People Counting Software
People Counting Software for Retail
People counting is a technology that is used to measure the number of people visiting a store. In the simplest form, shoppers (those prospective customers) are counted as they enter, leave and move around the shopping area. People counting software is able to quantify activities in the physical space. It determines where the visitors are, the time they spend at a particular location, and the time they arrive.
Types of People Counting Technologies for Retailers
There are many People Counting Technologies available on the market. Here are a few that are commonly used:
Thermal people counter
Previously, a thermal people counter was the size of a small smoke alarm, but now the size of your home router. Thermal people counter is installed on the ceiling above the area you want to measure. The counter utilizes thermal imaging technology to detect changes in the temperature of individuals compared to their environment.
Video-based people counting camera
This is a ceiling mounted system using video to measure customer foot traffic. People counting camera works perfectly in lighting areas and is capable of giving highly detailed data on visitors entering and moving around the store. People counting camera covers a wider area than a majority of video-based systems.
3D Stereo Video Analytics
3D video technology uses video sensors that are designed for tracking objects across the Field of View. They include a high-resolution camera and processor for the three-dimensional capture of the object. This architecture allows for accuracy of high-volume traffic, queue management, and other complex behaviors.
Body Detection as a People Counter
Body Detection is a powerful AI based tool that counts people based on the detection of human bodies. The method is highly accurate and maintains optimum functionality in crowded spaces. The technology boasts long distance detection ranges and is particularly useful for the purpose of measuring OTS data.
Face Analysis as a People Counter
Face Analysis is an advanced technology powered by Artificial Intelligence. This technology allows retailers to get real-time shopper insights such as shopper demographic profile and even go as far as to analyze facial expressions. It can capture the time and location position of faces (in motion) to quantify store performance and analyze in-store (anonymous) customer behaviors.
The benefits of using a People Counting software
There are many benefits and impressive uses of people counting. Some of the top questions retailers can only answer by people counting include:
How effective are your marketing campaigns?
How productive are your stores?
What are your “power hours?”
How should you staff your store to match the influx of traffic?
How can better line management improve your conversion rates?
Combining existing performance metrics with people counting produces an effective opportunity analyzer for the business. In summary, in-store people counting should be used within a business as both an opportunity analyzer and an additional performance measure.
