Children in pushchairs and cyclists are not included in footfall
We start by identifying the counting points
How are Footfall Reports produced?
It is essential to use a consistent method for counting and processing in order to be able to succesfully interpret and compare footfall figures. So we would like to tell you a bit more about how we does this.
When - and why at that particular time?
We split the counts across two Saturdays in the spring and two Saturdays in the autumn. We conduct the counts on Saturdays that are considered to be a "representative shopping Saturday". These are:
- Saturdays without any events or unusual activities
- Saturdays that do not fall during the school holidays
- Saturdays thate are not immediately before or after a public holiday.
A back-up Saturday is always scheduled just in case an unexpected event takes place or the weather is too bad.
Who do we count?
We count all footfall, in other words, we count all pedestrians and all people in wheelchairs. The following are not counted: children in pushchairs, shop staff who pass repeatedly, security guards, people making deliveries, the police etc.
How do we count?
Depending on the shopping area there are 24, 48 or 96 counting points. The footfall at each counting point is counted for 5 minutes and the counting points are covered in a fixed order. This means that there are four counts at each counting point throughout the day. It also means that all footfall is recorded in the same way at all counting points.
Extrapolation of data
Once the count has been completed the data is entered in our database. A large number of retailers provide us with the takings for the day on which we conduct the count and the takings spread across the week (on an annual basis). Using the takings data we can extrapolate the count results to produce day totals for a particular shopping area. This results in a set of footfall and weekly figures that clearly show peak and off-peak periods.
Number of shoppers
The number of shoppers is calculated as follows:
average of 4 busiest points estimated level of penetration x numer of shoppers
The estimated level of penetration is determined by the size of the shopping area (number of retail outlets). The number of shoppers is also corrected to allow for ‘double-counting’.
Reports
Once the data has been processed and analysed, the reports of the counts are produced. We tend to use tables and graphs to present the figures in a way that is clear and overseeable.
Data for subscribers
During the last stage of the process all of the data is linked to the Locatus Explorer. Subscribers can then obtain the most recent information via a Locatus Explorer download or Locatus Online.
