WiFi is the Future of Footfall Measurement

WiFi is the Future of Footfall Measurement  

What is footfall? 

Footfall is a term used to measure how many people enter, exit, and move around an area. It is becoming more commonplace in many venues, such as city centers, shopping malls, retail stores, casinos, stadiums, convention facilities, and campus environments. Footfall analytics is an advanced technique using Wi-Fi equipment to calculate the number of people entering a facility and other statistics relating to customers or visitor traffic. Wi-Fi footfall analytics is a counting technology that provides venue stakeholders with valuable visitor information. 

Traditional ways to count the number of visitors in indoor venues requires employing people at the entrances to count the number of visitors who entered or exited. These staff members usually have a clicker in their hand to track the people who walked through the doors and report the amount at the end of each shift. In outdoor events such as parades and festivals, staff members take pictures of the crowds and literally count the number of heads they see.  These methods come with several disadvantages. While it’s not only time-consuming and can be very inaccurate, employees are obligated to be stationed at the front door to ensure they obtained the correct numbers. Counting by hand can result in human error, and neither of these methods can be consistent on a 24×7 basis.  

How is it evolving?

Footfall analytics is evolving from the traditional way of counting visitor traffic. Instead, using technology to track the number of people entering and exiting an area. Footfall analytics also provides companies with other relevant information, such as return visitors versus new visitors, dwell times (how long people are staying in an area), which entrances and exits are busier, how people navigate through a store, and all of this is measured consistently, 24 hours per day. It can also alert relevant staff in real-time if an area is too dense or too sparse with people, which is excellent for check-out areas or to assist with crowd control. 

So how does it work? 

The most common way of gathering data about customers is through the use of Wi-Fi-enabled smartphones. These devices transmit a ping while trying to find a device or router to connect to. Most enterprise-grade Wi-Fi access points can pick up these pings and report to online presence analytics software tools. Device data can then be analyzed, parsed, and overlaid on a floorplan drawing, creating heat maps and footfall path maps. These maps can show stakeholder patterns as people browse through a store, through a mall, and even through crowded outdoor events.  

Why use footfall analytics? 

Footfall analytics can help companies improve sales by using the information collected to set displays in higher-traffic areas or where people seem to dwell. Malls can use the data to measure which parts of the building are busier. Additionally, during which times of the day and days of the week. Outdoor events can measure attendance trends from year to year and even see the percentage of new versus returning visitors. The data can also encourage better staffing as management can plan increased employee scheduling for busier times.  

GoZone WiFi is a SaaS company and leader in monetizing and managing Guest WiFi. The company offers business analytics, venue intelligence, and guest engagement. They use WiFi networks to deliver branded content, provide customer analytics, and display advertising.  

GoZone’s Smart WiFi Suite of products enables WiFi monetization through rich location data, marketing engagements, and third-party sponsorships. GoZone’s venue intelligence enables enterprises to strategically refine operations, bridging the gap between marketing and IT. 

Learn More Today!

Recent Posts

Talk to an Expert

X

You should receive a text shortly with a link to view a sample Guest Flow.

Take a look at the sample we just sent you, and feel free to reach out if you’d like to learn more.

Custom Splash Page Builder

A custom splash page helps give a captive portal the branded look it needs to stand out from the crowd and give guests the peace of mind they’re accessing the network associated with the venue they’re visiting.

WiFi Payments and Vouchers

Offer premium guest WiFi access and promote WiFi upgrades with comprehensive payment and voucher modules. Payments can be used to offer guests varying speeds of WiFi access, while vouchers are great for venues that want to utilize a captive portal that also requires a voucher code for WiFi access.
WiFi payments and vouchers

Guest Plans

Venues can now offer multiple levels of guest WiFi access with our Guest Plan feature. Guest Plans are defined by specific upload and download speeds and session time limits. Brick-and-mortar businesses can offer guest WiFi access and promote WiFi upgrades with our new payment and voucher modules.

Versatile Form Builder

Create and display custom guest surveys on any splash page of your guest flow. Collect feedback and gather additional data points to create smarter marketing.

Enhanced Guest Flow

Guest flow gives venues complete control over the guest WiFi experience. Guest flows help keep a visually pleasing captive portal experience by preventing clutter of multiple marketing assets. Keep it simple, or turn your WiFi into a digital billboard.
WiFi splash page with survey social login

Integrated Ad Spaces

Ad Space Integrations is a powerful feature for venues who want to promote products, deals and specials, online shopping, loyalty programs and other signups, or third-party advertisers all on a pre-authenticated Splash Page.

Increase impressions and clicks for advertising opportunities by showcasing AdSpaces before requiring a guest to connect to WiFi.

Have an app that needs more downloads? The URL redirect function will navigate guests to the app store specific to their device as soon as they click on the advertisement/call-to-action button.

No more will guests have to wait to connect to WiFi to reach interactive ads. Ad Space Integrations takes Ads4WiFi smart advertising tools and places it our smart marketing environment powered by Marketing4WiFi.

Hotspot Scheduler

Determine the specific days and times that WiFi is available to guests. Hotspot Scheduler offers smarter WiFi control by allowing venues to run their guest WiFi during business hours.