Industry News
Shopify Declares Foot Traffic a 'Key Retail Metric' — Recommends People Counting Software for Every Store
A new Shopify guide on measuring and increasing foot traffic names Dor's thermal sensors as a top analytics tool and outlines 10 strategies to drive more store visits. Here's our analysis.
9 min read ·
Key Takeaways
- Shopify's latest guide explicitly calls foot traffic 'a key retail metric' and recommends automated people counting for every store
- Dor is again named as the recommended thermal sensor solution with native Shopify POS integration
- The guide outlines 10 strategies to increase foot traffic, from local SEO to omnichannel fulfillment
- Case study data shows in-store events driving 30% traffic lifts and 20% higher customer lifetime value
- Shopify positions unified POS + e-commerce data as delivering 22% lower total cost of ownership
Shopify has doubled down on foot traffic analytics with a second major blog post — 'How to Increase Foot Traffic: Measure and Boost Store Visits' — that calls foot traffic 'an essential part of retail analytics' and provides a detailed playbook for measuring, interpreting, and growing store visits. Once again, Dor's thermal people counting sensors feature prominently as a recommended tool. Combined with Shopify's earlier retail foot traffic data guide, these two publications paint a clear picture: the world's largest commerce platform sees people counting software as essential infrastructure for physical retail.
Shopify Elevates Foot Traffic
The guide opens with a direct statement: foot traffic is the metric that connects everything else. Shopify argues that without visitor counts, retailers can't measure conversion rates, evaluate staffing effectiveness, understand how weather and promotions impact store performance, or determine whether their marketing spend is actually driving people through the door. The piece frames foot traffic data as the denominator in every meaningful retail calculation.
What's significant here is the audience. This isn't a niche analytics publication — it's Shopify's mainstream blog, read by millions of merchants worldwide. When Shopify tells its entire merchant base that they should be tracking foot traffic and provides specific tool recommendations, it creates enormous demand-side pressure on the people counting software market.
Dor Recommended Again
For the second time in its recent content push, Shopify names Dor by name as the recommended people counting solution. The guide describes Dor as a 'thermal-sensing people counter' that is 'battery operated and sticks above the entrance of your store,' highlighting that it 'anonymously counts foot traffic without capturing customer data or requiring IT setup.' The Dor app in the Shopify App Store is linked directly.
Shopify also recommends cross-referencing Dor's traffic data with POS transactions to calculate in-store conversion rate — framing the Dor + Shopify POS combination as a complete analytics stack. This repeated endorsement across multiple publications strongly suggests an intentional partnership strategy, not just a casual mention.
Dor's thermal-sensing people-counter is battery operated and sticks above the entrance of your store. It anonymously counts foot traffic without capturing customer data or requiring IT setup.
Shopify Blog, 'How to Increase Foot Traffic'
The 10-Strategy Breakdown
Beyond measurement, Shopify outlines 10 actionable strategies for increasing foot traffic — blending online and offline tactics. The guide argues that modern retailers should blur the lines between digital and physical experiences to drive store visits. Here's a breakdown of all ten, categorized by approach.
| Strategy | Channel | Key Insight from Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Local SEO & Google Business Profile | Online | Regional keywords and accurate store listings drive discovery |
| In-store events & demos | Offline | Events create 30% traffic lifts and higher customer LTV |
| Window display optimization | Offline | Instagrammable displays drive both foot traffic and social exposure |
| Store layout & design | Offline | Cross-merchandising and strategic flow increase dwell time |
| Product differentiation | Offline | Unique in-store products create a reason to visit |
| In-store exclusives | Omnichannel | Limited drops and store-only offers drive urgency |
| BOPIS & omnichannel fulfillment | Omnichannel | Buy-online-pickup-in-store converts digital browsers to store visitors |
| Loyalty points for in-store shopping | Omnichannel | Rewarding physical visits increases repeat foot traffic |
| Community partnerships | Offline | Local business cross-promotion expands your reach |
| Accessibility improvements | Offline | Better signage and ADA compliance capture overlooked visitors |
The BÉIS Case Study
The most compelling data point in Shopify's guide comes from luggage brand BÉIS, which hosted 'BÉIS wash' pop-up events where customers could bring in their bags for professional cleaning. The results are remarkable — and they illustrate exactly why foot traffic measurement matters for proving ROI on experiential retail.
BÉIS Pop-Up Event Results (as Reported by Shopify)
- Foot Traffic Lift — value: 30
- Revenue Lift — value: 10
- 12-Month LTV Increase — value: 20
These numbers only exist because BÉIS was measuring foot traffic before, during, and after the events. Without people counting software, they'd know they had a 'busy day' but couldn't quantify the lift or attribute it to the event. This case study perfectly validates Shopify's core argument: you can't optimize what you don't measure.
The Unified Commerce Thesis
Both of Shopify's recent foot traffic guides share an underlying thesis: the future of retail analytics is unified. Shopify argues that its platform is unique in natively combining POS and e-commerce on a single system — and that adding people counting data via Dor completes the analytics picture. The guide cites independent research showing this unified approach reduces total cost of ownership by 22% compared to operating separate online and in-store systems.
Shopify's Unified Commerce Approach
Pros
- Single platform for online + in-store sales, inventory, and customer data
- Native Dor integration adds foot traffic without middleware
- 22% lower total cost of ownership vs. separate systems (cited research)
- Customer journey tracking across online browsing and in-store visits
- One dashboard for conversion rate, traffic trends, and marketing attribution
Cons
- Ecosystem lock-in — Dor integration is Shopify-specific
- Merchants on other platforms need different people counting solutions
- Advanced analytics like heatmaps still require additional tools
- Foot traffic data limited to entrance counts without in-store sensors
Industry Implications
When the world's largest commerce platform publishes back-to-back guides telling millions of merchants to measure foot traffic — and recommends a specific tool to do it — the ripple effects are significant. People counting software vendors should take note: the SMB retail market is about to get much more sophisticated about demanding foot traffic analytics, and they'll expect it to plug directly into their existing POS systems with minimal friction.
For Dor specifically, the repeated Shopify endorsement is a massive distribution advantage. While competitors need to convince retailers to adopt a separate analytics platform, Dor can ride Shopify's merchant base and app ecosystem to reach millions of stores that are just now learning they need people counting software in the first place.
Want to understand which people counting software is right for your store? Explore our detailed vendor comparison or use the recommender quiz to get a personalized shortlist based on your entrance setup, budget, and analytics requirements.