Traffic is what all retailers like to see — in their stores, if not on the roads.
Tracking who your customers are and when they are most likely to enter your store (and when they are most likely to buy something) is fundamental research for any store because advertising strategies, merchandising, store hours and staffing allocation all rely on those numbers.
But a lot of independent store owners don't track traffic and end up either (best-case scenario) not maximizing their resources or (worst case) going out of business because they couldn't deliver the goods at the times when customers wanted them most.
Traffic counting isn't just for the big-box stores — small retailers can use simple traffic counting methods to understand customers, streamline operations and boost sales. |
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This Retailer's Guide will define traffic, explain how traffic can help improve your operations, and offer tips for how you can integrate traffic and conversion into your daily operations.
Defining traffic
What is customer traffic?
Mark Ryski, President and CEO of Edmonton-based HeadCount Corporation, a company that analyzes customer traffic for retail organizations, says that traffic is often misunderstood as merely transactions, or the number of people who make a purchase. This, he says, is a common mistake.
When retail traffic specialists talk about traffic, Ryski says, "we're talking about footsteps, prospects." In other words, it's about the number of potential buyers who enter your store. |
