You installed a door counter. Now you know exactly how many people walk in each day. Monday: 147 visitors. Tuesday: 132. Wednesday: 168.
Great. Now what?
Most small hospitality businesses collect foot traffic data and do nothing with it. The numbers sit in a spreadsheet or dashboard, ignored. Because knowing how many people walked through your door tells you almost nothing useful by itself.
The businesses making money from foot traffic data aren't just counting. They're connecting that data to three other metrics that turn visitor numbers into actionable decisions.
1. Foot Traffic + Energy Usage = Efficiency Score
Here's what nobody talks about. Your energy costs should move with your foot traffic. More customers means more lights on, more equipment running, more HVAC needed.
But most restaurants run the same equipment whether they have 50 customers or 200. Full heating. Full cooling. Full lighting. All day.
The smart play: Track energy usage per customer. If you're spending the same on energy during slow hours as busy hours, you're wasting money.
Real example: A Glasgow café had 80 customers on Monday mornings and 240 on Saturday mornings. Energy usage was identical. They were heating, cooling, and lighting an empty space for hours. Adjusting HVAC schedules to match actual traffic saved £340/month.
Foot traffic alone tells you when you're busy. Foot traffic plus energy shows you when you're inefficient.
2. Foot Traffic + Conversion Rate = Revenue Reality
How many people who walk in actually buy something? That's your conversion rate. Without it, foot traffic data is worthless.
You might have 200 people walk through the door on Saturday. Sounds great until you realize only 60 made a purchase. That's a 30% conversion rate. The other 140 people just browsed and left.
Why this matters: If foot traffic drops but conversion rises, you're fine. If foot traffic rises but conversion drops, you have a problem.
- Monday: 100 visitors, 70 conversions = 70% conversion
- Saturday: 250 visitors, 75 conversions = 30% conversion
Which day performed better? Monday. Fewer people, but they came to buy. Saturday had lots of browsers.
What to do with this: Low conversion on busy days? You're understaffed or your layout is confusing. High conversion on slow days? You're attracting the right customers. Don't chase foot traffic. Chase conversion.
3. Foot Traffic + Staff Hours = Labor Efficiency
You're paying staff to serve customers. How many customers per staff hour are you getting?
If you have three staff working a Tuesday lunch shift that serves 45 customers, that's 15 customers per staff hour. If you have two staff on Thursday lunch serving 50 customers, that's 25 customers per staff hour.
Thursday is more efficient. You're serving more people with less labor cost.
The pattern: Most restaurants overstaff slow periods and understaff busy ones. They schedule based on tradition, not data.
- Tuesday morning: 4 staff, 60 customers = 15 per staff hour
- Friday evening: 5 staff, 180 customers = 36 per staff hour
Friday is packed but efficient. Tuesday is costing you money. Cut one person from Tuesday shifts. Add one to Friday evening.
Real numbers: An Edinburgh restaurant tracked foot traffic against staff schedules for a month. They found they were overstaffed Monday through Wednesday by one person, and understaffed Friday through Sunday by one person. Reallocating those hours saved £480/month without changing total labor hours.
The Missing Link: Combining All Three
Foot traffic data becomes powerful when you layer it with energy usage, conversion rates, and staff efficiency.
Here's what that looks like in practice:
Scenario: Your Saturday afternoon shows 180 visitors, 50 conversions (28%), 4 staff working, and £85 in energy costs.
Analysis:
- Low conversion (28%) suggests layout or service issues
- 45 customers per staff hour is good but could be better with one more person
- £85 energy cost for 180 visitors = 47p per visitor (high for a café)
Actions:
- Add one more staff member to Saturday afternoon to improve service and lift conversion to 35-40%
- Review which equipment is running unnecessarily during peak hours
- Test menu placement or staff prompts to increase conversion rate
One month later, you have 185 visitors (slight increase), 70 conversions (38%, huge increase), 5 staff working (better service), and £72 in energy costs (equipment optimization).
Revenue is up. Energy costs are down. Staff are less stressed. All because you stopped just counting people and started connecting the data.
Why GreenPulse Includes Foot Traffic
Energy analytics make more sense when you know how many people you're serving. That's why GreenPulse packages include foot traffic tracking alongside energy monitoring.
We show you:
- Energy cost per customer
- Peak traffic times vs peak energy times
- When you're running equipment for empty rooms
- How traffic patterns match your actual costs
Foot traffic data alone is just numbers. Foot traffic connected to energy, conversion, and labor efficiency is a business strategy.