People Counting in Retail Stores

SensMax TAC-B 3D-W mmWave radar sensors deliver accurate, real-time visitor analytics for standard retail stores, capturing both entering customers and people passing by the storefront. This allows retailers to calculate true conversion, evaluate window display performance, and understand how many potential clients walk near the store without entering. Because the radar can be mounted on a sidewall instead of the ceiling, it is ideal for island-type stores, open mall kiosks, or units without a ceiling, where overhead counters cannot be installed. The sensor covers wide entrances with a 120° field of view while remaining fully anonymous and GDPR-safe.

Radar-based visitor analytics for accurate retail footfall and conversion tracking.

Why People Counting Matters in Retail

Retail performance depends on understanding how many potential customers enter, how many simply walk past, when traffic peaks, and how long visitors stay in key areas. With SensMax TAC-B radar sensors, retailers get hard data instead of rough estimations, helping them align staff schedules, optimize store layout, evaluate promotions, and improve customer service.

One of the main advantages of TAC-B radar in retail is the ability to distinguish between entering visitors and passers-by. This provides a realistic view of store performance, letting managers compare storefront exposure against actual footfall. Many mall stores, especially open island-format units, do not have a ceiling where overhead counters can be installed. In such cases, the TAC-B 3D-W can be mounted from the side, scanning the entrance area and capturing both walk-ins and passing traffic, making the solution suitable even for glass ceilings or complex architecture.

How the Solution Works

TAC-B 3D-W sensors use 60 GHz mmWave radar to track movement vectors in front of the store. The device detects direction and classifies each crossing as IN and OUT. Up to five virtual counting lines and zones can be configured to cover entrances, storefront corridors, promotional areas, or queue zones within a ~10 m range and 120° field of view.

The people counting sensor can be placed on a sidewall, column or structural element, so retailers without a ceiling can still obtain professional people counting. Footfall, pass-by traffic, occupancy, and dwell time are sent in real time over Wi-Fi to SensMax dashboards or third-party systems via API or MQTT. Managers can follow live occupancy, queue buildup and hourly trends, enabling fast decisions during busy periods instead of waiting for end-of-day reports.

TAC-B radar sensor installation examples for counting entering and passing-by vistiors.

Key Benefits for Retail Stores

• Measure true conversion – capture entering visitors separately from passers-by to understand storefront performance and campaign impact.
• Accurate entrance analytics – wide 120° radar coverage and up to ~10 m range allow one device to cover broad or irregular entrances.
• Real-time data – detect queue buildup early and allocate staff before waiting times affect customer satisfaction.
• Dwell and zone analysis – understand how long customers stay in promotional areas, aisles or service zones and adjust merchandising accordingly.
• Anonymous and GDPR-safe – camera-free radar sensing ensures privacy, with no images captured or stored.

Installation Options

TAC-B 3D-W sensors are designed for quick indoor installation. They can be mounted on a sidewall or back wall at approximately 2.5-3 m height using the included adjustable bracket. This keeps ceilings free and makes installation possible even where suspended ceilings are not available. The same installation approach suits island-type stores and open mall units, where the sensor monitors the entrance area from the side.

With a 120° field of view, one sensor can typically cover wide entrances, reducing the number of devices needed. Fine-tuning of sensitivity and angle helps adapt the counting area to different entrance widths and traffic patterns.

Sidewall-mounted indoor radar sensor covering a wide retail entrance and nearby passing traffic.

Business Impact

By integrating people counting into daily operations, retailers gain immediate operational benefits – fewer bottlenecks, shorter queues, better staff allocation and improved customer experience. Longer term statistics reveal how traffic changes by hour, day and season, which entrances or storefronts are most effective, and how well campaigns attract visitors into the store. These insights support strategic decisions on store layout, window displays, staffing budgets and marketing investments across the chain.

Example in Action

A fashion retailer in a shopping mall installed TAC-B 3D-W sensors at two main entrances of an open-front store. The system identified that a large share of evening people traffic was passing by without entering. After improving window displays and scheduling additional staff for peak evening hours, the retailer increased conversion at those entrances and reduced queue times at the fitting rooms and checkout. The same setup also worked in an island-format shop, where the sensor was mounted on a side column and monitored customers from the side, without any ceiling installation.

Recommended Device

• SensMax TAC-B 3D-W – Indoor Wi-Fi mmWave radar people counting sensor

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