Footfall + ePOS Strategies for Success

How should university caterers utilise EPOS in their campus offer to best maximise the student experience and sales?

As catering innovation leans further into sustainable practices, fusion menus, and health-conscious dietary options – trends vividly encapsulated at last year’s TUCO Conference, navigating the ever-shifting currents of students’ preferences remains more challenging than ever before.

Working closely with over 100+ student venue operators each year (providing audio-visual TV and digital signage solutions), has given us valuable insights into the challenges of attracting students to catering outlets on and off campus – especially as these preferences continue to shift. Among the array of tools available, footfall counting systems play a vital role in measuring and predicting occupancy levels, which can be especially powerful when combined with ePOS data. In this article, we share three examples of how combining ePOS with footfall measurement technology is vital for optimising planning, tuning product offerings and tackling waste management.

Predicting Peak Hours for Smart Planning

Imagine having the ability to track footfall with 98% accuracy and use this data, alongside ePOS, to optimise staffing patterns around peak demand times — this is where footfall measurement provides an additional perspective. These systems, seamlessly running alongside ePOS solutions, act as invaluable assets for university caterers; they enable real-time monitoring of student traffic within venues, empowering managers to anticipate spikes in demand. Moreover, understanding the flow of footfall, and when this translates into sales, is essential for effective resource allocation, ensuring that staffing levels and menu offerings align with the specific needs and demands of the student population.

Whether it’s a ‘normal week’, ‘graduation week’ or a ‘reading week’, footfall counting systems empower caterers to identify patterns and trends in student behaviour. Armed with this knowledge, a manager can proactively adjust their operational strategies, providing seamless service during peak times, while optimising costs during periods of low sales volumes. This not only enhances the overall student experience by minimising wait times, but also contributes to the efficient running of a catering operation all year round.

Tailoring Offerings to Student Tastes

The integration of footfall counting systems with ePOS goes beyond predicting peak days/hours – it serves as a window into understanding student preferences and tailoring offerings and marketing promotions accordingly. By analysing footfall data, university caterers can gain valuable insights into popular menu items, preferred dining times, and even specific dietary choices.

Here’s an example: Recent footfall analysis of a typical on-campus library café reveals a surge in footfall traffic during late-night study sessions during exam periods. With this knowledge, caterers introduce a specialised menu featuring energy-boosting snacks and beverages. This tailored approach not only caters to the immediate needs of students, but also fosters a sense of connection between the catering services and the student community.

Efficient Inventory Management and Waste Reduction

In addition to predicting peak hours and tailoring offerings, footfall counting systems significantly contribute to efficient inventory management. By analysing footfall patterns, caterers can optimise stock levels, ensuring that popular items are well-stocked while minimising waste on less popular products.

Using actionable data to plan marketing activities and deals is powerful, but being able to respond in real-time with flash sale offers, where inventory hasn’t been used up, not only enhances operational efficiency but also contributes to sustainability efforts by minimizing food waste with environmentally conscious practices.

Measuring Effect of Promotions

Here’s another example of a venue that is looking to increase bar sales by running a rum promotion one night a week. From the live dashboards below, a bar manager can see the effect of their on-screen digital signage and point-of-sale promotions and measure this over time. A combined approach to data measurement from all three sources can uncover tangible insights into the relationship between marketing activity, footfall and increased sales – the following example resulting in a 15% increase in takings from a targeted flash sale post 7pm:  

Combining footfall counting systems alongside EPOS is hugely powerful. Beyond enhancing the student experience, this collaborative use of technology and data significantly contributes to efficient staffing, inventory management and waste reduction. Striking a balance in stock levels through footfall and ePOS analysis minimises waste and allows for a dynamic response to always on promotions and flash sales, aligning with sustainability goals. The success stories of UK universities in embracing these data-led approaches highlight a commitment to innovation and underscores the transformative impact of technology on university catering.

Email: jezzhaigh@sub.tv for more information.