How to Count People Effectively From Clickers to Smart Sensors

Axper: Pioneer in People Counting and Leader in Technological Innovation

In 1976, long before data became the driving force of retail, the founder of Axper had a visionary idea: to automate customer counting. At that time, this task was still carried out manually by employees using simple clickers. These approximate counts were used to measure foot traffic and, by extension, the store conversion rate over a given period.

The development of the very first electronic people counter for retail was a true revolution. For the first time, it became possible to obtain reliable, objective, and consistent data without depending on human observations prone to error. This simple yet groundbreaking tool paved the way for a new way of managing retail stores, laying the foundation for a culture focused on performance and accuracy.

A Continuous Technological Evolution

Since this first innovation, Axper has never stopped pushing the boundaries of people counting. The company has embraced every new technological advance, with a single goal: to provide its clients with increasingly accurate and relevant data.

• Infrared beams: the first generation of automatic sensors, offering greater accuracy in detecting passages compared to a manual clicker.
• 2D security cameras: initially used for surveillance, they were also applied to foot traffic analysis. They offered much greater accuracy than beams but came with certain challenges, such as the lack of depth measurement and dependence on placement.
• Thermal cameras: offering greater accuracy in complex environments, they facilitated counting in challenging conditions, such as low or variable lighting.
• Intelligent 3D vision: through spatial modeling, it made it possible to distinguish several people walking close together and avoid duplicate counts.
• Artificial intelligence: a real qualitative leap, combined with 3D vision, it goes far beyond counting. It analyzes, segments, and delivers actionable insights into visitor behavior.

This progression perfectly illustrates Axper’s philosophy: to constantly innovate in order to remain at the cutting edge and offer solutions that adapt to the market’s evolving needs.

Far More Than Just Counting

Today, Axper goes well beyond providing visitor numbers. Its systems can decode traffic in depth, transforming each data point into strategic information.

Here are just some of the features offered by current solutions:

• Adult/child distinction: identifying which customer segments frequent the store. Child counts are often excluded, as they generally do not represent potential customers.
• Gender and age distribution: analyzing the demographic profile of visitors to better tailor communication and marketing campaigns.
• Identification of couples and groups: in retail, understanding whether customers shop alone or as a couple. This distinction improves the accuracy of performance ratios, such as the conversion rate, the customer-to-staff ratio, and traffic-based performance.
• Differentiation between staff and customers: filtering out employee movements to ensure clean, unbiased data.
• Analysis of time spent in specific areas: identifying hot and cold zones in a store, measuring display effectiveness, or gauging interest in new products.
• Study of staff-customer interactions: evaluating availability, responsiveness, and the impact of service on purchase decisions.

These features make it possible to move from simple counting to genuine behavioral analysis. By better understanding who visitors are, how long they stay, how they move around, and what catches their attention, retailers gain invaluable tools to enhance the customer experience and drive growth.

A Strategic Partner

Beyond technology, what truly sets Axper apart is its expertise built over more than 45 years. The company does not simply sell equipment; it supports its clients throughout the process, from needs assessment to solution deployment, including data analysis and interpretation.

Today’s businesses face numerous challenges: intensifying competition, rising customer expectations, constant margin pressure, and the need to justify every strategic decision. In this context, Axper positions itself as an essential partner, capable of turning data into a true performance driver.