However, I suspect that for many retailers, particularly main street retailers that can’t depend on the traffic generated by a mall location, existing traffic is no longer sufficient, particularly if the first choice for that foot traffic is to go to a mall. These retailers should be concerned with how to increase traffic, not just optimize sales to the traffic they’ve got.

Of, course, back to your point, if the retailers aren’t selling the most they can to their existing traffic, generating additional traffic is a waste of effort.

There have been many studies about consumer behaviour – entering the retail store, spending time at the checkout, where to approach the consumer and how. Most of these studies take in account variables that are used for passive impressions on the consumer generated by displays based on their walk through flow in retail stores.

Utilizing these studies and consumer surveys to increase sales by just a couple of percent is the status quo in the retail industry. Recognizing the real value in these analytical exercises is to adopt passive display driven sales engagement into consumer interaction – engaging the consumer in one on one sales conversations. The old world rule – not to engage the consumer into initiated sales conversations while shopping is just wrong. Our sales representatives who are managed and trained to assist the consumer in his purchasing decision and to drive the attention of the shopper to products that are of interest to him is just good business, but unfortunately has been lost in today’s retail environment by too many retailers.