Retail analytics glossary
In-store analytics and retail media, defined.
Plain definitions of the metrics and concepts behind shopper analytics, in-store media and offline attribution.
- Angle of Arrival (AoA)→
- Angle of Arrival (AoA) is a Bluetooth 5.1 positioning method in which antenna arrays measure the direction of a tag's signal to compute its position with sub-metre accuracy.
- Bounce rate (in-store)→
- In-store bounce rate is the share of shoppers who enter a category, aisle or display area and leave it without slowing down to look at any product.
- Closed-loop attribution→
- Closed-loop attribution links each ad exposure with the purchase that followed it, so every sale is traced back to the placement that influenced it. In store, it works by matching each anonymous shopper path with its ticket and comparing exposed trips with a non-exposed control group.
- Correlation matrix (cross-selling)→
- A correlation matrix shows, for every pair of store categories, how likely shoppers who stop at one are to also stop at the other, revealing cross-selling opportunities.
- Customer flow→
- Customer flow is the set of routes shoppers follow through a store: where they go first, which direction they take in each aisle and where their paths split or merge.
- Dwell time→
- Dwell time is how long shoppers stay in a store zone, category or bay, measured from the moment they enter it until the moment they leave it.
- End cap→
- An end cap, also called a gondola end, is the display at the end of an aisle. It faces the main or cross aisle and is used for promotions and new products.
- Footfall (store traffic)→
- Footfall, or store traffic, is the number of visits a store receives in a given period; in-store analytics extends it to the traffic of every zone, category and bay.
- Heatmap (store heatmap)→
- A store heatmap colours the floor plan by how much time shoppers spend in each spot, so the busiest and the most ignored areas of the store are visible at a glance.
- In-store analytics→
- In-store analytics is the measurement of how shoppers move, stop and buy inside a physical store.
- In-store conversion rate→
- In-store conversion rate is the share of shoppers who buy out of all those who visited a store, category or bay, the physical equivalent of an e-commerce conversion rate.
- In-store retail media→
- In-store retail media is advertising that brands buy on a retailer's physical placements, such as screens, end caps, pallets and flyers, to reach shoppers at the point of purchase.
- Main aisle→
- A main aisle is the wide central corridor shoppers enter from the door. It sends them into the rest of the store and holds most of the promotions.
- Offline attribution→
- Offline attribution is the measurement of how offline marketing, such as in-store signage, flyers, print, radio or TV, contributes to sales in physical stores. In store, it is most precise when each shopper's exposure to a placement is matched with the receipt of the same trip.
- Penetration rate (traffic penetration)→
- Penetration rate, or traffic penetration, is the share of all store trips that visit a given zone, category, bay or display during a period.
- People counting→
- People counting is the measurement of how many visitors enter a store, usually with sensors at the entrance such as infrared beams, CCTV cameras or 3D sensors.
- Real-time location system (RTLS)→
- A real-time location system (RTLS) continuously locates tagged assets or people inside buildings and streams their positions to software as they move.
- Retail media network (RMN)→
- A retail media network (RMN) is a retailer's advertising business that sells brands access to its shoppers through its own media, online and increasingly in physical stores.
- Shelf conversion (shelf funnel)→
- Shelf conversion is the share of shoppers who buy from a shelf or bay out of those who passed it, broken down into a funnel: traffic, visual contact, engagement and purchase.
- Shopper journey (full path)→
- The full-path shopper journey is the complete route of a store visit, from the entrance to the checkout, including every zone crossed, every stop made and the ticket at the till.
- Shopping mission→
- A shopping mission is the purpose of a shopping trip, such as a stock-up, a fill-in, an urgent item or fresh food, read from the path, the duration and the basket.
- Shopping tools (trolleys and baskets)→
- Shopping tools are the trolleys, baskets and basket trolleys shoppers use in store; the tool picked at the entrance says a lot about the size and purpose of the trip.
- Verified in-store impressions→
- A verified in-store impression is a shopper actually detected within the visibility area of a screen, end cap or display while it shows the ad, counted from real positions, not estimated.
See your store the way your shoppers do.
Book a meeting with our retail analysts and see real trips, real tickets and real conversion.