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, by matching paths with tickets.
- 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 is the display at the end of a gondola, facing the main or cross aisle, a highly visible spot used for promotions, new products and in-store media.
- 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 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→
- The main aisle is the wide central corridor that distributes shoppers into the rest of the store, where a large share of in-store promotions is concentrated.
- 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.
- 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 store visit, such as stock-up, fill-in, urgent item or fresh food, inferred from the trip's path, duration, shopping tool and 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.