General manager at APT HeadCount Jason Farrell believes the main innovations will not come from the hardware or the software, but from the education of the end user.

He says: "Most end users, such as centre management and shopping centre owners, see customer-counting as a 'nice to have', not a need to have, like CCTV. The real innovators are those who use the data dynamically for real-time decision-making, not just long-term number justification.

"The future will belong to those who use the data to monitor incremental changes in numbers, dwell times and occupancy, and react accordingly.

"It's inevitable that hardware will become more accurate and software will get more user-friendly. There will of course be the introduction of face recognition, gender and race differentiation softwares. We are investing large amounts of energy in providing such systems. However, the real value and the future of customer-counting will only come when the education process is complete."

David Sturdy of PFM Counting Solutions says their approach is to have a refit of technologies. "We use horizontal and vertical infrared solutions because they're cost-effective and reliable, but to be competitive you also need thermal energy, CCTV and laser products, which all come from third-party representatives, and we're always looking out for new innovations on the market.

"It's more about application than technology. We're finding more and more that other people, such as security companies doing tagging, are thinking they can do customer-counting. One of our major customers bought this system and it didn't work, and we were then asked to replace it with our kit. It's about understanding the application, not the technology. You need to know which technology to use to deliver the right results."

Contacts

APT HeadCount: http://www.aptcontrols-group.co.uk

PFM Counting Solutions: 01536 511010

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