Foot traffic used to be one of the top indicators of whether or not a business would do well. This is why location was seen as the most important quality of that business. A good location led to more foot traffic, and that led to more sales.
Does this still matter in 2024? It certainly does, and more for some types of businesses than others. Bars and restaurants are heavily dependent on foot traffic, for example.
That being said, recent years have seen a marked decline in foot traffic at brick-and-mortar stores. What are some of the reasons why it is dropping and becoming less important than it used to be?
Online shopping
One reason is that people are shopping online more and more often. E-commerce is easy, and people can have items shipped directly to their door. This means they never need to go to the physical location at all, so foot traffic is irrelevant.
Online searches
Similarly, there’s been a trend where people will search for the items they want online, order them and then go pick them up at the store. This means that the physical location matters to some extent, but not like it used to. The consumer isn’t going to stumble across the business while walking across town. No matter where it’s located, they’re going to find the website online, and then they will simply drive to that location.
Rising gas prices
One potential reason for the drop in foot traffic is that gas prices have gone up. It’s more expensive for consumers to go to physical locations, especially if they are not sure that the products they want will even be in stock.
As business owners prepare to launch their new companies, they need to consider how technology and society may have changed. They also need to know what legal steps to take to set the business up with the best chance of future success.