GRINDSTED USES FOOTFALL ANALYTICS TO ENHANCE VISITOR EXPERIENCE
Lead: The municipality of Grindsted is deploying a customer counter system and WiFi presence analytics to understand visitor flows, improve event programming, and measure outcomes in public spaces—securely and GDPR-compliantly.
THE CONTEXT: PUBLIC SPACES NEED RELIABLE, SHAREABLE DATA
Great places feel lively for everyone—kids on the playground, families at events, seniors on market days. But without trustworthy visitor data, it’s hard to prove what works, secure funding, or coordinate with local stakeholders. Manual counts are inconsistent; POS or ERPs don’t reveal who used the square or when peaks occurred. Grindsted wanted a consistent, transparent approach.
THE SOLUTION: WIFI PRESENCE + PEOPLE-COUNTING SENSORS
Grindsted combines two complementary data sources: WiFi presence (aggregated, anonymized device signals) to understand macro-flows across zones, and overhead people-counting sensors to measure accurate footfall, dwell, and occupancy at entrances and focal points. The blend is cost-efficient and scalable: WiFi shows movement patterns; sensors deliver ground-truth accuracy for KPIs.
HOW IT WORKS IN GRINDSTED
Playground impact: Sensor counts track how many families actually visit during events versus regular days, and for how long.
Town-center flows: WiFi presence indicates which routes are popular before/after events, helping plan signage and vendor placement.
Seasonality & weather: Time-stamped data aligns with weather calendars to understand outdoor usage on cold, wet or windy days.
Continuous improvement: Weekly dashboards make outcomes visible across teams—no spreadsheets, no guesswork.
PRIVACY & GDPR: TRANSPARENCY FIRST
CountMatters is GDPR-aware by design: the system aggregates and anonymizes data; no images are stored; retention is minimized and purpose-bound; and lawful basis is documented with clear governance. Municipalities can openly communicate what is measured, why, and for how long—building trust with citizens and partners.
WHAT TEAMS SEE IN THE DASHBOARD
Footfall & occupancy: Entrances, hotspots, and zone occupancy trends.
Dwell & revisit: How long people stay and how often they come back.
Event uplift: Before/after comparisons that quantify the effect of programming.
Operational alerts: Live occupancy thresholds for safety and service quality.
PROOF IN PRACTICE: FROM INSIGHT TO ACTION
Municipal use cases mirror successes we see across public spaces—theme parks improving live safety through occupancy monitoring, cultural venues optimizing staffing with footfall analytics, and property owners turning traffic data into action. See related stories from CountMatters:
Governance & GDPR: Document purpose, retention and data minimization; share a plain-language notice with citizens.
ROI & CIVIC VALUE
Beyond event optimization, the dataset underpins capital planning (where to invest), grant reporting (what improved), and everyday services (cleaning, staffing, signage). For partners and sponsors, transparent metrics build confidence. Mentioning trusted technology partners—like Xovis for high-accuracy sensors—reassures stakeholders that quality and reliability are built-in.
MINI-FAQ
HOW ACCURATE IS THE SYSTEM?
Overhead people-counting sensors deliver very high accuracy at entrances and defined lines; WiFi presence complements this with broader flow patterns across zones.
DO YOU STORE ANY IMAGES OR PERSONAL DATA?
No images are stored and data is aggregated and anonymized. The approach is privacy-by-design and GDPR-compliant.
HOW FAST CAN RESULTS BE SHARED?
Dashboards update continuously, so event uplift and occupancy trends can be reviewed the same day and compared week-over-week or year-over-year.
CONCLUSION: TRANSPARENCY BUILDS TRUST
By blending WiFi presence with people-counting sensors, Grindsted makes public-space decisions visible and defensible. The city can show what worked, refine what didn’t, and keep improving experiences for residents and visitors—data-first, privacy-first.
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