Why Should Shopping Malls Use People Counters?

Evaluating marketing campaign effectiveness can not rely solely on sales figures. Increased foot traffic must be taken into account. Not all shoppers will buy on the first visit. They also may spend on other than the target merchandise or vendor. Using targeted sales data alone, therefore, is an incomplete indicator of shoppers pulled in

CPM (cost per mille) or CPT (cost per thousand), depending on the preferred nomenclature used, is a direct measure of money spent on marketing to entice shoppers. Having the data on the actual number of people walking through the doors creates a more accurate metric. Without this tool the evaluation falls back on the best estimate method which, without doubt, can skew the results leading to serious, costly errors.

High traffic flow area must be supported by high sales

Taking a look at the SSF (sales per square feet) measurement, there need to be an adequate traffic flow into those square feet to support sales. Using only daily sale data does not give an accurate indication of shoppers. Again, the shoppers may not purchase that day, however, that does not mean that marketing and merchandising plans are not making an impact. Factoring in the those feet on the floor gives a much clearer image of marketing draw.


So why should shopping malls use people counters? To provide those enhanced metrics. In the current economic atmosphere every advantage needs to be applied. Knowing with a certainty that there is adequate traffic to support the businesses in the mall and thereby the mall itself. Relying on older, less exacting techniques, is no longer a best practices option. The technology is available to capture the data so it can be put to use in an effective manner