Capture rate is the percentage of people passing a store who actually come inside. If 1,000 people walk past and 100 enter, the capture rate is 10 per cent. It measures how effective the shopfront, window display and signage are at attracting attention.
To calculate it, a retailer needs two counts: people passing outside and people entering. An outward-facing sensor or a shopping-centre counter supplies the first figure, and a door counter supplies the second. Dividing entries by passers-by gives the rate.
Retailers use capture rate to test changes. A new window display, sign or promotion can be judged by whether more passers-by come in, which is a cleaner measure than sales alone. It is a useful partner to conversion rate, which then shows how many of those visitors buy.
Pitfalls include counting a wide footpath with different boundaries from week to week, or comparing stores in very different locations. Use the same method consistently and compare a store against its own history first.