The digitization of everything from shopping to banking has created an entirely new business landscape in which data and experiences have become the most valuable economic commodities. This new landscape is founded on customer-centric digital transformation initiatives that shape the customer journey, streamline business processes, and boost conversions.
Sales conversion success stories for online retail stores are abounding, with a reported 63% rise in the number of global urban consumers who now choose to shop online, according to the PwC Global Consumer Insights Survey 2020. Now, more than ever, a real sense of urgency looms over brick and mortar retail stores to adopt innovative strategies and advanced technology to keep up with online retailers and e-commerce stores in today’s digital economy.
But where do traditional retail stores even begin to digitally transform when they are struggling to attract, engage and delight customers in the real world? For that, they need to take a step back and find out who their customers are, what they want, and how to give it to them. The best way they can do this is by using a comprehensive Retail Analytics solution.
What is Retail Analytics?
Retail Analytics is essentially the combination of footfall counter technology with BI analytics software to provide in-depth insights on retail data. Footfall counter sensors collect consumer behavior in dynamic ways, and BI analytics software transforms that data into actionable insight that helps business owners make smarter, more informed decisions.
The kind of data that can be collected by footfall counter sensors includes:
👣 The total and current number of visitors entering and exiting a location;
👣 Zone-specific occupancy levels;
👣 Average dwell time;
👣 Traffic patterns and trends (with heatmaps);
👣 Queue waiting times;
👣 Social distance measurement;
👣 Height, gender, and object filtration;
👣 Conversion rates;
👣 Customer interaction time;
👣 Bypasser count and behavior;
👣 View directions (can detect where people are looking).</tab>
With this type of information on customer behavior, retail store owners can learn who their demographic target is, what kind of products attract them, how they prefer to shop, and also what turns them off. The real-time capabilities of Retail Analytics solutions are also useful for managing queue times and scheduling staff to meet customer demands more efficiently and boost conversions more effectively.
How to boost conversions with Retail Analytics
Collecting valuable customer data is the first step to boosting sales conversions in a retail store. The next step is feeding data into BI analytics software, where the transformation magic happens. Insights are then displayed on a user-friendly dashboard for managers and employees to access and react accordingly. Below are some of the insights that can be gleaned to specifically boost conversions.
Customer experience enhancement
The most significant and obvious way to increase sales conversions is to enhance the customer experience. Retail Analytics data provide store managers with real-time updates on how many customers are in the store, how many are in a queue, and how long they have been standing there. Real-time alerts are automatically sent to staff when predetermined occupancy and time limits are reached so that customers never have to wait for service or become frustrated and abandon the store. Staff is equipped to meet customer demands timeously and ensure that a pleasant customer journey is maintained.
Store layout and product placement optimization
With the ability to track people’s movement and dwell time in your store, you can identify patterns that point to high traffic zones, popular routes, and optimum areas for product placement. This gives you the insight you need to optimize your store layout to promote accessibility with product placements in strategic areas. Now your customers can easily traverse your store and find the products they are looking for without hassle or confusion. This not only enhances the customer experience but also increases the chances of sales conversions.
Marketing and sales campaign optimization
Not all marketing and sales campaigns are effective, and a Retail Analytics solution can show you why. You can measure sales conversions and track customer behavior during a campaign to see what’s working and what isn’t.
It might be that your marketing material is not visible enough, or that your target demographic simply isn’t enticed by it. Compare the results to successful campaigns to find the sweet spot in your campaign messaging, target market, and product placement to replicate it for continued marketing and sales campaign success.
Safety prioritization
Still, according to the 2020 Global Consumer Insights Survey, consumers prioritize safety to decide where and how they shop. With this information on hand, Retail Analytics solution providers have developed a screening solution that helps store owners comply with social distancing, occupancy levels, and mask-wearing mandates in their stores.
Footfall sensors can dynamically measure the distance between people, detect when facial coverings are missing, and accurately measure occupancy levels. Alerts can be set up to notify staff and customers in real-time when the distance is breached, the occupancy levels are reached, or when masks are not detected. This information can be displayed on in-store screens with customizable messaging or voice recordings for customers and sent via email or mobile messaging to staff so they can immediately attend to the issue.
Taking all of these measures into account, you can see that Retail Analytics plays an integral part in shaping the customer journey and boosting conversions. Today, retail stores cannot afford to miss a single sales opportunity, and Retail Analytics is helping them exceed those targets every day.
It’s time to invest in the future of retail. Get in touch with us to find out about Vemcount, a leading Retail Analytics solution, now!
