As the industry navigates its way through a new era of consumer behavior that entails shopping journeys across multiple channels, the store becomes the fulcrum point of shopping entertainment. It is a place where compelling experiences need to be provided, consumer problems solved, and where, ultimately, most sales are converted.

For this model to cement itself across the wider industry, it will rely on retailers attaching greater value to their store associates, using them wisely and ensuring they are empowered to do what they do best: selling products and servicing the shopper.

Harnessing traffic data within the retail organization facilitates this strategy, and here’s a few reasons why:

Using traffic data to plan staffing means retailers can find the most suitable ratio of associates to customers. This is your shopper-to-associate-ratio (STAR). Having the optimum number of employees on the shop floor ensures customers get what they need to make their purchase, which is especially important as the modern retail store increasingly doubles up as a hub for consumer consultancy.

Recent research by SalesForce shows that 75% of consumers say it’s absolutely critical or very important to interact with a salesperson who is available when needed during a shopping trip, while another study from InMoment finds that a positive experience with a retailer’s staff increases customers’ satisfaction by 33%. Statistics like these confirm that finding the adequate STAR is crucial for creating compelling customer experiences.

Deploying store associates based on real traffic information adds even more value to this already important role.

With a traffic-led approach to labor optimization, all parties within the retail organization – senior management, store bosses or the shop floor staff – can measure performance based on the exact sales opportunity presented. It allows retailers to establish KPIs that are not devised using historical sales data or vague estimates of how many shoppers will be in a store, and this transparency can get the best out of staff.

We all know that a happy and engaged shop floor worker is more than likely to provide better-quality and loyalty-strengthening customer interactions, so retailers need to do all they can to use their greatest assets wisely.