By analysing customer flow patterns in retail, retailers can gain valuable insights into how to optimise their shops on a case-by-case basis. However, a comprehensive analysis using heat mapping is usually not worthwhile. This is because the key measures for effective customer flow, customer-friendly signage, shop fittings tailored to customer needs, and high-sales product placements are the result of decades of experience. A heatmap, on the other hand, always suggests a wealth of detail, from which, however, useful measures can rarely be derived in detail. Recording visitor footfall at key points is often sufficient.
Typical customer behaviour and typical customer routes
The layout and shop fittings in a store are always designed with typical customer behaviour in mind. For instance, customers tend to move around a store in an anti-clockwise direction. They also look to the right more often than to the left. Furthermore, customers typically visit the central display areas less frequently than those located at the edges of the store.
Retail spaces that are considered to be ‘sales-inhibiting’ include the immediate entrance area, sales areas around staircases, lifts and emergency exits, as well as generally dimly lit zones. Retailers must always bear this typical customer movement pattern in mind when analysing and optimising customer flow paths. However, no additional heatmap is required for this. Instead, it is sufficient to follow the industry’s best practices.
Over the decades, different customer flow systems have emerged within the various retail sectors, tailored to the specific customer needs and product categories of each sector. This is because, depending on the type of shopping and the product categories, customers are willing to walk longer or shorter distances through a store. For example, the loop layout in supermarkets, the arena principle in fashion stores, or the customer guidance system in DIY stores are typical of their respective sectors. Consequently, not every retailer needs to carry out a complex heat mapping exercise. Measuring footfall using sensors at key points in the shop provides better insights than a detailed heat map.
Key principles for optimising customer paths
The way customers move through a store influences the shopping experience and customer satisfaction. It is therefore important for retailers to understand the key factors for effective customer flow. Analysing a heatmap is not necessary for this. Optimal customer flow should guide customers, but must not restrict them. That is why shortcuts and alternative routes are essential for customers. This is particularly crucial during periods of high footfall on the shop floor. After all, customers always want to determine their own shopping route. Shortcuts and alternative routes also prevent customers from ending up in a dead end.
Another important aspect of shop layout design concerns clarity. Whilst customers must be able to get a good overview of the product range, they must not be overwhelmed by it. This is because sensory overload or untidy sales areas can lead to customers leaving a shop prematurely. However, shelves, display stands and promotional areas must not be too high or clutter the sales area to the point where the layout is no longer recognisable. Furthermore, most goods must always be located in the same place within the shop. This allows customers to find their way around more easily during repeat visits and prevents them from wandering around the shop unnecessarily. In larger sales areas, additional signage to guide customers’ routes is also advisable.
Tracking visitor traffic instead of heatmaps
Optimal customer flow and product placement are essential to a retailer’s success. Footfall analysis and heatmaps can provide important insights into customer behaviour. However, it is rarely possible to derive specific actions from these details. This is because detailed measures do little to alter the physical layout or typical customer behaviour. To gain a good overview of what is happening in a branch, simply recording visitor footfall – or, as a supplement, analysing visitor traffic at specific hotspots within the branches – is usually entirely sufficient.
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