If you manage a retail business, you can’t help but keep track of your bottom line. Sales, expenses and profits are right there in front of you. But while you’re judged on the bottom line, if you want to improve it you need more information.

The most basic and essential piece of additional information you need to know will be your conversion ratio. How many people come in the door compared to those that actually buy something? Not knowing this number can be similar to praising a pitcher for throwing six strikeouts. Did he do it in two innings or 20?

In a series on challenges facing the retail industry, Deloitte & Touche USA focused one entire chapter on improving the conversion ratio. But as the authors noted, you can’t improve it if you don’t know what it is: “Every retailer has significant opportunities to improve conversion by delivering a better customer experience. For some retailers, however, it is hard to fix what is not seen or understood.” Read the rest of this entry »

Our newly redesigned business intelligence solution, Vea Analytics Software, has undergone many impressive changes lately. Everything from the dashboard widgets and layout to the analytics equations and data source integration can be fully customized creating a one of a kind experience to match your company’s strategy and goals.

Not only can retailers integrate their point of sale data for conversion ratios and in-store analytics, now unlimited data sources can be added such as staffing, inventory and weather for a full picture of store operations. Analyze your top performing sales reps and determine the effect weather has on store traffic, all on a single dashboard.

With a tiered strategy, you can purchase a solution to match your current needs, whether that be a simple traffic analytics tool or a dynamic multi-data source solution.

Learn more about the updates to Vea on our Software Page.

The New Year is off to a great start and is getting even better with the largest library conference in Canada, the Ontario Library Association’s Super Conference! This is our first time exhibiting at the conference and it is highly anticipated by the SenSource staff, especially our Canadian sales representative, Melissa.

The terminology of our product slightly varies by region – patron counters, people counters, door counters, traffic counters – but regardless of what you call these automated sensors, you can see them for yourself with a live demo at the show. Our AccuTrac advanced stereo-video system will be on display counting how many people walk down our expo hall aisle.

If you stop in to booth 642, Melissa will detail the benefits of people counting in your library such as:

• Easy automated traffic reports for funding and expansion
• Efficient library staffing levels
• Quick traffic comparisons between library branches

We look forward to meeting you at the show!

Ontario Library Association’s Super Conference
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
January 31^st 10:00am – 5:30pm
February 1^st 9:00am – 3:00pm
SenSource booth 642

See what librarians are saying about Sensource (video)

Just days into January and retailers are planning for the 2013 holiday shopping season. What better place to experience all the latest industry technologies and trends than at the National Retail Federation (NRF) annual conference!

January 13-15, 2013 the NRF will celebrate its 102^nd annual conference and expo at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. This is the retail industry’s flagship event with over 25,500 in attendance last year from 78 countries.

We’re excited to exhibit to the industry’s most elite representatives for the seventh year in a row. You can find Dan Aluise, Melissa Chapman and Chris Listorti in the NRF Expo Hall at booth 2159 featuring the latest in people counting technologies as well as unveiling the new Vea Software dashboard! The Expo Hall hours are as follows:

Sunday, January 13, 2013: 4:30pm – 6:00pm (Level 1 Exhibitors Only, not SenSource)
Monday, January 14, 2013: 9:00am – 6:30pm
Tuesday, January 15, 2013: 9:00am – 5:00pm

Featured products:
AccuTrac System

We look forward to seeing you in the Big Apple!
Leave a comment below if you’ll be there or would like to setup a meeting during the show!

NRF’s Retail’s Big Blog posted an article this month, “The Economics Behind the ‘New Norm’ of Holiday Shopping”, detailing how the typical shopping experience has adjusted in response to new technologies and the economic state. In addition to the new norm of shoppers, retailers have also adopted a new norm to serve those shoppers and maintain a competitive edge.

SenSource retail intelligence solutions customers are best prepared to make adjustments for the holiday shopping season by investing in technology that will provide value to their shoppers and increase the retailer’s overall sales and efficiency.

“Today’s lackluster economy has become the new norm, and consumers and retailers are adjusting accordingly,” states Kathy Grannis author of the Retail’s Big Blog article. One way SenSource retail customers are adjusting is by using intelligent imaging people counters. Management realizes peak traffic times down to 15-minute intervals, enabling quick staffing adjustments to accommodate the influx of customers. As more sales reps are working the sales floor and operating checkout, customers are spending less time in search of items and in line, ultimately increasing their satisfaction.

Grannis also states in the article, “…retailers continue to find new ways to provide value for their shoppers… From in-store kiosks that provide access to a company’s entire inventory to QR Codes that let shoppers in the store buy the item via their phone and have it shipped, retail will be more digital than ever this holiday season.”

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We take pride in helping our clients select the best people counting system for their unique applications. Below are common scenarios for our popular series. To discuss your application or upgrade your existing system, please contact our sales department.

If you…

Have a single or double door entrance and you are looking for a general tally of people accessing the facility, our PC-TB12 series is for you.
Common uses: libraries and visitor centers

Have TCP/IP connectivity and want to analyze traffic data or combine data with POS systems or other databases, our PC-THI or AccuTrac series is for you.
Common uses: retail and entertainment

View the full line of SenSource products

Click on the image to see what a few of our library clients have to say about their SenSource patron counters.

Libraries are much more than simply a resource for books. These days, patrons visit the library to access computers, attend seminars, craft with their children and even to attend group knitting and yoga classes. The library has morphed into more of a community center than a quiet research lab, consequently, making circulation data an incomplete report on patron library usage.

With automated patron counting solutions, like SenSource’s PC-TB12 series, data is captured on the total number of patrons accessing the facility, not just those checking out materials.

Learn more about patron counting systems for libraries: www.sensourceinc.com/library

OH WOW! The Roger & Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science & Technology is making learning fun for children in Youngstown, Ohio. Science, technology, engineering and mathematics are areas of study best grasped through real-world applications and hands-on interactions. The Children’s Center brings these concepts to life through exhibits such as Toys: The Inside Story and Journey of Knowledge.

Chris Listorti, SenSource Sales Rep explains, “The Oh Wow! Science Center is a ‘treasure chest’ located in downtown Youngstown.  Having this great educational center here in town that encourages children to explore, discover and develop their minds has such a positive effect on the families, the schools and the whole community!” Read the rest of this entry »

For the last decade, SenSource, Inc. has provided innovative detection, data collection and software solutions to clients around the globe. Now the Youngstown, Ohio based technology company is celebrating its milestone tenth anniversary.

A celebration picnic took place last month bringing together the owners, Joe Varacalli and Kevin Stefko, the employees and their families to commend the team for their efforts over the years.

SenSource President Joe Varacalli explains “I am so proud of the company that we, together as a team have built.  A company that started as an idea is now a reality because of persistence, hard work and dedication. We are stronger now more than ever and looking forward to more great years ahead.”

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