Footfalls to a retail store have been a measure of its success and it is surprising to see it still being an important indicator even after digitalization. 94% of the sales are generated at physical stores but to reach a larger target group and increase the number of footfalls in the store is still a challenge. If you own a brick and mortar store, targeted Marketing activities to increase the visitors to your store is a direct way of improving your Sales. But, you will need historic data to set a benchmark and to create a marketing strategy accordingly.

Measure Footfalls in your Store

There are many ways in which footfalls have been measured over the years. With the latest technologies coming in these methods have evolved to provide more accuracy and additional data.

• Traditional customer counter: Retail store traffic counter is a device that is given to an employee who is made to stand in front of the store. He/she is supposed to click on this customer counter each time a customer enters the store and this number is recorded. This method is a crude way of counting footfalls as the possibilities of human error or carelessness is high and you don’t get any data about the customers other than the total footfall.
• Bluetooth and WiFi footfall devices: WiFi or Bluetooth enabled smartphones to send out a ping when searching for a router or device to connect to and these pings can be used to count and track your customers. This type of footfall device also collects the smartphone data that will be useful for your business. You don’t have to worry about customer’s privacy policies as the collected data will be completely anonymous.
• People Counting System: You can have a sensor above your store’s entrance to get a more accurate count of people entering your store as the above technology might fail if people have their WiFi or Bluetooth switched off. This counting system will also let you know if a customer was near your store but left after reconsideration. If you have a store at the mall, then this technology will be really useful.

Analyze the Collected Data

Once the footfall data is collected, analyze it to understand the different action points that can be included in your marketing strategy.

• Start with the ratio of people who have entered your store in a given day and the number of purchases that have happened.
• If you have an online store, analyze the percentage of purchases through both mediums.
• Get to know the source by which your customers knew about your store.
• Analyze the number of repeat customers as they have more chances of turning into brand loyalists.
• Find out the best selling product in the store and analyze the reason why it is popular among your customers.
• Get to know the busiest time and day for your store.
• Interact with your customers to understand their pain points and the reason for drop-out.

Marketing Tips for Increasing Footfalls

The above analysis will help you customize your marketing strategy for your retail business but here are a few tested methods that you can use as a basic framework.

For New Customer Footfalls

• Geo-Fencing: This is the latest Marketing technique that draws people into your store. Geo-Fencing is a location-based service that sends promotional messages and push-notifications to customers once they enter the vicinity of your store. This helps influence customers in their final stage of decision making on where to buy the product.
• Give Instore Discount: This is a straightforward way of bringing footfall to your store. Giving an instore only discount, or giving an additional discount for instore purchases can help you get immediate footfalls. But this technique will only increase the footfall for a few days and is not a permanent solution.
• Organize Free Workshops and Events: If you are a retail store that sells service-oriented products like tools or even cosmetics, you can conduct workshops that will benefit your customers. For example, A.C cosmetics conducts master classes for makeup professionals and free bridal makeup trials that attract more people to visit their stores.
• Take Them Behind the Scenes: Take advantage of the customer’s curiosity and show them the magic that happens behind the creation of your products. If you are a sustainable fashion brand, you can emphasize your brand value by showing your customers the creation process of your clothes.

For Repeat Footfalls

Loyal customers are the symbol of a successful business and thus repeat footfalls is an important criterion for you to concentrate on. The following are a few strategies that might improve the customer experience in your physical store:

• Have a Kids Play Area: Shopping with kids can be really hectic and most parents quicken their shopping to not compromise on their kid’s comfort. You can create a kids play area with few books, board games and fun activities that can keep them engaged while their parents are shopping.
• Include Waiter’s Lounge: Shopping can be really boring if it is not for yourself. Include waiting areas with magazine racks, music facilities and refreshment facilities for the friends of shoppers. This will take off the pressure of making the companion wait from the shopper’s mind and they will have a happier shopping experience.
• Parking Ticket Discounts: If your store is in a mall, tie-up with the management and waiver the parking amount if people shop at your store. This will make customers come into your store even if they had no intention of buying your products.

You know your business and customers best. When creating marketing strategies to bring more customers to your store, get as creative as possible. You can’t go wrong if you know the pulse of your customers. But, think of ideas that do not cost you much but bring out the maximum impact.

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