Vitag gives retailer a “sporting”chance
For many retailers a security solution is about more than reducing theft. This was the case with Sportsco who approached Vitag with additional store management requirements like traffic counting to improve their operation as a whole.
As a nationally recognised brand, Sportsco operates a growing network of stores across Australia and online, offering a diverse range of products and brands across the sport and lifestyle categories.
They’ve been a mainstay of the sports and fitness retail market for over three decades, with a philosophy of delivering “a head to toe offering for the world leading brands coupled with outstanding customer service”.
Below is their account of working with Vitag to measure foot traffic, while improving store security and operations in general.
The customer
Sportsco – sport and lifestyle products retailer operating at multiple locations within shopping malls.
The problem
Sportsco was looking to improve the conversion rate of people visiting their stores.
They wished to ascertain exact visitor numbers and how they translated to sales, noting: “We could get traffic figures from the shopping centres but had no way of measuring foot track in our store and how this converted into sales”.
The solution
Sportsco selected Vitag’s CrossPoint Maxus and Nexus AM50/30 electronic article surveillance system with the additional benefits of traffic counting and online reporting. The systems were installed at a number of Sportsco stores.
Products selected included:
- CrossPoint Maxus and Nexus AM50/30
- People Counting
- Remote Access
They note: “We chose the products offered by Vitag as it had the dual functionality of a security system in the store for theft prevention and also the ability to track customers entering the store, combined with the ability to integrate our sales data to allow our conversion rate to be calculated.
“The combination of a security system and people counting was a big plus in choosing the offering from Vitag. We have also found their support to be excellent when we have needed assistance.”
The results
Sportsco has been able to monitor the performance of stores hourly which helps with staffing levels and importantly compare the conversion rate between different stores.
“This has provided a worthwhile tool for our franchisees who have been given access to data from our corporate stores so they have the ability of comparing their stores against the corporate stores.
“We have been able to determine that some stores are underperforming by comparing the average visitors with the sales for that store against comparative stores. This allows management and/or franchisees to work with their staff to help improve conversion rates.”
What happens next?
Sportsco notes Vitag products are currently installed in their 2.0 Stores but the plan is to further roll out the systems as new shop fronts open and existing stores are upgraded.
“For all new stores, the Vitag equipment is installed in each store, and as stores perform shop fits and upgrade from 1.0 to 2.0 Stores, these stores will also have the Vitag equipment installed.”