Why is a detailed understanding of footfall and visitor data so important for shop sales? And what are the business issues that these new data packs will provide solutions to? Here are the top 7:

1. How many vehicles pass by your shop/s? 

One of the main indicators when opening a new shop is the volume of traffic. And there are good reasons for this because if you are highly visible and passers-by are relevant to your business, you will make more sales.

2. Is the volume of traffic near my shops increasing or decreasing?

Traffic movements tend to change. If the volume of traffic near a shop declines, traffic data will offer good grounds for rent negotiations.

3. What is the best way to adapt match my opening hours to the local environment?

Look at profiles of your customers. Are they day trippers? Excursionists? Holidaymakers? Shoppers? At what times are your target groups close to your shop? This information will help you adapt your shop opening hours to your visitor profiles and local activities.

4. Who are my customers?

If you do not yet have a complete CRM system, analysing traffic data is an ideal way to build up a profile of your customers. It makes a good alternative to time-consuming customer origin surveys such as asking for postcodes.

Do your customers visit your shop from home or work? Are they from here or abroad? Of course, these data are essential to analyse customer behaviour and optimise local marketing campaigns.

5. What extra sales am I generating thanks to the neighbours of my shops? 

By distinguishing between destination shopping and non-destination shopping, and identifying combined visits, you can find out what part of your sales relates to the visitors your neighbours attract. They can increase your sales by up to 200%!

6. How do I factor in crowds and congestion in my location planning?

Poor access can have a huge impact on your shop sales. After all, customers have their limits when it comes to willingness to travel. This is why good insight into congestion on the roads near your locations or future locations is essential.

7. How do I quantify the mobility effects of my new location? 

Data on vehicle passes provide a unique overview of the current traffic movements. Thanks to smart purchase flow models, you can also predict the impact of an opening. This way, you can conduct better mobility studies for permit applications.

Traffic data in the RetailSonar platform

Want to check the traffic volumes on the access road to a potential new location? Want to analyse the evening traffic levels around a poorly performing branch to justify longer opening hours? This is all possible with the RetailSonar platform! Simply retrieve the traffic information in the form of a map or graph by clicking on the relevant location.

If you want to add this data to your platform, RetailSonar for more information! get in touch with your contact at

RetailSonar is helping more than 100 retailers in five different countries to develop optimal location strategies. This is thanks to, among other things, smart cloud platform and unique artificial intelligence.