Okay, here is my blog post about customer journey tracking in brick-and-mortar stores.

So I wanted to see what customers were up to in my store. You know, like where they go, what they look at, that kind of thing. It’s pretty easy to do that online, but doing it in a physical store? That’s a whole different story.

First thing I did was check out some cameras. I mean, that’s the obvious way to track people, right? So I got a few different kinds, set them up around the store, and started watching the footage.

  • Positioning: It took some time to make sure that every corner of the store is being monitored. I had to think like a customer, walking around to make sure the cameras are all placed on the right spot.
  • Testing: I’ve spent a few days watching the footage, seeing if everything was captured perfectly. I had to adjust some angles, and some spots needed more light. It was a bit of work, but we got there.

But here’s the thing – just watching people walk around didn’t really tell me much. I mean, I could see where they went, but I couldn’t really tell what they were thinking or why they went there. It felt so limited!

Then I thought, what about those Wi-Fi heatmaps? You know, the ones that show you where people are congregating based on their phone signals. I read up on it, and it seemed like a good idea. It took many days, but we finally figured out how to track these devices without invading anyone’s privacy.

  • Research: I spent a good chunk of time reading about how to do this without creeping people out. There are laws about this stuff, and I sure didn’t want to break any.
  • Setup: Getting the Wi-Fi tracking up and running took some effort. I had to find the right software, set it up, and then test, test, test.
  • Integration: The real magic happened when I put the camera data and the Wi-Fi data together. Suddenly, I could see not just where people went, but how many people were there, and how long they stayed.

This was when things got interesting. I had to play around with the software to really understand what I was seeing. It was like learning a new language, but once I got the hang of it, it was awesome. I could see patterns, like which displays people were drawn to, or which aisles they avoided. It’s like I got a secret window into my customers’ minds.

The Aha! Moment

And let me tell you, it’s been a game-changer. I started noticing things I never would have seen before. Like, there was this one corner of the store that people kept going to, but they didn’t stay long. So I went over there to check it out, and it turned out the lighting was really bad. Fixed that, and boom – people started hanging out there longer.

It’s not perfect, of course. There’s still a lot to learn, and I’m sure there are other ways to track customer journeys that I haven’t even thought of yet. But this is a start, and it’s already made a big difference. So, yeah, that’s my story. It’s been a bit of a wild ride, but totally worth it.