Glossarytaught in M5.05
Footfall
Also called store footfall, customer traffic.
The number of people entering a store or mall, measured by door counters.
It's the top of the retail funnel, and it decomposes comparable sales growth into its parts: more visitors, a higher share of visitors buying, or a larger basket per buyer. Each has a different cause and a different fix.
Falling footfall with rising sales is usually a price increase or a mix shift, and it's a warning about volume that revenue growth conceals.
Ask which of the three moved.