FAQ
We would like to count our visitors entering and exiting our venue but is this allowed by privacy regulations, and do I need to inform our visitors?
Yes, people counting is allowed in all circumstances. PFM counting sensors are built via the principle of privacy by design. For all our people counting sensors this means we process height images. The footage is not being used nor it can be stored and/or transferred in any way. The sensors transfer data packages only containing the time stamp, direction, and the amount of people.
Our conversion dropped since we have installed new people counting sensors. This can’t be right, and can you remotely check the system?
The latest generation of people counting sensors achieves an exceptional level of accuracy, nearly approaching 100%. However, a common challenge faced by many retailers upon transitioning from old to new technology is the increased count due to the system's improved accuracy. If the number of receipts or transactions remains consistent, this might lead to a lower conversion rate. To address this, our team conducts thorough initial remote diagnostics on the devices to mitigate any potential operational faults. Furthermore, the PFM data and insights teams have devised a data-comparison method that effectively resolves this issue. Through our advanced data modelling, we offer Like-4-Like datasets, ensuring accurate comparisons and alleviating concerns regarding inflated counts.
Are children being counted when they enter our venue with their parents? How is this impacting our conversion ratio as we focus only on the adults to convert into buyers?
We can exclude children to be counted. Based on height settings we can in or exclude individuals. The average height to exclude children from the counts is 1 meter 30 centimetres. Apart from excluding children from the counts we can also separately count the number of children entering and exiting your venue. This might be beneficial in understanding your targeted audience even better. Reach out to our insights consultants how this can drive your business.
Sometimes visitors enter our store but when they realised the are in the wrong location they immediately leave. Are those false counts effecting my conversion negatively?
No. Our dedicated sensor and data engineers have years of experience how to setup and configure counting lines. The so-called U-turn option prevails from people being falsely counted. This means that we configure in the field of the sensor view a so called NO counting ZONE. If visitors remain in this area ad go in and out, they will be neglected. Smart, isn’t it?
Can we have an alarm that will be triggered once visitors enter our store, so our staff gets notified?
Yes. We can trigger an incoming visitor alert. With this feature your staff will be informed even when they are not physically in the store.
Where can I see my conversion and visitor counts on the cash desk?
Most of the POS suppliers can integrate our counting data straight into their reports. Ask our business consultants or look here for our registered partners.
My reports are not always up-to-date and sometimes I miss data in the daily overview. Is there something I do wrong, and will the data be lost?
No worries, we got your back. Mostly data gaps are being caused by power outages. If temporary network problems occur this could cause incomplete reports however as soon as the network is back online, the missing data will be processed automatically.
The 3D counting sensor is blinking RED. Is there something I need to do?
No. This remotely triggers our data management and services teams, and we can remotely service your equipment and do what’s needed.
I lost my username and password for the online reporting platform, why can’t we implement Single sign on, that would make all our lives easier.
You can easily request a new password. PFM employees never, ever have any insight into your password and you should save this yourself. We support SSO in our reporting platform. Contact our data consultants who can provide you with this option and discuss implementation for you.
What is the average return on investment if we implement you people counting systems in all our stores?
On average we see return on investments between 1 and 3 months but the majority is on the lower side of 1 month when you are new to people counting. The conversion is the most crucial KPI to measure on and based on easy changes in workforce management (WFM) and optimizing your layout on peak-time and opening hours increases your conversion ratio with 1- to 2% on average. With an average spend of EUR 30,- per sales receipt, 100 visitors per day with an average conversion increasing from 19- 21% this results in your money within 1 month! When the conversion increase is just 0,5 on average, you still reach a return on investment of less than 100 business days!