FootFall Training

Welcome to your FootFall training, which will take you through product information, how to access and use FootFall, as well as how to interpret and apply the results from your FootFall reports.

What is FootFall?

FootFall is the solution to track and compare visits to your own and competitive locations. The weekly updates use permission-based and anonymized data collected from location-enabled mobile devices combined with EA’s proprietary geofence library. The data are weighted and projected to the total population. Most retail stores, businesses, business improvement areas and recreational locations across Canada are covered. FootFall tracks visits for individual locations and overall retail banners. Reports are provided in an easy-to-use browser-based app.

For more information on FootFall, please check out our FootFall product page opens in new window.

How do I access FootFall?

Access FootFall through web-based access to Tableau opens in new window. As a licensee of this product, you will receive an onboarding email that contains your username and password.

How do I use FootFall?

After logging in to use FootFall, you'll see a set of easy-to-use dashboards with several drop-downs that allow users to select parameters specific to their analysis.

There are five tabs included in the FootFall product, as highlighted below:

FootFall tabs highlighted

The Overview tab provides details about the FootFall product, while the Foot Traffic TrendCompare Foot Traffic, and Percent Share Trend tabs contain the dynamic dashboards you will use for your analytical purposes. Finally, the FAQ tab contains our most commonly asked questions about the FootFall product.

Each dynamic dashboard has several drop-down filters that allow you to specify the data required to support your analysis.

How do I interpret FootFall dashboards?

Below are definitions and examples for interpreting your FootFall outputs. 

Note: The data goes as far back as January 2019, is weighted and projected to the total population, and is updated weekly, every Friday, to include data up to the previous Sunday.


Search by Geography Type: Search and select from a list of geography types.

Search by Geography: Refine your variable(s) by selecting a specific geography. The list of variables is filtered according to the geography selection.

Search by Category: Search and select from the list of commercial, institutional and recreational location categories.

Variable(s) Type: Select how the visit data should be summarized; by category(s), banner(s), or by a specific location(s).

Variable(s): Select from a list of variables based on the Geography, Category, Variable Type selected.

Select Metric:

  • Count = number of visits
  • % change - Previous Period = rate of change compared to the previous week or month
  • % change - 1 Year Ago = rate of change compared to the same week or month one year prior
  • % change - 2 Years Ago = rate of change compared to the same week or month two years prior

Benchmark Type: Add an optional comparative graph of the respective banner or category using the same metric and time frame.

Note: If you select locations from multiple banners, the benchmark will be calculated from the sum of all respective banners. The same logic applies to locations from multiple categories and banners from multiple categories.

Comparison Period: Add an optional comparison trend line from 1 or 2 years ago.

Time Frame Type: Choose between months or weeks.

Target Period: Use the date slider or type in your time frame of interest.

Count of Visits: Visits are the estimated number of unique daily visits to a FootFall location, banner, or category by the household population 15+ within a specified time frame. They reflect visits made by individuals living in Canada and can originate from anywhere in Canada.

Share of (i.e. Benchmark): Choose between banner or category as the base for the proportion of the selected variable(s).

Note: if you select locations from multiple banners, the percent share will be calculated from the respective banner for each location. The same logic applies to locations from multiple categories, and banners from multiple categories.

Identifies and monitors visit trends and evaluates the impacts of seasonality, marketing response, COVID-19, and other factors important to your business. The dashboard provides an overview of foot traffic trends by volume and percent change over time. Weekly and monthly views are available, going back to January 2019. Categories, banners, or specific locations can be summarized and compared to 1 or 2 years ago and to respective industry benchmarks.

The above FootFall Traffic Trend dashboard displays the count, as monthly visits, of the Jasper National Park variable benchmarked to the Greenspaces—National Park category, for Alberta. The target period is from January 1st 2021 to October 1st 2022. In addition to the visits summary, this dashboard highlights key demographics about the visitors and shows which PRIZM® segments are contributing the most visits. If your organization licenses PRIZM®, you’ll see the top five segments. If your organization does not license PRIZM®, you’ll only see the top one segment.

Note: The geography filters the variables available for selection and not visitors. Therefore, visitors can potentially come from outside the geography.

The above FootFall Traffic Trend dashboard displays the % change in monthly visits compared to one year ago for Jasper National Park. The only difference between this dashboard and the previous one is the change to the Select Metric field in Geographic Settings; % Change is selected here instead of Count. 

Provides competitive intelligence by allowing you to compare locations to one another, as well as banners and categories. It can help tell a story about how overall visitation volumes between locations differ, how visitation change is similar or different, and how competitors may impact one another.

The above Compare Foot Traffic dashboard displays the count, as weekly visits, of select location variables for the Financial—Bank category, for the province of British Columbia. The target period is from January 3rd 2022 to October 1st 2022. In addition to the visits summary, this dashboard highlights key demographics about the visitors and shows which PRIZM® segments are contributing the most visits. If your organization licenses PRIZM®, you’ll see the top five segments. If your organization does not license PRIZM®, you’ll only see the top one segment.

Note: The geography filters the variables available for selection and not visitors. Therefore, visitors can potentially come from outside the geography.

Represents the proportion of visits that your selection represents of the total banner or category. It provides insight into your share trends, allowing you to assess store performance or competitive impacts. You can also compare your share to other locations or banners to further understand the competition.

The above Foot Traffic Percent Share Trend dashboard displays the monthly visits of three bank locations as a percent share of all available locations in the Financial—Bank category, for the census metropolitan area of Toronto, ON. The target period is from February 10 2021 to May 24 2022. The total category monthly visits is also displayed and is plotted on the right axis.

Note: The geography filters the variables available for selection and not visitors. Therefore, visitors can potentially come from outside the geography.

How do I apply the results from FootFall?

  • Identify which locations have the most or least visits and how they are trending over time.
  • Identify banner and category trends and seasonal impacts.
  • Understand whether your share of total category visits is going up or down to assess competitive impacts.
  • Quantify the impact of your marketing—or your competitors’—on visits using FootFall’s weekly data.