Door counting sensor-4 wc blog 242
Retail traffic counting system-3
Get A Better Sense For When Your Customers Are Shopping; Invest In A Door Counting Sensor
It’s the middle of the afternoon; you have lines of people at your checkout counters and two cashiers to check them out. Isn’t it wonderful to see this kind of business in your store? Someone on the sales floor needs help but you can’t assist them just now, it’s too busy. Get the checkout lines down a little bit and THEN you can see what the customer wanted assistance with. The thought crosses your mind that you don’t recall ever seeing it this busy when it isn’t a holiday. Is that really true or is it just your perception at the moment? I suppose it doesn’t matter the store is hopping and there have to be a gazillion people in here shopping. When things calm down a bit, did you notice the shopping cart filled with merchandise pushed to the side? Did you question why there is so much stray merchandise just plopped down all over the place? Just signs of what a busy day you have had, right? How many people were in your store for that rush? Does it matter? A door counting sensor would have been a great tool to answer that question, but you haven’t invested in one. A retail traffic counting system can give you data that can help you staff the store to better serve your customers.
A door counting sensor keeps track of the number of visitors entering your store. It can help establish the days your store is busiest and it breaks that information down to customer traffic by the hour. A retail traffic counting system provides a store owner or management team with information that can help in creating more effective schedules for a business. As historical data is gathered, you will be able to compare apples to apples in other words a Monday afternoon on a labor day may require more scheduled workers than a Monday afternoon in February. Making informed decisions about how many people you should staff your store with and at what times makes your business more efficient and profitable.
One of the old maxims in retail is, “Time enough to lean, time enough to clean.” I’ve heard this said in a number of different stores and the idea is that when it is slow and your associates have nothing else to do, they can find things to stay busy like dusting, wiping counters, sweeping etc. I would suggest to the business owner that if this is repeated frequently in your stores, it could indicate you have too many employees working at the wrong times. Using information collected from a door counting sensor, a business manager could validate peak shopping hour trends and staff the store according to those indicators. A regular Sunday afternoon peak rush from 3pm-6pm may mean that for those 3 hours, Sundays are scheduled heavier on cashiers so there are no lengthy lines. How does this impact the bottom line? Those shopping carts filled with merchandise that I mentioned in the beginning of the article would not exist. The patron frustrated by the long line that you were so pleased with, who abandoned that purchase due to the wait time would now complete the purchase. The extra cashier would have made the difference between losing that sale and profiting from it.
How about that stray merchandise stacked up around the check lanes that you considered signals that you were having a great sales day? Many of those items may well be individual purchases that people gave up on rather than stand in a line for a single item purchase. How do I know? I have been one of those customers. I do get irritated when I have to stand too long for one or two items because a store is not staffed correctly. I have put down merchandise and left rather than spend my money. I have also seen it happen as an employee and at that point even the best customer service can’t recover that sale. Additionally, I have walked away from a potential purchase when I had to wait too long for service at a display case. If I do it, and I can be a little forgiving with my background in retail, how much more does the average customer walk away because of a lack of service? A retail counting system can help you boost sales by giving you the information you need to optimize store coverage on the floor and at checkout.
Don’t play a guessing game at properly staffing your store. Invest in a retail traffic counting system so you know when your business is busiest. Opportunity knocks, count on it with a door counting sensor!
Get more information on Door Counting Sensors, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
It’s the middle of the afternoon; you have lines of people at your checkout counters and two cashiers to check them out. Isn’t it wonderful to see this kind of business in your store? Someone on the sales floor needs help but you can’t assist them just now, it’s too busy. Get the checkout lines down a little bit and THEN you can see what the customer wanted assistance with. The thought crosses your mind that you don’t recall ever seeing it this busy when it isn’t a holiday. Is that really true or is it just your perception at the moment? I suppose it doesn’t matter the store is hopping and there have to be a gazillion people in here shopping. When things calm down a bit, did you notice the shopping cart filled with merchandise pushed to the side? Did you question why there is so much stray merchandise just plopped down all over the place? Just signs of what a busy day you have had, right? How many people were in your store for that rush? Does it matter? A door counting sensor would have been a great tool to answer that question, but you haven’t invested in one. A retail traffic counting system can give you data that can help you staff the store to better serve your customers.
A door counting sensor keeps track of the number of visitors entering your store. It can help establish the days your store is busiest and it breaks that information down to customer traffic by the hour. A retail traffic counting system provides a store owner or management team with information that can help in creating more effective schedules for a business. As historical data is gathered, you will be able to compare apples to apples in other words a Monday afternoon on a labor day may require more scheduled workers than a Monday afternoon in February. Making informed decisions about how many people you should staff your store with and at what times makes your business more efficient and profitable.
One of the old maxims in retail is, “Time enough to lean, time enough to clean.” I’ve heard this said in a number of different stores and the idea is that when it is slow and your associates have nothing else to do, they can find things to stay busy like dusting, wiping counters, sweeping etc. I would suggest to the business owner that if this is repeated frequently in your stores, it could indicate you have too many employees working at the wrong times. Using information collected from a door counting sensor, a business manager could validate peak shopping hour trends and staff the store according to those indicators. A regular Sunday afternoon peak rush from 3pm-6pm may mean that for those 3 hours, Sundays are scheduled heavier on cashiers so there are no lengthy lines. How does this impact the bottom line? Those shopping carts filled with merchandise that I mentioned in the beginning of the article would not exist. The patron frustrated by the long line that you were so pleased with, who abandoned that purchase due to the wait time would now complete the purchase. The extra cashier would have made the difference between losing that sale and profiting from it.
How about that stray merchandise stacked up around the check lanes that you considered signals that you were having a great sales day? Many of those items may well be individual purchases that people gave up on rather than stand in a line for a single item purchase. How do I know? I have been one of those customers. I do get irritated when I have to stand too long for one or two items because a store is not staffed correctly. I have put down merchandise and left rather than spend my money. I have also seen it happen as an employee and at that point even the best customer service can’t recover that sale. Additionally, I have walked away from a potential purchase when I had to wait too long for service at a display case. If I do it, and I can be a little forgiving with my background in retail, how much more does the average customer walk away because of a lack of service? A retail counting system can help you boost sales by giving you the information you need to optimize store coverage on the floor and at checkout.
Don’t play a guessing game at properly staffing your store. Invest in a retail traffic counting system so you know when your business is busiest. Opportunity knocks, count on it with a door counting sensor!
Get more information on Door Counting Sensors, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
AA Blog 15
Customer Counting Device: 5
Door Counting Sensor: 4
Avoid the Headache of Resource Management By Using The Visiplus Customer Counting Device
Working as a supervisor in retail I have come to learn that managing employees is a tedious and difficult task at times. Between dealing with their personal issues, vacations and sick days; while trying to balance store activity levels, I sometimes wish I had some genie in a bottle to help me sort it all out. Don’t get me wrong we can typically discern when our peak days are, as most people shop in our store on the weekends or weekdays during lunch time, but it definitely isn’t an exact science. We also have store sales and promotions that obviously increase our customer base during that timeframe, but that also results in a wide variation of shopping times. I find that sales and promotions always increase the number of shoppers, but they also tend to make the timing more sporadic. I am not sure if that is affected by the means and timing of the media delivery or if other factors outside of my control are involved. Either way it causes my stress levels to rise exponentially. I start to question what level of staff I need on any given day and whether I have enough loss prevention on duty to cover the anticipated increase in sales. Just when I think I have it all figured out, I discover I have way too many employees, and I am wasting money watching my employees stand around trying to see what their employee discount will buy them. Then I send half my staff home and the next thing we know we are swamped with customers. It is very frustrating and time consuming for me to try and manage this, especially when this is not my only job. If any of you have been or are currently in my position you know exactly what I am talking about. Just when I thought I would never get it figured out, all my prayers were answered! I discovered the Visiplus customer counting device and it literally saved my life.
The Visiplus customer counting device is installed at your main entry points and counts people coming in and exiting your store. This customer counting device downloads data daily to provide current and accurate customer information. The data is broken down by hour so you can critically analyze your customer traffic to identify strengths and weaknesses for all aspects of your business. From this information I am able to look at customer activity and trends to better evaluate my resources. Since I have had the door counting sensor installed, I have substantially reduced my overhead cost by improving my employee management. I have also received positive feedback from my staff, as it has also improved their moral and overall satisfaction. The Visiplus customer counting device significantly reduces my call in rates, improves scheduling consistency, and reduces the need for overtime situations. I think my employees appreciate the improvements as much as I do. During sales and promotions my door counting sensor can help me evaluate which promotions or sales are more lucrative and allows me to manage the timing of those promotions based on historical information, as I have learned from this system, that some promotions produce higher sales numbers during specific times of the year. This allows me to plan accordingly so I can avoid those timeframes that aren’t as productive. The door counting sensor can also be integrated into your existing Checkpoint system to provide a multi-faceted device. By integrating the EAS into the door counting sensor you get specific data on your alarms and EAS activity rates by the hour. This has been beneficial when determining whether I have employee training issues in regards to EAS de-activation or removal, or if I have any EAS devices that are not functioning properly. It can also provide a detailed view of my attempted shoplifting rates and whether those incidents are being handled properly and by policy.
I could probably go on for days about how great the Visiplus customer counting device is and what it has done for me and my company, but please check it out for yourself! It has significantly reduced the amount of time it takes to manage and schedule my resources, which has decreased my overhead, increased profit, and improved employee satisfaction. Having the appropriate resources available has significantly improved our customer satisfaction and helped us better manage our loss prevention program in order to reduce theft.
Need more information on the Visiplus customer counting device? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Working as a supervisor in retail I have come to learn that managing employees is a tedious and difficult task at times. Between dealing with their personal issues, vacations and sick days; while trying to balance store activity levels, I sometimes wish I had some genie in a bottle to help me sort it all out. Don’t get me wrong we can typically discern when our peak days are, as most people shop in our store on the weekends or weekdays during lunch time, but it definitely isn’t an exact science. We also have store sales and promotions that obviously increase our customer base during that timeframe, but that also results in a wide variation of shopping times. I find that sales and promotions always increase the number of shoppers, but they also tend to make the timing more sporadic. I am not sure if that is affected by the means and timing of the media delivery or if other factors outside of my control are involved. Either way it causes my stress levels to rise exponentially. I start to question what level of staff I need on any given day and whether I have enough loss prevention on duty to cover the anticipated increase in sales. Just when I think I have it all figured out, I discover I have way too many employees, and I am wasting money watching my employees stand around trying to see what their employee discount will buy them. Then I send half my staff home and the next thing we know we are swamped with customers. It is very frustrating and time consuming for me to try and manage this, especially when this is not my only job. If any of you have been or are currently in my position you know exactly what I am talking about. Just when I thought I would never get it figured out, all my prayers were answered! I discovered the Visiplus customer counting device and it literally saved my life.
The Visiplus customer counting device is installed at your main entry points and counts people coming in and exiting your store. This customer counting device downloads data daily to provide current and accurate customer information. The data is broken down by hour so you can critically analyze your customer traffic to identify strengths and weaknesses for all aspects of your business. From this information I am able to look at customer activity and trends to better evaluate my resources. Since I have had the door counting sensor installed, I have substantially reduced my overhead cost by improving my employee management. I have also received positive feedback from my staff, as it has also improved their moral and overall satisfaction. The Visiplus customer counting device significantly reduces my call in rates, improves scheduling consistency, and reduces the need for overtime situations. I think my employees appreciate the improvements as much as I do. During sales and promotions my door counting sensor can help me evaluate which promotions or sales are more lucrative and allows me to manage the timing of those promotions based on historical information, as I have learned from this system, that some promotions produce higher sales numbers during specific times of the year. This allows me to plan accordingly so I can avoid those timeframes that aren’t as productive. The door counting sensor can also be integrated into your existing Checkpoint System to provide a multi-faceted device. By integrating the EAS into the door counting sensor you get specific data on your alarms and EAS activity rates by the hour. This has been beneficial when determining whether I have employee training issues in regards to EAS de-activation or removal, or if I have any EAS devices that are not functioning properly. It can also provide a detailed view of my attempted shoplifting rates and whether those incidents are being handled properly and by policy.
I could probably go on for days about how great the Visiplus customer counting device is and what it has done for me and my company, but please check it out for yourself! It has significantly reduced the amount of time it takes to manage and schedule my resources, which has decreased my overhead, increased profit, and improved employee satisfaction. Having the appropriate resources available has significantly improved our customer satisfaction and helped us better manage our loss prevention program in order to reduce theft.
Need more information on the Visiplus Customer Counting Device? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
I read about a new people counting system called VisiPlus today and I was impressed to say the least. I have long talked about the benefits of Big data and its uses in LP. You cannot have useful data when you do not have accurate data. This is as true in LP as it is for business in general. The system is a door counting sensor that connects seamlessly with the existing suite of entrance technologies that many of us in retail already use for LP purposes. Here is one more piece of that big data puzzle.
How can a door counting sensor, a people counting system, really have that big of an impact on analytics or operations? Pattern recognition. Operations has long been using sales data, volume of sales and scans per minute to determine the traffic patterns and busy times in their buildings. This data allows for them to schedule enough staff to meet demand and plan out other aspects of the day efficiently. Sales data is a part of the picture but it isn’t wholly accurate. Say you had a giant sale come in on a Tuesday at 3 pm. The sales data looks like you were super busy and if you reacted to that information alone you will find yourself overstaffed the following Tuesday, burning payroll chasing dollars that are just the ghosts of sales past.
Having a people counting system also provides data that you can apply directly to productivity. I learned a valuable lesson about productivity and management when I was young and in my first supervisor position. I worked all day and felt that, while certainly hectic at times, my day was a great and productive one. When my store manager called me into his office at the end of the day I couldn’t wait to hear how great I had done. That was not the conversation we had. My boss asked me to tell him all I had accomplished today which I did, with great enthusiasm and reference to how busy it was all day. After I gave him the list he did some quick math and pointed out that my total tasks accomplished would take 2 hours to complete, what did I do with the other 6?
Needless to say I was stunned and that conversation stuck with me. I had never realized how busy but unproductive I could be. I have used that lesson countless times and teach it to managers who struggle with productivity. How does that relate to the door counting sensor though? With accurate data on the number of people entering and exiting the building you will have a truly accurate picture of how “busy” it was.
It’s a common tale told by the unproductive. They tell management how much they tried to do but they were swamped with customers. Even when there are no sales to back that up they tell you of all the people they helped who didn’t end up buying anything. With a people counting system in place you will know exactly how many people came and went and exactly when. The door counting sensor produces data that can be applied in countless ways to improve a variety of aspects of your business.
As LP I think of other expanded uses. Tracking various exit points and paths to determine if everyone who came in exited, if people utilized a secured point of entry more than it was logged being open. The potential applications of a people counting system are endless as its impact on your business. Big Data and Analytics are the way of the future for Ops and for LP. You wouldn’t paint a picture without all the colors of paint, why would you build plans for your business without all the data?
Need information on the VisiPlus people counting systems? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now
AA Blog 08
Customer Counting Systems: 5
Door Counting Sensor: 4
Customer Counting Systems: An Innovative Way to Identify Customer Trends, Manage labor and Increase Profit
In my position I have to travel rather frequently to various locations throughout the United States and Canada to deal with security related issues. As you can expect my travel often comes with some interesting stories and experiences, some of which can be rather humorous. It also provides me with the opportunity to frequent different hotels, restaurants, and other businesses during the course of my travel. Although some experiences are better than others, it often gives me a different perspective regarding how businesses operate. On a recent trip I decided to eat dinner at a popular chain restaurant that was close to my hotel. It was rather early in the day for dinner, but I was dealing with a time change situation. When I walked in I noticed the place was pretty empty, which didn’t surprise me. After deciding what I wanted, I waited for an extended period of time for my server to come take my order, which began to irritate me. As I was waiting and looking around I couldn’t help but notice that there were a lot of employees working considering the time of day. I use the word working liberally, as most of them were standing around having personal conversations, and doing nothing in the way of customer service. I counted 12 employees as I sat there waiting and I couldn’t help but think, what a waste of money and resources, for poor service. Maybe those large chains can afford to waste money by poorly scheduling resources, but what about those small businesses that are working hard to reduce their overhead costs, in order to increase their profit margin? This made me think about customer counting systems and how they could help this restaurant work more efficiently.
Although, most people might think customer counting systems are primarily used in the retail industry; they can be a great resource for any business that wants to track customer activity. It is important for any type of business to know how many people are frequenting their establishment and when. A door counting sensor can be extremely beneficial because it can provide real time data to eliminate labor issues. It can also provide other information that can be used to improve business or evaluate current or future promotional opportunities. A door counting sensor provides customer information, which is reported by the hour each day. Therefore, a manager or owner can utilize this information for scheduling purposes to ensure they have the appropriate staff working during the peak times of the day. Customer counting systems can also help you determine whether a promotional sale or event was successful. A door counting sensor can also be used to identify opportunities for growth and development. If a business can identify lulls in service, they can better direct their efforts on promotions during those time frames. For example, if a restaurant is slowest between 4pm-6pm, maybe you could improve sales by adding happy hour specials during those times. Customer counting systems can be received in a reporting format or incorporated into your sales data so that you can easily and quickly see trends without having to conduct a lengthy analysis based on sales and other factors.
Customer counting systems are easily installed and are a cost-efficient means to help you monitor your customer traffic in order to reduce overhead cost, while improving sales and customer satisfaction. Although I know that each business is operated differently, thus resulting in a different experience each time, I do know that poor service will ultimately impact my future consumer choices. So if you are a business manager or business owner make balancing your budget and increasing sales a priority through easy and efficient trend analysis. I would strongly recommend getting a door counting sensor, so you can better track and respond to your customers’ needs.
Customer counting systems are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
In my position I have to travel rather frequently to various locations throughout the United States and Canada to deal with security related issues. As you can expect my travel often comes with some interesting stories and experiences, some of which can be rather humorous. It also provides me with the opportunity to frequent different hotels, restaurants, and other businesses during the course of my travel. Although some experiences are better than others, it often gives me a different perspective regarding how businesses operate. On a recent trip I decided to eat dinner at a popular chain restaurant that was close to my hotel. It was rather early in the day for dinner, but I was dealing with a time change situation. When I walked in I noticed the place was pretty empty, which didn’t surprise me. After deciding what I wanted, I waited for an extended period of time for my server to come take my order, which began to irritate me. As I was waiting and looking around I couldn’t help but notice that there were a lot of employees working considering the time of day. I use the word working liberally, as most of them were standing around having personal conversations, and doing nothing in the way of customer service. I counted 12 employees as I sat there waiting and I couldn’t help but think, what a waste of money and resources, for poor service. Maybe those large chains can afford to waste money by poorly scheduling resources, but what about those small businesses that are working hard to reduce their overhead costs, in order to increase their profit margin? This made me think about customer counting systems and how they could help this restaurant work more efficiently.
Although, most people might think customer counting systems are primarily used in the retail industry; they can be a great resource for any business that wants to track customer activity. It is important for any type of business to know how many people are frequenting their establishment and when. A door counting sensor can be extremely beneficial because it can provide real time data to eliminate labor issues. It can also provide other information that can be used to improve business or evaluate current or future promotional opportunities. A door counting sensor provides customer information, which is reported by the hour each day. Therefore, a manager or owner can utilize this information for scheduling purposes to ensure they have the appropriate staff working during the peak times of the day. Customer counting systems can also help you determine whether a promotional sale or event was successful. A door counting sensor can also be used to identify opportunities for growth and development. If a business can identify lulls in service, they can better direct their efforts on promotions during those time frames. For example, if a restaurant is slowest between 4pm-6pm, maybe you could improve sales by adding happy hour specials during those times. Customer counting systems can be received in a reporting format or incorporated into your sales data so that you can easily and quickly see trends without having to conduct a lengthy analysis based on sales and other factors.
Customer counting systems are easily installed and are a cost-efficient means to help you monitor your customer traffic in order to reduce overhead cost, while improving sales and customer satisfaction. Although I know that each business is operated differently, thus resulting in a different experience each time, I do know that poor service will ultimately impact my future consumer choices. So if you are a business manager or business owner make balancing your budget and increasing sales a priority through easy and efficient trend analysis. I would strongly recommend getting a door counting sensor, so you can better track and respond to your customers’ needs.
Customer counting systems are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
