Executive summary
Furniture Mart USA, a multi-location furniture retailer operating across the Upper Midwest, needed reliable in-store traffic data to support multimillion-dollar sales and marketing decisions. Inconsistent data from previous people counting systems limited confidence in key performance indicators. SMS Storetraffic implemented a retail traffic intelligence solution across approximately 40 stores, later scaling to 50+ locations. As a result, the company achieved consistent, trustworthy traffic data used to guide strategic planning and daily operations across its network.
Key results
- Deployed across 50+ retail locations, expanding from an initial ~40-store rollout
- Improved data consistency year-over-year, enabling reliable KPI tracking
- Increased confidence in traffic-based decision-making for multimillion-dollar marketing spend
- Standardized traffic measurement across a five-state region, supporting scalable operations
Customer profile
Furniture Mart USA is a large independent furniture retailer founded in 1976 and headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. At the time of deployment, the company operated approximately 40 stores across five U.S. states and has since expanded to more than 50 locations. The business relies on store traffic data to inform sales, staffing, and marketing strategies.
What challenge did the customer face?
Furniture Mart USA needed accurate and consistent store traffic data to support high-value decisions across sales and marketing.
The company’s leadership ties performance directly to key metrics such as the number of visitors entering stores. With multimillion-dollar budgets at stake, even small inaccuracies in traffic data could impact staffing levels, campaign performance analysis, and conversion rate calculations.
Why was the previous method insufficient?
Previous people counting systems produced inconsistent and unreliable data, limiting trust in reported KPIs.
Although the company had used traffic counting technology for years, fluctuations in data quality made it difficult to compare performance over time. This inconsistency reduced the usefulness of traffic metrics in planning and weakened confidence in decisions tied to those numbers.
What did SMS Storetraffic implement?
SMS Storetraffic implemented a retail traffic intelligence solution designed to deliver consistent, accurate in-store visitor data across all locations.
The solution was initially deployed in approximately 40 stores and later expanded to cover the company’s full network of 50+ locations. The focus was on standardizing how traffic data is collected and reported, ensuring comparability across stores and over time.
How was the rollout handled?
The rollout combined phased deployment with close collaboration between SMS Storetraffic and the retailer’s internal teams.
Implementation began with a large multi-store deployment and scaled as the retailer expanded. Throughout the process, SMS Storetraffic worked directly with the customer to align the system with operational requirements and ensure consistency across locations.
What changed after deployment?
After deployment, Furniture Mart USA was able to rely on consistent, accurate traffic data for both strategic and operational decisions.
The improved data reliability allowed the team to:
- Track year-over-year performance with confidence
- Align staffing levels more closely with actual store traffic
- Evaluate marketing effectiveness based on dependable visitor counts
- Use traffic metrics as a stable foundation for KPI reporting
As a result, traffic data became a trusted input for both daily operations and long-term planning.
What can similar retailers learn from this?
Reliable traffic data is foundational for scaling retail operations and making high-stakes decisions.
Retailers operating multiple locations often outgrow inconsistent or fragmented counting systems. Standardizing traffic measurement across all stores enables better comparison, stronger KPI tracking, and more confident investment decisions—especially when tied to marketing spend and labor planning.
Why this matters for similar retailers
For multi-location retailers, inaccurate traffic data can undermine every downstream metric—from conversion rates to staffing efficiency. This case shows that investing in consistent, network-wide traffic intelligence can turn store visits into a dependable performance metric, not just an estimate.
