STORE TRAFFIC IS A GIFT

A retail analytics expert shares techniques for turning store traffic into sales success.

Ryski posits that with so much choice and limited customer attention span, the presence of shoppers in a brick-and-mortar retail store is a gift to managers that needs to be monitored and converted into sales. The author also challenges the conventional belief that Amazon.com and online competitors are destroying such traditional retail, noting instead that physical stores are defeating themselves through their refusal to track traffic or implement the resulting data, as this can inform strategic decisions regarding staffing, marketing, customer service, and merchandising. The book’s central focus is on conversion of customer visits into sales, and the significant gap between traffic and transaction. The author’s research reveals the primary reasons that shoppers leave empty-handed: inability to find assistance, unwillingness to endure long checkout lines, and difficulty finding products. However, Ryski’s goal effectively extends beyond mere traffic analysis to helping retailers create appreciable shopping experiences through data-informed decision-making. He emphasizes the reduction of “shopper friction” that results in a customer leaving empty-handed, which includes understaffing and prevents conversion. Ryski also focuses on the need to understand individual store locations and the customers they serve, rather than relying on standard, corporate “inventory…‘packs’” that may not serve their needs. Over the course of this book, the author provides practical techniques and consistently maintains a sense of optimism about brick-and-mortar retail’s future. Although some of the book’s discussion around conversion can feel repetitive or circular, it ultimately reinforces the book’s core messages. Each chapter concludes with “Chapter Takeaways” and “Practitioner’s Advice” sections that summarize key points and offer guidance. While these recaps often revisit the same themes, the book as a whole is likely to resonate with many retailers.

A sometimes-repetitious but useful and forward-thinking guide.