What is Footfall Analysis? 3 Key Metrics to Track

Footfall analysis is the process of analyzing the number of people who visit a physical location, such as a retail store, shopping mall, or event venue, over a specific period. Footfall analysis provides valuable insights into consumer behavior, including trends in visitation patterns, peak hours of activity, and the effectiveness of marketing campaigns or promotional activities in attracting customers.

By understanding footfall patterns, marketers can identify opportunities to enhance customer engagement, improve operational efficiency, and ultimately drive sales. Additionally, footfall analysis can help businesses evaluate the performance of different locations, assess the impact of external factors such as weather or seasonal events, and make data-driven decisions to optimize their marketing efforts and maximize ROI.

Why Footfall Analytics is Important in Digital Marketing

Footfall analysis plays a crucial role in shaping an effective digital marketing strategy and giving you insights into customer behavior, marketing effectiveness, trends, and highlighting areas for growth.

Retail footfall analysis helps businesses understand how customers interact with their physical locations. By understanding foot traffic patterns, businesses can gain insights into peak hours, interested customers, and how long people spend in your store. Footfall traffic data allows for more informed decision-making regarding product placement, staffing levels, store layout, and can be crucial for retargeting later.

Understanding Footfall Analysis

Total Footfall

Total footfall refers to the overall number of people who enter your store or physical location within a specified period. This metric is fundamental as it provides a basic understanding of the volume of traffic a venue receives. Tracking total footfall over time allows your business to identify patterns, trends, and potential fluctuations in visitor numbers.

For example, if you own a store, you may notice higher footfall during weekends or holidays, but the museum down the road might observe increased traffic during certain exhibitions or events. Understanding total footfall can help your business in various ways, such as determining staffing levels, optimizing resource allocation, and evaluating the effectiveness of marketing initiatives.

Conversion Rate

Conversion rate measures the percentage of visitors who take a desired action, such as making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or completing a survey, compared to the total number of visitors. In retail environments, the conversion rate is often used to gauge the effectiveness of sales strategies and the appeal of products or services.

A high conversion rate indicates that a significant portion of visitors are taking the intended action, which can translate into increased revenue and profitability. Conversely, a low conversion rate may signal issues such as unappealing merchandise, ineffective sales techniques, or a need for improvements in the overall customer experience. By tracking conversion rates over time and analyzing factors that influence purchasing decisions, businesses can identify opportunities for optimization and tailor their strategies to better meet customer needs.

Comparative Analysis

Comparative analysis involves benchmarking footfall data against industry averages, competitor performance, or historical trends to gain insights into relative performance and identify areas of strength or weakness. By comparing footfall metrics such as total traffic, conversion rates, and dwell times with similar businesses or industry standards, organizations can assess their competitive position and identify opportunities for improvement.

For example, you may compare your conversion rate to your competitors to determine whether your sales strategies are effective or if there are areas for enhancement. Likewise, analyzing footfall trends over time can help businesses track progress, evaluate the impact of strategic initiatives, and make data-driven decisions to drive growth and success. Comparative analysis provides valuable context and helps businesses identify areas for optimization to stay competitive in the marketplace.

Digital Marketing Tools for Footfall Analysis

Venue Replay is a technology that allows you as an advertiser to identify potential customers at a specific location, store, or event and then engage those potential customers via digital or direct advertising. For example, let's say you are an arena owner. You could use Venue Replay on your arena and utilize the identified Mobile Ad IDs (MAIDs) at a sports game or concert to advertise upcoming events. So if you captured 15,000 IP addresses at a concert, you could then engage those individuals when the next concert comes to your venue.

What is GeoFraming^TM?

To make more sense of why Venue Replay is more than just a footfall analysis tool it's important to understand what GeoFraming^TM is and how it compares to the wider known technology, GeoFencing. GeoFraming^TM is a proprietary El Toro technology that uses latitude and longitude coordinates as well as observed human behavior metrics to accurately identify devices in real-time or up to six months in the past. Meanwhile, GeoFencing uses cell towers to estimate position and can only be used in real-time. This difference allows GeoFraming^TM to be more accurate and more useful to advertisers.

Case Study: Truck Driver Recruitment via Online Targeting

Venue Replay is much more than footfall analysis software. It provides unparalleled insight into engaging potential customers. In this use case, a well-established U.S. trucking company was looking to hire more experienced drivers for their fleet during the COVID-19 pandemic. A period of time that was very hard on logistics companies, specifically trucking.

The customer wanted to identify and digitally advertise to Over the Road and last-mile drivers. Using Venue Replay, El Toro GeoFramed^TM over 10,000 driver-specific locations, including rest areas, weigh stations, distribution centers, intermodal terminals, and gas stations.

The company ran a combination of display, video, and OTT targeting ads to both the drivers and their families. Using the Mobile Ad IDs (MAIDs) found at multiple locations, the trucking company was able to accurately engage, and subsequently hire, multiple experienced drivers.

Venue Replay offers an expansive toolkit for pinpointing and engaging prospective customers. The company leveraged Venue Replay to identify and target OTR and linehaul drivers effectively.

By GeoFraming^TM driver-specific locations, the company could precisely reach their desired audience using targeted digital marketing. Implementing a comprehensive advertising strategy, the company strategically engaged drivers resulting in the successful recruitment of multiple experienced drivers. Venue Replay's capabilities not only enable precise targeting but also facilitate effective engagement with relevant prospects, driving tangible results for businesses across diverse industries.

Case Study: College Enrollment & Measurability 

In this example, a prominent online university wanted to educate prospective students on the value of an online degree during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when traditional universities were experiencing record-low enrollment rates.

The university was not only focused on serving ads to prospective students, they wanted to see the exact number of transfer students as a result of their campaign. This university was able to advertise to over 600,000 students seen on college campuses thanks to GeoFraming^TM and Venue Replay, gaining an estimated $6.3 million in future tuition. One of the hardest things to track is the effectiveness of your ad campaign. Measurability is one of the core principles behind Venue Replay, exemplified by the college enrollment case study.

By leveraging GeoFraming^TM and Venue Replay, the university was not only able to target prospective students but also track the tangible outcomes of their efforts. With Venue Replay, they could precisely monitor ad exposures to well over half a million prospects, enabling them to attribute incoming transfers directly to their advertising efforts. This granular level of data allowed the university to estimate future tuition revenue, showcasing the robust measurability afforded by Venue Replay.

Utilizing Footfall Analysis? Consider Venue Replay

While footfall analysis remains essential for understanding consumer behavior and shaping marketing strategies, Venue Replay offers a cutting-edge solution with its GeoFraming^TM technology that goes far beyond what footfall analysis can do. Unlike traditional methods, Venue Replay provides both real-time and retrospective analysis, empowering businesses to engage with potential customers in innovative ways. If you're interested in harnessing the power of footfall analytics, consider Venue Replay as your strategic partner for actionable insights and tangible results. If you are looking to run with the bull, contact us to learn more.