assistance or how many people will wait in checkout lines wanting to buy merchandise. If properly prepared, a manager may have extra sales floor help or extra cashiers that may keep customers from walking out empty handed.
     Think about retail counting companies like your local traffic report in this sense, if you know in advance what to expect you can better prepare for it. If the reports you receive demonstrate you have increases in customer traffic on Friday afternoons you can evaluate your staffing model and adjust it so you have more employees working during that peak time. Conversely, if Monday mornings are particularly slow, reduce the number of employees at that time of the day. Adjust payroll to fit the traffic patterns of the store. Do you ever look at snarled and backed up lines at the registers and wonder what happened? Do you ever think to yourself, “I wish I had an extra cashier right now!”? This is one of the advantages a door counting sensor can provide. You can look at past trends and make schedules that ensure you have the right people to meet customer demand.
      A customer counting device does also provide reporting data on the number of electronic article surveillance alarms a store is receiving. If the store has faulty equipment a repair ticket can quickly be submitted for a repair. If excess alarms are taking place a store owner will have a more accurate picture of it than what employees are reporting. It means quicker service calls can be placed or there may be a requirement for trying to stop a shoplifting ring or individual hitting the store on a certain day. It could also help owners identify training needs for associates on how to respond to an alarm.
          By using retail traffic counting companies you can prevent those ugly lines backing up at the checkout lanes.  Unfortunately for you, the only detour your customers tend to make as opposed to the driver on the road is a one-way trek out your doors without a purchase. Abandoned shopping carts of merchandise that translate to lost sales can be avoided. Customers waiting for sales floor help that never arrives can be a thing of the past. No one enjoys a traffic jam and they don’t enjoy waiting to make purchases. See how much you can improve your sales and customer service performance by finding out what retail traffic counting companies can do for you.
Need information on Retail Traffic Counting Companies? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
     
       
     

Do you ever watch your morning traffic report before you go to work? Sometimes the information we get from those reports can be useful, we learn where an accident has taken place and we can find an alternate route if necessary.  We may find out road construction is tying up traffic causing delays. We even get a heads up that school buses are out so expect slow- downs stops and buses pick up children. Retail traffic counting companies can provide store owners with valuable information that can be useful for improving sales and customer service issues using reporting information from a customer counting device or door counting sensor. Much like the traffic reporter it can give the information that can help ensure you take a better, more efficient route to your destination which is running a successful and profitable business.

A door counting sensor placed at the entrance(s) of a store can provide data on how many people have entered the business during the day.  Reporting can provide hourly breakdowns so an owner or manager can see when the peak periods of that day were. If a store has an electronic article surveillance system the door counting sensor can be tied into it. For stores that have taken steps to prevent theft with an electronic article surveillance system, a customer counting device can report how many alarm activations took place during the day and what times those alarms happened. In a sense, retail traffic counting companies provide valuable information that can help shop owners prepare for future traffic patterns, whether it is how many people will visit the store and may need sales advice or assistance or how many people will wait in checkout lines wanting to buy merchandise. If properly prepared, a manager may have extra sales floor help or extra cashiers that may keep customers from walking out empty handed.

Think about retail counting companies like your local traffic report in this sense, if you know in advance what to expect you can better prepare for it. If the reports you receive demonstrate you have increases in customer traffic on Friday afternoons you can evaluate your staffing model and adjust it so you have more employees working during that peak time. Conversely, if Monday mornings are particularly slow, reduce the number of employees at that time of the day. Adjust payroll to fit the traffic patterns of the store. Do you ever look at snarled and backed up lines at the registers and wonder what happened? Do you ever think to yourself, “I wish I had an extra cashier right now!”? This is one of the advantages a door counting sensor can provide. You can look at past trends and make schedules that ensure you have the right people to meet customer demand.

A customer counting device does also provide reporting data on the number of electronic article surveillance alarms a store is receiving. If the store has faulty equipment a repair ticket can quickly be submitted for a repair. If excess alarms are taking place a store owner will have a more accurate picture of it than what employees are reporting. It means quicker service calls can be placed or there may be a requirement for trying to stop a shoplifting ring or individual hitting the store on a certain day. It could also help owners identify training needs for associates on how to respond to an alarm.

By using retail traffic counting companies you can prevent those ugly lines backing up at the checkout lanes.  Unfortunately for you, the only detour your customers tend to make as opposed to the driver on the road is a one-way trek out your doors without a purchase. Abandoned shopping carts of merchandise that translate to lost sales can be avoided. Customers waiting for sales floor help that never arrives can be a thing of the past. No one enjoys a traffic jam and they don’t enjoy waiting to make purchases. See how much you can improve your sales and customer service performance by finding out what retail traffic counting companies can do for you.

 

Need information on Retail Traffic Counting Companies? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.

     
       

     

 

 

Customer Counting Systems Can Provide Information To Improve Staffing And Generate Additional Sales

Customer counting systems-4                                                                                                          WC Blog 276
Door counting sensor-3
Customer counting device-3
Customer Counting Systems Can Provide Information To Improve Staffing And Generate Additional Sales
     One of the things I love about retail is the ability to help someone who knows they need something, but can only describe what they want to do, not what it is they need. OR the person who comes in with something very specific that we don’t have, but I can help them find a better alternative we DO have (especially if I can save them money in the process!). As a sales specialist, driving sales is a measure of success as well as customer satisfaction.  Similarly, you can judge the success of your store by the number of people you are attracting and how many transactions that take place at the registers.  But do transactions alone tell the whole story of how successful a store is? They don’t tell you the number of potentially missed sales you missed because you did not know store browsers were not converted to purchasers. Wouldn’t it be great to turn those “window shoppers” into buyers? By using a customer counting system, it is possible to find out how many people are actually in the store during the day. Subtracting the number of transactions that took place from the foot traffic a door counting sensor reports and you can get a good feel for how many more transactions might have been generated that day.
     Customer counting systems today provide retailers with information from a door counting sensor that reports how many people have entered and exited a building during the day and at what times. A customer counting device can also be used to track electronic article surveillance alarms (EAS) if your store is using an EAS system with antennas and EAS tags to prevent theft. Store management can review daily reports to see how many alarm activations there were during the day and at what times. In other words, customer counting systems don’t just count people they provide useful data that can help manage the resources of a store. One other thing I should mention, as someone with nearly 20 years of Retail Loss Prevention experience, I strongly suggest ALL stores have an EAS system installed in order to significantly reduce merchandise shortage. That being said, if a store does not have an EAS system for whatever reason, customer counting systems such as Checkpoint’s Visiplus people counters can be free standing without the EAS system in place.
     I know there may be some skeptics who think that all a door counting sensor is going to do is give more information to sift through daily. But I would like to show that the data from a customer counting system can benefit the store if used properly. I was working on the salesfloor a few weeks ago and had a couple come in and look around the furniture department. They came in looking for a desk our company only sold online but they did not know that. I was able to explain this and offered an alternative desk that was on sale and would meet their needs. After spending time with the couple, listening to their needs and finding out they would be adding another desk later, I found another desk that would be on sale the next day (when our new ad started). I also showed them some chairs and they decided they could use one with the new home office arrangement. The total purchase for this couple was around $1,100.
       Had I not greeted and spent time with them, this couple would have left the store empty handed, we did not have the desk on hand they thought they wanted to look at. Our store uses a customer counting device and we would do track customer transactions versus door counts. This would have been a case of two more people visiting our store and one less transaction. If a store manager only looks at daily transactions, there is no gauge to determine if opportunities are being missed. Customer counting systems can give breakdowns of foot traffic by time of day and if this information is used correctly, a manager can plan extra staffing based on prior history and reduced staffing for hours when there are fewer people visiting. Those extra employees may make the difference between a customer walking in and out and a customer discovering something in the store they didn’t know they needed or wanted.  Generate more sales by staffing based on customer counting device data.
Get more information on customer counting systems.  Contact us or call1.770.426.0547 today.
     

One of the things I love about retail is the ability to help someone who knows they need something, but can only describe what they want to do, not what it is they need. OR the person who comes in with something very specific that we don’t have, but I can help them find a better alternative we DO have (especially if I can save them money in the process!). As a sales specialist, driving sales is a measure of success as well as customer satisfaction.  Similarly, you can judge the success of your store by the number of people you are attracting and how many transactions that take place at the registers.  But do transactions alone tell the whole story of how successful a store is? They don’t tell you the number of potentially missed sales you missed because you did not know store browsers were not converted to purchasers. Wouldn’t it be great to turn those “window shoppers” into buyers? By using a customer counting system, it is possible to find out how many people are actually in the store during the day. Subtracting the number of transactions that took place from the foot traffic a door counting sensor reports and you can get a good feel for how many more transactions might have been generated that day.
     

 

Customer counting systems today provide retailers with information from a door counting sensor that reports how many people have entered and exited a building during the day and at what times. A customer counting device can also be used to track electronic article surveillance alarms (EAS) if your store is using an EAS system with antennas and EAS tags to prevent theft. Store management can review daily reports to see how many alarm activations there were during the day and at what times. In other words, customer counting systems don’t just count people they provide useful data that can help manage the resources of a store. One other thing I should mention, as someone with nearly 20 years of Retail Loss Prevention experience, I strongly suggest ALL stores have an EAS system installed in order to significantly reduce merchandise shortage. That being said, if a store does not have an EAS system for whatever reason, customer counting systems such as Checkpoint’s Visiplus people counters can be free standing without the EAS system in place.
     

 

I know there may be some skeptics who think that all a door counting sensor is going to do is give more information to sift through daily. But I would like to show that the data from a customer counting system can benefit the store if used properly. I was working on the salesfloor a few weeks ago and had a couple come in and look around the furniture department. They came in looking for a desk our company only sold online but they did not know that. I was able to explain this and offered an alternative desk that was on sale and would meet their needs. After spending time with the couple, listening to their needs and finding out they would be adding another desk later, I found another desk that would be on sale the next day (when our new ad started). I also showed them some chairs and they decided they could use one with the new home office arrangement. The total purchase for this couple was around $1,100.
       

 

Had I not greeted and spent time with them, this couple would have left the store empty handed, we did not have the desk on hand they thought they wanted to look at. Our store uses a customer counting device and we would track customer transactions versus door counts. This would have been a case of two more people visiting our store and one less transaction. If a store manager only looks at daily transactions, there is no gauge to determine if opportunities are being missed. Customer counting systems can give breakdowns of foot traffic by time of day and if this information is used correctly, a manager can plan extra staffing based on prior history and reduced staffing for hours when there are fewer people visiting. Those extra employees may make the difference between a customer walking in and out and a customer discovering something in the store they didn’t know they needed or wanted. Generate more sales by staffing based on customer counting device data.

 

Get more information on customer counting systems. Contact us or call1.770.426.0547 today.     

 

Customer Counting Systems Can Help Convert Foot Traffic Into Improved Sales And Reduced Shrink Part 2

 

Door Counting Sensor- 3                                                                                                           wc blog 267
Customer Counting System-4
Retail Traffic Counting System-3
Customer Counting Systems Can Help Convert Foot Traffic Into Improved Sales And Reduced Shrink Part 2
     In Part 1 of this 2 part series I discussed the potential for customer counting systems to help improve in-store marketing efforts by taking advantage of data that can be provided by a VisiPlus people counting system.  Overhead sensors can be strategically installed in locations where high profile displays or endcaps may be set up to attract customers and generate sales.  If information from these sensors determines that foot traffic is not increasing or garnering the attention intended by managers, the display can be changed out rather than taking up space.  New displays can be set up or changed out to get the desired effect.  Another advantage that a VisiPlus retail traffic counting system offers is being able to determine electronic article surveillance activity at your entrance/exits.  If you can take steps to make your theft prevention efforts more effective, you not only drive down merchandise shrink, you send thieves to other stores.
     I’ve spent a lot of time already talking about advantages of a retail counting system, specifically Checkpoint’s VisiPlus customer counting system, but I do need to take a minute to explain what it is.  VisiPlus is a retail traffic counting system that is attached to your Checkpoint electronic article surveillance (EAS) antennas and collects information on the number of customers entering and exiting the store, and EAS alarm activity that takes place.  You will receive reports that break down patron traffic by time of day.  The information can aid a management team in creating better scheduling models to help make a better customer service environment.  More employees at the times of heaviest customer traffic translate to improved sales as cashiers are available to checkout patrons with less wait time.  There will also be more employees available to assist on the salesfloor.  This in turn improves the ability to help customers find what they are looking for and increased salesfloor coverage also serves to deter shoplifters who seek out stores where there is little or no attention paid to customers.  The VisiPlus system also has overhead sensors that can be installed in strategic salesfloor areas to assist in tracking foot traffic near promotional displays.
    I now want to get back to the topic of a door counting sensor reducing shrink and improving profits.  If a store is practicing good electronic article surveillance alarm response at the front doors, they are keeping a log of alarm activations and the causes of those alarms.  Having worked as a Loss Prevention Manager for many years, I know that many alarms were not recorded in our log book. I rarely had a true picture of exactly how many alarms were activated during the day and, therefore, could not measure whether our supervisors or cashiers were responding to alarms properly.  It also made it difficult to determine if I was experiencing any malfunction issues with our EAS antennas.  The VisiPlus door counting sensor records EAS alarm activations in a daily report.  Management can use the report information compared to the alarm response book and determine if alarms are being properly addressed.  If not, retraining can be conducted for front end employees. They can also look for indications of excessive alarms that could be indicative of system problems.  Since the report breaks down activity by time of day, possible theft trends can be determined and action plans created to stem the issues.   
     A door counting sensor doesn’t have to be limited to the traditional idea of a retail traffic counting system only numbering the people entering and leaving your business.  A customer counting system can help you increase sales and decrease theft with accurate data reporting and timeline breakdowns.  Count on more from your customer counting system than just people, count on sales growth too!  
Need information on a retail traffic counting system?  Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
      

In Part 1 of this 2 part series I discussed the potential for customer counting systems to help improve in-store marketing efforts by taking advantage of data that can be provided by a VisiPlus people counting system.  Overhead sensors can be strategically installed in locations where high profile displays or endcaps may be set up to attract customers and generate sales.  If information from these sensors determines that foot traffic is not increasing or garnering the attention intended by managers, the display can be changed out rather than taking up space.  New displays can be set up or changed out to get the desired effect.  Another advantage that a VisiPlus retail traffic counting system offers is being able to determine electronic article surveillance activity at your entrance/exits.  If you can take steps to make your theft prevention efforts more effective, you not only drive down merchandise shrink, you send thieves to other stores.

I’ve spent a lot of time already talking about advantages of a retail counting system, specifically Checkpoint’s VisiPlus customer counting system, but I do need to take a minute to explain what it is.  VisiPlus is a retail traffic counting system that is attached to your Checkpoint electronic article surveillance (EAS) antennas and collects information on the number of customers entering and exiting the store, and EAS alarm activity that takes place.  You will receive reports that break down patron traffic by time of day.  The information can aid a management team in creating better scheduling models to help make a better customer service environment.  More employees at the times of heaviest customer traffic translate to improved sales as cashiers are available to checkout patrons with less wait time.  There will also be more employees available to assist on the salesfloor.  This in turn improves the ability to help customers find what they are looking for and increased salesfloor coverage also serves to deter shoplifters who seek out stores where there is little or no attention paid to customers.  The VisiPlus system also has overhead sensors that can be installed in strategic salesfloor areas to assist in tracking foot traffic near promotional displays.

I now want to get back to the topic of a door counting sensor reducing shrink and improving profits.  If a store is practicing good electronic article surveillance alarm response at the front doors, they are keeping a log of alarm activations and the causes of those alarms.  Having worked as a Loss Prevention Manager for many years, I know that many alarms were not recorded in our log book. I rarely had a true picture of exactly how many alarms were activated during the day and, therefore, could not measure whether our supervisors or cashiers were responding to alarms properly.  It also made it difficult to determine if I was experiencing any malfunction issues with our EAS antennas.  The VisiPlus door counting sensor records EAS alarm activations in a daily report.  Management can use the report information compared to the alarm response book and determine if alarms are being properly addressed.  If not, retraining can be conducted for front end employees. They can also look for indications of excessive alarms that could be indicative of system problems.  Since the report breaks down activity by time of day, possible theft trends can be determined and action plans created to stem the issues.   

A door counting sensor doesn’t have to be limited to the traditional idea of a retail traffic counting system only numbering the people entering and leaving your business.  A customer counting system can help you increase sales and decrease theft with accurate data reporting and timeline breakdowns.  Count on more from your customer counting system than just people, count on sales growth too!  

 

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

 

 

Customer Counting Systems Can Help Convert Foot Traffic Into Improved Sales And Reduced Shrink Part 1

 

Customer Counting Systems-5                                                                                                      WC Blog 266
Retail Counting System-4
Door Counting System-5
Customer Counting Systems Can Help Convert Foot Traffic Into Improved Sales And Reduced Shrink Part 1
     Door counts and customer counting systems sound so mundane.  How do you get excited about the number of people who enter and leave your store? It only makes sense that your total sales receipts for the day tell you what happened in your business?  If this is your perception of what a retail counting system can do, you are missing the bigger picture (and you may be missing sales as well).  Of those people that entered your store and left, how many actually made purchases before exiting?  How many electronic article surveillance alarms activate at the antennas during the day?  This is not mundane information, this is data that can be used to improve your sales and drive up profitability.  It can also help determine if there is a need for refresher training on EAS alarm response.  Are employees reacting to EAS alarms properly and do alarm activations match the alarm response log?  The VisiPlus customer counting system can provide you with useable activity report information that can assist you in a multitude of ways.  
     It is important to know what a retail counting system does before we can understand how it can impact our store operations and profit line.  A basic customer counting system counts the number of people passing through a door counting sensor installed at an entrance and exit and provides the number of people counted.  Along with sales data which includes the number of transactions through the course of a day, you can get your average sale/customer.  I know that the store I currently work for measures the number of customers and the number of transactions in a day and it provides the number of potential missed sales resulting from the difference in customer counts versus the number of transactions that took place in a day.  The VisiPlus customer counting can do all this and more.  In addition to the door counting system, this retail counting system also has overhead sensors that can be used to monitor customer movement near specific points such as high profile displays.
     Consider the opportunities that a door counting system with VisiPlus overhead sensors could provide you with.  How many times do you set up a display of new merchandise and not look at what impact it has on your sales.  You dress up a mannequin in a new suit, shirt, tie and shoes and leave it standing for a month.  Is it making a difference in your sales?  Is it generating traffic?  If it isn’t boosting sales it may need to be changed out for something else but with no measurements in place you won’t know.  Having a display up for the sake of a having a display is lost revenue.  The same goes for an endcap display.  The retail counting system can provide the information you need to get the biggest bang for the buck, so to speak.  One final thought on this, what if an overhead counter could identify locations that are NOT drawing customers?  You would have an opportunity to create a display that could be impactful and pull in those customers, especially if your customer counting system report indicates a high volume of traffic entering the store but not moving to that location.  
     It is also important to think about the data a door counting system can give in relation to transactions versus traffic flow.  If your business is drawing in a lot of customers but your transactions per customer are low, you can evaluate the possibility you are not optimizing your staffing.  Are people leaving without making a purchase because there are not enough employees to provide customer service assistance on the salesfloor?  Are customers annoyed at long lines at the registers and abandoning merchandise out of frustration for having to wait in line?  Visiplus can help you identify when and where you need to improve store staffing and even when you can reduce some of your staff for the slower periods of the day.
     A door counting system is more than just a tool to tell you how many people walked in and out of your store.  A VisiPlus system can give you the information edge you need over your competitors to improve efficiency, customer service and profits.
Need information on customer counting systems?  Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now

Door counts and customer counting systems sound so mundane. How do you get excited about the number of people who enter and leave your store? It only makes sense that your total sales receipts for the day tell you what happened in your business? If this is your perception of what a retail counting system can do, you are missing the bigger picture (and you may be missing sales as well). Of those people that entered your store and left, how many actually made purchases before exiting? How many electronic article surveillance alarms activate at the antennas during the day? This is not mundane information, this is data that can be used to improve your sales and drive up profitability. It can also help determine if there is a need for refresher training on EAS alarm response. Are employees reacting to EAS alarms properly and do alarm activations match the alarm response log? The VisiPlus customer counting system can provide you with useable activity report information that can assist you in a multitude of ways.  

It is important to know what a retail counting system does before we can understand how it can impact our store operations and profit line. A basic customer counting system counts the number of people passing through a door counting sensor installed at an entrance and exit and provides the number of people counted. Along with sales data which includes the number of transactions through the course of a day, you can get your average sale/customer. I know that the store I currently work for measures the number of customers and the number of transactions in a day and it provides the number of potential missed sales resulting from the difference in customer counts versus the number of transactions that took place in a day. The VisiPlus customer counting can do all this and more. In addition to the door counting system, this retail counting system also has overhead sensors that can be used to monitor customer movement near specific points such as high profile displays.

Consider the opportunities that a door counting system with VisiPlus overhead sensors could provide you with. How many times do you set up a display of new merchandise and not look at what impact it has on your sales. You dress up a mannequin in a new suit, shirt, tie and shoes and leave it standing for a month. Is it making a difference in your sales?  Is it generating traffic? If it isn’t boosting sales it may need to be changed out for something else but with no measurements in place you won’t know. Having a display up for the sake of a having a display is lost revenue. The same goes for an endcap display. The retail counting system can provide the information you need to get the biggest bang for the buck, so to speak. One final thought on this, what if an overhead counter could identify locations that are NOT drawing customers? You would have an opportunity to create a display that could be impactful and pull in those customers, especially if your customer counting system report indicates a high volume of traffic entering the store but not moving to that location.  

It is also important to think about the data a door counting system can give in relation to transactions versus traffic flow. If your business is drawing in a lot of customers but your transactions per customer are low, you can evaluate the possibility you are not optimizing your staffing. Are people leaving without making a purchase because there are not enough employees to provide customer service assistance on the salesfloor? Are customers annoyed at long lines at the registers and abandoning merchandise out of frustration for having to wait in line? Visiplus can help you identify when and where you need to improve store staffing and even when you can reduce some of your staff for the slower periods of the day.

A door counting system is more than just a tool to tell you how many people walked in and out of your store. A VisiPlus system can give you the information edge you need over your competitors to improve efficiency, customer service and profits.

 

Need information on Customer Counting Systems? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now