Tips For Deploying Retail Door Counters

Store owners have been reaping the benefits of retail door counting ever since the retail traffic counting technology first came into existence. Today it has reached such an extent that it has become a crucial component of a competitive retail business. As the word spreads about the beneficial impacts of door-counting techniques for retail, the statistics of businesses deploying this technology continue to progress. If you’re considering installing door counters for your retail business, find out all there is to know about this technology below before making your big investment!

What Are Door Counters?

Door counters are devices backed by people-counting technology, which enables retail stores to observe the level of in-store traffic. These devices send signals across a gateway via electronic beams as soon as it senses the movement of people passing through those doors. This allows stores to keep a record of the traffic they generate on a daily basis. While some door counts only offer an aggregate headcount, others can differentiate between incoming and outgoing visitors.

Why Is Store Counting An Essential Requirement For Retail Businesses Today?

Now that you’re aware of what door counters are, let’s dig into their role at retail stores and the profitable benefits they give birth to.

Understanding Customer Behavior

A peep into what your customers want is integral for a thriving business. The footfall counting technology gathers a ton of data that enables businesses to recognize traffic patterns. This data allows them to differentiate between days with the highest number of visitors and days where incoming traffic moves steadily. You can also gain insight into the time of the day when customer traffic is at its maximum. Such information can assist with management planning, determining operating hours, and more.

Plan Staff Scheduling

Knowledge about when your store is the most crowded and when the traffic is low can aid in planning your staff’s schedule accordingly. This way, no customer can complain about a lack of assistance from staff members. Similarly, you can cut down unnecessary costs with reduced employees stationed at times of low traffic.

Measure Purchases

In-store traffic monitoring fulfills the objective of measuring purchase rates in your store. This is the number of purchases that occur during a single day. You can also integrate your door counting device with your POS device and receive comprehensible data about conversion rates. Once that is achieved, you can plan marketing campaigns correspondingly to boost sales.

Types of Retail Store Traffic Counters

Keeping a shopper count has now been made easier with new types of retail traffic counting devices entering the market. Take a look at each of them and choose one that offers the most compatibility with your existing systems and requirements.

Infrared Counters

These counters are mounted in the same way as overhead counters, but instead of passing an electronic beam, they perform their functions through infrared light.

Thermal Counters

Thermal devices record foot traffic counts by identifying the body heat of customers through their sophisticated thermal arrays.

3D Sensors

3D door counters are attached to the ceiling of the entrance or exit doors of your store. 3D cameras can sense depth in the scene, and physical effects such as shadows and excessive sunlight can be minimized in order to achieve reliable counting accuracy. 

AI Counters

As Link Retail Counters, AI counters are currently the most advanced retail store traffic counter devices. Apart from the typical people counting, these counters enable multi-directional and group counting functions. It can also differentiate between staff and customers through its staff detection option. AI people counters can perform better than 3D counters as common objects such as people, shopping carts and bags are accurately recognized with the help of deep learning algorithms.

Tips To Choose The Right Door Counter For Your Retail Business

Before you begin your search for the most suitable retail door counter for your business, it is essential to understand that no two types of retail businesses are alike. Thus, you must not make your choice just because another retail business uses the same door counting device. With that out of the way, let’s look at the factors that can influence your decision and the best match for every factor.

Type of Door

The type of doors in your retail store impacts the number of people who can enter or exit simultaneously. Large entryways that can fit multiple customers simultaneously can be matched with overhead counters. This is because a horizontal sensor may not be able to detect the movement of every single person passing through the door. In contrast, horizontal counters can perform well when attached to narrow doors. In the same way, horizontal counters can be a perfect complement to sliding doors. 

Network Connections

Retail footfall counters come in two forms: wired and wireless door counting devices. Wired door counters cannot operate without an electric outlet. Thus, you would need to install an outlet close to your door or close to the position where you’re planning to mount the device. On the other hand, wireless retail traffic counters can perform without the need for an outlet. These counters are battery-operated. Thus, all you need to do is find the suitable battery type for your door counter, and you’re good to go.

The layout of the Store

While the shopping experience of most retail stores begins once the customers enter the respective stores, not all of them follow the same design. Some businesses enable browsing options at or near the entrance. If that is the layout of your business, then you must consider opting for overhead counters. These counters can capture the presence of people even if they don’t go inside your store. Similarly, you can also choose thermal counters for this type of store layout.

Get The Door Counting Device For Your Business Today

Link Retail has long been a pioneer in supplying retail businesses with door counters. These counters offer not only accurate and reliable shopper count statistics but also possess advanced analytic technology to enable reduced costs and increased conversion rates. Get your own door-counting device today by contacting us.