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.”

Fortunately, with SenSource’s door counters for retail, gathering the basic data you need to judge your retail business’ effectiveness can be surprisingly inexpensive and easy to implement. For a small shop, something as simple as our Magnetic Door Counter can give you a basic snapshot of your store’s traffic. This self-contained, battery-operated system installs in minutes and keeps a count of how many customers come through the door.

Other retail door counters offer greater flexibility and additional options, such as the ability to download results to your computer or network and people counters with chimes. See our product list to learn more about the many options SenSource offers.

Of course if your retail operation is larger, SenSource has more sophisticated systems that can handle multiple entrances and do far more than count customers who come through the door. You can also know where in your store customers are going and see real-time information on the flow of shoppers.

Even if you’re not ready for a more extensive and sophisticated SenSource system, you owe it to your business to begin accumulating the basic information you need and a door counter is the logical place to start. If you’re still judging your retail operation’s success based solely on old metrics such as sales per square foot or average ticket per transaction, you’re missing the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of how to improve your bottom line.

To find out how affordable a SenSource door counter can be for your retail operation, contact us for more information and pricing.

The post Door Counters Provide Essential Information For Retailers appeared first on SenSource Blog.

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 post An All New Vea Experience appeared first on SenSource Blog.

The post Why Use People Counters in Student Unions? appeared first on SenSource Blog.

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)

The post People Counting Systems Debut at the Ontario Library Association’s Super Conference appeared first on SenSource Blog.

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!

The post National Retail Federation Conference 2013 appeared first on SenSource Blog.

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.”

To add value to the shopper, retailers need to place new in-store kiosks, QR Code promotions and other hot spots in prime locations throughout their stores. Using intelligent imaging sensors equipped with path mapping and dwell mapping tools, retailers have visual proof of the highest trafficked areas as well as the most common routes customers take to navigate the store. These maps are key to intelligently designing the store layout and placing new kiosks, promotions and merchandise in the direct path of shoppers.

Learn more about retail intelligence solutions and download a PDF brochure on the SenSource blog.

Keep up to date on retail trends this holiday season and learn about the upcoming NRF tradeshow on Retail’s Big Blog.

Grannis, Kathy. “The Economics Behind the “New Norm” of Holiday Shopping”. Retail’s Big Blog. 9 November 2012. Web. 26 November 2012. http://blog.nrf.com

The post Adding Value to Holiday Shoppers with Intelligent Imaging Solutions appeared first on SenSource Blog.

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

The post How to Select a People Counting System appeared first on SenSource Blog.

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

The post How Many Patrons Visit Your Library? appeared first on SenSource Blog.

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!”

Monday, SenSource completed its sixth volunteer day project by assisting the Oh Wow! Children’s Center assemble the new “Toys: The Inside Story” exhibit. Five SenSource reps constructed interactive stations featuring gears, pulleys and circuits to teach children how toys are built and what makes them function.

“This new exhibit will continue to shape the creativity in the minds of the kids in the Mahoning Valley,” expresses Listorti.

Tony Valenzisi, SenSource Project Manager, also chimes in, “Working with the staff at Oh Wow!, Suzanne and Angelo, was a great experience. The SenSource team showed up ready to work, we got, what looked like an 8 hour project, done in 4. I really enjoyed it, and would do it again.”

Visit the Oh Wow! Children’s Center website for more information on visiting or volunteering.

Visit the SenSource Community page for more info on our Corporate Volunteer Program.

News Releases about this project:

Warren Tribune Newspaper

The Vindicator Newspaper

The post Oh Wow! Science Museum Volunteer Day appeared first on SenSource Blog.

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.”

As SenSource continues to grow, it takes pride in giving back to the community that has supported it for ten years. Last spring, the company began a Corporate Volunteer Program and has since volunteered with five Mahoning Valley nonprofits, provided Christmas gifts for a local family in need and supported numerous other organizations through monetary donations. SenSource is also represented in the new Corporate Volunteer Council of Mahoning Valley.

Varacalli describes his company’s service initiatives, “I can say with all confidence that our team is truly service oriented in every aspect. Our customers testify to this regularly and we all look forward to sharing our blessings by giving back to our community.  Working together with the HandsOn Volunteer Network we help build a better community while strengthening our own relationships!”

The post SenSource Celebrates Ten Year Anniversary appeared first on SenSource Blog.