How to Evaluate Retail Locations

Choosing a retail location is rarely a simple decision. A street can feel busy, but that does not always mean it is the right kind of busy for your business. A quick foot traffic study can turn those impressions into clear numbers and give you more confidence before you commit to a lease.

Why look at foot traffic at all

Rent, fit out, and staffing are all real costs. If you choose a site based only on how it feels on a single afternoon, you take on unnecessary risk. Foot traffic observation adds a simple layer of evidence. It shows who passes by, when they appear, and how they behave in front of the space.

You do not need complex sensors or long studies. A few short, structured counting sessions can reveal whether a location has genuine customer potential or simply a lot of movement that never translates into visits.

Decide what you want to learn

Before you start counting, be clear on the questions you want to answer. A few examples:

Are you trying to understand the volume of passers by, or are you more interested in how many people stop and look. Do you want to see weekday patterns, weekend behaviour, or the difference between morning and evening flows. Each question suggests slightly different observation times and categories.

For most retail decisions, three simple aspects are enough to start with: how many people pass, how many seem interested, and how many already use nearby shops and services.

Set up simple categories that match your business

In Foot Traffic Counter you can define categories that reflect what you care about. For example, you might track:

- passers by who move within a set distance of your frontage
- people who slow down, look at windows, or glance inside
- people who enter the building you would be in, or a close neighbour
- commuters moving with purpose versus locals who linger
- families, students, or tourists if they matter for your offer

The goal is not to capture every detail. It is to create a small set of repeatable observations that help you compare one site with another on equal terms.

Run short sessions at different times

A location that looks perfect at lunchtime can be empty in the evening. To avoid being misled by a single moment, run multiple sessions at each candidate site. For example:

- one session in the morning on a weekday
- one session around lunch on a weekday
- one session in the late afternoon or early evening
- one or two sessions on a weekend at times that matter for you

Each session can be as short as 20 to 30 minutes. What matters is that you apply the same rules at each site so the numbers are comparable.

Compare sites side by side

Once you have a few sessions per site, the comparison becomes straightforward. You can look at total passers by, estimated interest, and the behaviour you observed during similar time windows.

You may find that one location has slightly lower volume but a much higher proportion of people who slow down or enter nearby shops. Another location may be full of fast moving commuters who rarely stop, which might not suit a shop that relies on browsing.

Foot Traffic Counter lets you export your sessions to a spreadsheet so you can arrange the numbers in a simple table and share them with partners, landlords, or advisers.

Look at context, not just totals

A slightly quieter street can still be the better choice if the context matches your offer. While you count, pay attention to:

- nearby anchors such as supermarkets, transport stops, or offices
- the condition of neighbouring shopfronts
- how people behave at crossings, corners, and narrow points
- whether your potential frontage is easy to see at a distance

Note these details in your own words after each session. When you review the data later, these notes will help explain why two sites with similar totals feel very different in practice.

Make the decision with more confidence

Foot traffic data will not make the decision for you, but it will give you a clearer picture of what you are committing to. Instead of relying only on instinct, you have a record of who actually uses the street and how they respond to the space in front of your potential shop.

A few hours of structured observation with an iPhone is a small cost compared with the long term commitment of a lease. It is a practical way to test your assumptions and choose a location that fits your business rather than hoping the site will adapt to you later.