In what is predicted to become a difficult time for Australian retailers and shopping centres, Experian is launching Footfall in Australia.
Already widely used in Europe, Experian Footfall’s proven insights into shopper behaviour help businesses adjust to changes in the economy, improve sales performance, assess the impact of promotions and improve customer service.
Footfall solutions consist of a variety of technologies used to measure the number of people who enter a premise, where they move, how long they stay and how often they visit. The data is collated in a central database, before being combined with store data on sales/staffing and analysed to establish trends.
“We have shown with one store, for example, that on the days when the manager was away, there was a significant drop in sales conversion rates,” said Experian ANZ managing director, Paul Vescovi.
“Once the store had trained up a deputy manager to cover those days, the conversion rate picked up and the store became more profitable.”
Experian Footfall has been used extensively by some of the world’s biggest brands, including Footlocker, Virgin Retail and UK retail giant, Marks and Spencer. Each year, it counts the world’s population (6 billion people) and the figure is growing.
“Retail stores rely on sales figures to assess their performance, but we’re offering a much more detailed analysis, by looking at conversion rates. Sometimes only very simple changes are needed to improve customer service, which in turn improves sales,” said Vescovi.
“In these difficult times, that could mean the difference between staying in business or not.”
Experian Footfall can also be used for shopping centres to adjust their business to meet variable demand.
“The retail property market has to be flexible, especially in times of downturn, and the Footfall solution can help them see trends, predict ‘potential’ figures and adjust their marketing plans accordingly,” said Vescovi.