Glossary A–ZLetter F
Footfall counting
Footfall counting records how many people pass a location or enter an area within a given period.
Counting is done by hand, with light barriers, thermal or radar sensors, cameras or via radio signals from phones. The result is a frequency per hour, day or week.
For screen networks, counting is often the basis for estimating impressions. An example: at the entrance to a shopping centre, a sensor counts 12,000 people entering on a Saturday and 5,000 on a Tuesday. From this it can be deduced at which times a screen at the entrance reaches the most people and how advertising time should be priced. Retailers also use the figures, for example for staff planning.
A count says how many people were there, not how many saw the screen; that requires further factors. Depending on the method, groups, children or returning visitors are recorded differently. Methods using cameras or phone signals can involve personal data; data protection rules then apply, and the safest approach is to store only the counts. Operators should always state the counting method and period.