Traffic Counting Detectors

The recent growth of interest in monitoring retail and mall traffic has been accompanied by developments in motion detector technology that can accurately record the number of potential clients by or through a given point while filtering out non-potential counts generated by strollers, shopping carts, children, store greeters, delivery personnel, the daily coming and going of store personnel, etc.

Traffic counter providers promote a wide variety of solutions including active and passive infrared beams, several types of cameras, radar, heat sensors and laser beams.

Most companies selling detectors claim a high level of count accuracy, but what is an accurate count and how is this accuracy defined, measured, and tested?

All detectors are motion detectors. Detectors capture movement at a given point - usually the store entrance - then translate this information into a count. The traffic "count" therefore is an interpretation of the motion passing by a given point in the store. Understanding the capabilities and limitations of each of the technologies that record movement and translate it into a "count" is an important part of selecting the right system(s) for your stores.