Ipsos Retail Performance has released details of a new staff exclusion feature, which allows store managers and head offices to capture customer - but exclude staff - footfall to build a true picture of store performance.

The market research group’s retail consultancy stated that it believes the tool is the first of its kind, setting a new standard for accuracy in stores where the employee-to-customer ratio is high, such as in telecoms retail or luxury brand flagships.

Peter Luff, president at Ipsos Retail Performance, explained that employees skew footfall data whenever they arrive at or leave a store, but this is even more of a challenge for retailers selling luxury goods and jewellery, where associates, greeters and security staff can easily outnumber customers at certain times of day.

“When you’re selling big-ticket items, even just one more shopper visit could bring in a significant amount of revenue, so managers need to know how many they are currently attracting in order to draw in more.”

The staff exclusion technology forms part of a wider people counting system, which uses multiple technologies - including stereo vision cameras and sensors - to count and track visitors to a store.

Luff added: “This system is designed to be as easy to use as possible, with staff simply wearing small and discreet Bluetooth tags while they are at work – our footfall counting systems automatically filter anyone wearing the tag, so retailers only see customer footfall data.”

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