Traffic Intelligence Offers All Retailers a Path to Understanding and Improving Customer Experience

Traffic Intelligence Offers All Retailers a Path to Understanding and Improving Customer Experience

This IDC Perspective discusses how traffic intelligence offers all retailers a path to understanding and improving the customer experience. As edge and cloud technologies bring ecommerce-style analytics capabilities to the brick-and-mortar environment, retailers are eager to gain a layered, contextual understanding of the in-store experiences of their customers. The modern, intelligent store is a data-rich brand hub that contains a wealth of knowledge — the problem thus far has been how to capture all the available data and turn it into actionable analytics. One very important area of knowledge retailers should invest in is traffic intelligence — measuring who comes to the store, where they spend their time, and what experiences capture their attention. Once retailers have this data, they must use it to improve customer experience, guide employee tasks, and optimize store floor operations. "Without traffic intelligence and analysis, retailers don't have a complete understanding of their customers' experiences. Understanding how a customer moves through the store, whether that journey originated online or in a nearby business, and maybe even knowing if the customer is smiling or frowning when looking at a new display — will allow retailers to deliver what customers want more consistently and more efficiently," says Leslie Hand, GVP, IDC Retail and Financial Insights.

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