Store Heat Map and Zone Density Analysis
A store heat map shows which aisles people linger in and which corners stay empty all day, built from the video of the cameras you already have. The sales floor is divided into zones and the anonymous time accumulated in each zone is shown as colour intensity. Nobody is recognized and nobody is matched across visits; the only thing measured is density in a zone. To find out whether a new window display, a promotion stand or a revised layout is working, you put the before and after maps side by side.
What is a store heat map?
A store heat map is an analytics output that shows movement density on the sales floor as a visual layer. People in the camera view are counted per zone, the total time spent in each zone is summed, and that time is drawn onto the store plan as colour. Darker areas point to the aisles that attract attention; lighter areas point to dead zones.
The map does not reconstruct an individual's route through the store. It works with zone-level totals: it answers how many person-minutes built up in a given aisle, not who went where. No matching of individuals and no identification takes place.
A heat map becomes meaningful when it is read together with door counts rather than on its own. The gap between the number of visitors at the entrance and the density in each aisle shows where in the store you are losing visitors. That comparison is what turns a colourful image into a layout decision: which fixture to move, which aisle to widen, which display to replace. Because the zones live in the dashboard rather than in hardware, the same analysis can follow the store through every layout change.
How is a store heat map created?
A heat map is set up in three steps.
Define the zones. In the dashboard, you draw zones over the camera view: aisles, the area in front of the tills, the window and the entrance corridor. There is no limit on the number of zones. When the store layout changes, you update the drawing and the hardware stays untouched.
Process the video. Each camera stream is processed either on an Algi Edge device installed on site or on ALGI AI servers, and density in each zone is totalled second by second. With an on-site Algi Edge device, live video stays in the store and only counts tied to zones and time windows reach the dashboard.
Read the map. Select a day, a week or a campaign period and the density appears as colour on the store plan. Two periods can be placed side by side to compare the effect of a layout change. The same data can also be broken down by time of day; in many stores, morning and evening density gather in different zones.
Outputs can be downloaded as CSV. Combined with till and stock data, they reveal zones where density and sales do not line up.
Which industries use it?
Frequently asked questions
- What is a store heat map and how does it work?
- A store heat map shows density on the sales floor as a colour layer. Anonymous person-minutes accumulated in the zones you draw in the dashboard are totalled and printed onto the store plan. Dark areas mark aisles that draw attention, light areas mark dead zones. No matching of individuals and no identification takes place.
- Does a store heat map need extra hardware?
- Not necessarily. The heat map is produced from your existing IP cameras, with no floor sensors, counter bars or extra cameras. Video can be processed on ALGI AI servers, or on an Algi Edge device on site if you want processing to stay on your premises. When the aisle layout changes, you redraw the zones in the dashboard.
- Are my existing IP cameras compatible?
- Standard IP cameras that provide an RTSP stream are compatible. For a heat map, coverage matters more than image quality: wide-angle cameras that see a zone from above give cleaner results. Blind spots remain empty on the map. We review your camera list and work out which zones are covered before installation.
- How long does installation take?
- A single store is set up in one day: camera streams are registered and zones are drawn. A meaningful map needs a few days of data, and the first readable output usually arrives within the first week. For multi-branch rollouts, the zone template from the first store is copied to the others.
- Is a store heat map compliant with GDPR and KVKK?
- The system does not perform face recognition, does not identify individuals and does not match visitors to one another. The only thing measured is anonymous density in a zone. With an on-site Algi Edge device, live video stays in the store and only zone and time-based counts leave the site; with server processing, video is processed on ALGI AI servers. Your existing camera notice obligations remain unchanged.
Related rules from the library
ALL →CROWD_DETECTION
Heat-Map Analysis
In-store density map — which areas attract interest, which are dead zones.
DURATION
Average Dwell Time
Visit duration reported by season, day and event breakdowns.
DURATION
Checkout-Queue Detection
Instant alert to open another till when queue length passes the threshold.
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