More than 40 IoT sensors have been installed across South Norwood and Purley over the last month to monitor footfall.

Sensors have been installed in local businesses and in the public realm to build a picture of how each town centre is being used.

Each participating business can access their own analytics using their local digital town hub. This information allows business owners to understand:

• Number of visitors per day
• Weekly footfall trends
• Busy times of the day

With a baseline of data, businesses can understand how they can improve footfall and revenue. For instance, a café might be busy early in the morning but footfall is low in the afternoons. Using the digital town hub, the café can advertise events, promote offers, set geo-alerts and send targeted notifications to attract more customers.

The digital town hub continues to measure footfall so businesses can understand where they have made improvements.

The sensors send data in near real-time through a private LoRa network that covers each town centre. All the data is aggregated and can be used for analysis by local town managers and community organisations.