23:14
Shivaram
Physical stores don’t seem to have picked up one of the fundamental best practices of the online trade. Tracking their walkins . Websites do it all the time ex. click through on their pages, their links and an entire industry has even been built on the pay per click model !
Tracking Walkins in a store.
As we have been observing, the number of stores managed only by employees of the Brand is ever increasing. As customers becoming increasingly more and more knowledgeable than the staff at the store, as investments increase, the challenges of taking on competition increases, the need to improve the returns of these investments is again increasing every time.
Walkin tracking :-If the marketing budget of the company is divided by the estimated walkins into the store, we would get the “cost per walkin “ number. And this number is likely to surprise the Corporate Office staff as much as the store staff. A value of Rs. 1000 per such consumer for a consumer durable brand is a good indicator. This large Rs.1000 is the money that is being spent to get the “consumer” into the store, whether she ultimately does any shopping or not.
What are retailers doing about this ? The walkin tracking is hardly given the importance that it deserves. Speciality retailers claim a walkin conversion of over 80% and shop in shops or mall counters claim a “check in – conversion ratio of about 35 % to 40 %.
What are current practices and what new options are coming up ?
The current practices include a. an estimate by the store staff b. A “manual walk in counter” by the security which is clicked c. A “auto” clicker in some stores which uses a “beam” of light that counts the walkins. None of this is really accurate.
New options include infrared tracking devices.
Using infrared walk-in tracking technology, stores have found
a. Opportunities in improving the assortment mix ( a mobile store in an business district had a skewed mix towards trendy phones vs business phones and obviously had poor conversions). By tracking walk-ins into the both the sections they were able to convert the trendy areas into the business areas and improved the sales
b. A coffee shop in a mall , used to open at 11 am But by tracking the walk-ins for a continuous 24 hours cycle, they found out that workers coming into work, at the mall would be a good target and began opening the coffee shop at 8 am . This alone helped increased the business!
Learnings and Results :-Businesses should work to get accurate walk-in and conversion data and evaluate the impact of tracking monitors on their business. After having invested huge sums of money and time in building the store, it is surprising more technological inputs are not being used to track walkins ! which is the fundamental health indicator of any business.
A good analysis of time of walkins, number of walkins, day ( weekdays vs week ends ) all can help improve the business in multiple ways.
Check out more such business improvement ideas daily here on this blog
Visit us at http://www.retailgurukul.com
Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Linked in at RetailGurukul.
Vote for us at the WagonRSmartideas.com content under Retail/Bangalore/Shivaram
Forward this opportunity to your retailer friends…
Tracking Walkins in a store.
As we have been observing, the number of stores managed only by employees of the Brand is ever increasing. As customers becoming increasingly more and more knowledgeable than the staff at the store, as investments increase, the challenges of taking on competition increases, the need to improve the returns of these investments is again increasing every time.
Walkin tracking :-If the marketing budget of the company is divided by the estimated walkins into the store, we would get the “cost per walkin “ number. And this number is likely to surprise the Corporate Office staff as much as the store staff. A value of Rs. 1000 per such consumer for a consumer durable brand is a good indicator. This large Rs.1000 is the money that is being spent to get the “consumer” into the store, whether she ultimately does any shopping or not.
What are retailers doing about this ? The walkin tracking is hardly given the importance that it deserves. Speciality retailers claim a walkin conversion of over 80% and shop in shops or mall counters claim a “check in – conversion ratio of about 35 % to 40 %.
What are current practices and what new options are coming up ?
The current practices include a. an estimate by the store staff b. A “manual walk in counter” by the security which is clicked c. A “auto” clicker in some stores which uses a “beam” of light that counts the walkins. None of this is really accurate.
New options include infrared tracking devices.
Using infrared walk-in tracking technology, stores have found
a. Opportunities in improving the assortment mix ( a mobile store in an business district had a skewed mix towards trendy phones vs business phones and obviously had poor conversions). By tracking walk-ins into the both the sections they were able to convert the trendy areas into the business areas and improved the sales
b. A coffee shop in a mall , used to open at 11 am But by tracking the walk-ins for a continuous 24 hours cycle, they found out that workers coming into work, at the mall would be a good target and began opening the coffee shop at 8 am . This alone helped increased the business!
Learnings and Results :-Businesses should work to get accurate walk-in and conversion data and evaluate the impact of tracking monitors on their business. After having invested huge sums of money and time in building the store, it is surprising more technological inputs are not being used to track walkins ! which is the fundamental health indicator of any business.
A good analysis of time of walkins, number of walkins, day ( weekdays vs week ends ) all can help improve the business in multiple ways.
Check out more such business improvement ideas daily here on this blog
Visit us at http://www.retailgurukul.com
Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Linked in at RetailGurukul.
Vote for us at the WagonRSmartideas.com content under Retail/Bangalore/Shivaram
Forward this opportunity to your retailer friends…
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