People counting system for retail
Do you know how many people entered your store today and how many left without buying? With a people counting system, that data is available in real time, for every store, every day.
What is it?
What is a people counting system?
A people counting system combines two elements that work together: hardware (a camera or sensor) installed at your store entrance that detects and counts visitors in real time, and software that converts that data into actionable reports, alerts and dashboards for your team.
It is, in essence, the equivalent of Google Analytics for your physical store. The difference is that instead of measuring clicks and sessions, it measures real people: how many enter, at what time, through which zone, how long they stay and how many end up buying.
Without that data, day-to-day decisions are made on intuition. With a people counting system, they're made with certainty.
Hardware
Camera or sensor installed at the entrance. Detects and counts visitors in real time, without recording video.
Software
Platform that converts data into actionable reports, alerts and dashboards for your team.
Result: real-time data
How many people enter, at what time, through which zone, how long they stay and how many end up buying.
Benefits
What do you gain with a people counting system?
Know which of your stores converts best and why
Not by gross sales, but by real visitors vs. real purchases.
Staff your team with precision
No overstaffing during slow hours or understaffing during peak hours. Hourly traffic data makes that adjustment obvious.
Measure the real impact of your campaigns
Did that promotion bring more people in or just more discounts to those who were already going to buy? With before-and-after traffic data, the answer is objective.
Make decisions that were previously impossible
From where to place a product to when to open a new store. All based on your customers' real behavior, not intuition.
Hardware
Porter Cameras
We design our own cameras in Colombia, which allows us to optimize every detail for Latin American retail: from size and installation to the AI algorithms we train in-house.
Our cameras identify people, not objects or movement. That difference matters when several people pass through the entrance together — the most common challenge in retail. Porter solves it with accuracy above 98%, verifiable by audit.
- Quick installation: only requires power and WiFi or network cable
- No construction work or additional hardware
- Counts entries and exits separately
- On-device processing, no video transmission
- Wired or battery power · WiFi or Ethernet connectivity
Software
Porter Software
Your camera data arrives in real time to a Business Intelligence platform designed so that anyone on your team, without technical knowledge, can build their own dashboards and act on the data.
From a single place you can view all your stores, compare their performance, connect your POS sales and set up alerts that notify your team when something is above or below target.
People counting is not video surveillance
They are different technologies with different purposes. Our system processes everything within the camera: it detects people, extracts the data (one person entered) and discards any image. No video is recorded, no images are stored and no visitor can be identified.
This is possible thanks to edge computing: the analysis occurs on the device, not on external servers. The result is a number, not an image. The system complies with data protection regulations in force in Colombia and the countries where we operate.
No video recording
The camera never records or stores images at any point.
Local processing (Edge AI)
The analysis occurs within the device. Only numbers are transmitted.
Regulatory compliance
Complies with Colombia's Law 1581 on Data Protection and regional equivalents.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How much does a people counting system cost?
The price varies depending on the number of stores, counting points and features your operation needs. Contact us for a proposal tailored to your case.
How accurate is the system?
Our AI cameras achieve over 98% accuracy in real-world conditions. This is verifiable: we offer audits where we compare the system's count with a manual count so you can validate it before committing.
Does the system record video or violate my customers' privacy?
No. Processing occurs within the device. The camera detects people and extracts the numerical data, never storing or transmitting images. No person can be identified. The system complies with Colombia's Law 1581 on Data Protection and equivalent regulations in the countries where we operate.
How is it installed?
Cameras are installed on the ceiling or entrance frame. They only require a power point and WiFi or network cable connection. Installation takes less than one hour per point of sale, with no civil work or special technical knowledge.
Can it integrate with our POS system?
Yes. The platform is designed to receive data from multiple sources. If your POS is cloud-based, the integration is direct and traffic and sales data are cross-referenced in real time.
What should a visualization software have?
At a minimum: exportable historical reports. If you're looking to make real business decisions, you need real-time visualization, KPI-customizable dashboards, automatic alerts and role-based user management. All of that is included in Porter's platform.
Does it work with multiple stores?
Yes. The platform is designed to manage from 1 to hundreds of points of sale from a single centralized dashboard, with performance comparisons between locations.
Schedule a demo
See the system working in real time, get your questions answered and find out if Porter is the right solution for your operation.
Schedule your demo