Successful dealerships rely heavily on foot traffic data to refine and improve their sales strategies, as getting more customers into the showroom is a never-ending challenge. They recognize that speaking with customers face-to-face is a unique chance to establish a connection and convert prospects into active buyers.  

However, not all dealers understand the value of collecting data and why it can be critical to getting more potential customers onto the premises. This article outlines six of those reasons and discusses how they can help dealers gain more traffic. 

6 Benefits of Studying Foot Traffic Data 

1. It Helps Identify the Target Market 

Establishing the right target market is an essential yet underappreciated step in building the dealership’s business plan. Dealers can find that target market and what vehicles will prove most profitable by using foot traffic data. 

The target market consists of the individuals determined to be a given vehicle’s most likely potential buyers due to their shared traits, which should include the following: 

• Income 
• Geographic area 
• Age 
• Marital status 
• Family size 
  
  

2. It Guides Expansion Decisions 

Foot traffic data can help dealers figure out when to expand the dealership or break ground on a new location. First, traffic statistics will show when the dealership is overcrowded (potentially with visitors from other areas) and has more customers than it can handle. It can also help narrow down the target market to determine the ideal place for a second location. 

3. It Identifies Customer Patterns 

Dealers can better understand customer car-buying habits by studying foot traffic data. Depending on how they measure that traffic, they can examine all the following information: 

• The days and times of day customers visit the showroom 
• Where most potential customers live (nearby, in an adjacent town, etc.) 
• The vehicles they look at most often 
• The average length of their visits to the showroom 
• The showroom conversion rate 
  
  

4. It Validates (or invalidates) the Inventory Mix 

Foot traffic data can reveal much about vehicle inventory success and whether buyers find it appealing. Dealers should compare how many customers arrive on the lot to those interested in a particular car. 

For example, if a dealer introduces a new make and model to the showroom, and a considerable number of customers stay in the showroom to discuss the car with salespeople (or buy one outright), that will indicate that the new vehicles are popular with the target audience. In that case, the dealer should order more into inventory. 

Alternatively, if dealers notice the reverse result and discover that fewer customers are making purchases when they debut a new vehicle, this will show that the latest make and model should arrive in limited supply. 

5. It Helps Reevaluate Staffing  

Dealers can also use foot traffic data to find the busiest car-buying periods and when the showroom has the most (and fewest) visitors. This information helps managers add salespeople to the floor during active hours and schedule fewer ones during slow times. 

6. It Measures the Impact of External Factors 

Overall foot traffic patterns will inevitably impact the showroom’s future foot traffic. For example, as online car buying becomes a preferred purchasing option for customers, in-person foot traffic will decrease over time. 

Other external factors might include: 

• Distance between the dealership and the homes or workplaces of the target audience 
• Nearby activities and destinations (such as restaurants and movie theaters) that increase local foot traffic 
• Seasonality and climatic factors 
• Peak rush hour times 
  
  

Collecting Accurate Foot Traffic Data Requires the Best CRM Technology 

Tracking and analyzing foot traffic data can help you assess the value of a dealership’s location, staffing needs, visibility, and which vehicles to offer. This information is crucial to gaining the customer pattern insights you need to make better business decisions. 

However, the insights you get from this data are only as valuable as its accuracy and clarity. You need the industry’s premier CRM solutions to collect and analyze this data successfully, allowing you to make informed business decisions that bring more customers to the showroom. 

Contact us today and discover how Affinitiv’s XRM can help you track and analyze the correct foot traffic data to refine and improve marketing strategies to attract more potential customers to the dealership.