Hammerson rolls out Crowd Checker feature for “nervous” shoppers

Hammerson has launched a Crowd Checker feature to make shoppers feel as comfortable as possible when visiting its indoor shopping destinations.

The new Crowd Checker feature uses artificial intelligence to track the exact number of people in stores in real-time, encouraging 'nervous' shoppers to feel safe whilst shopping at Hammerson destinations.

Crowd Checker “provides shoppers with live updates on how popular a centre is in real time, so that they know when to visit to beat the crowds”.

The shopping centre giant has partnered up with retail technology partner Red Ant to roll out its new feature on its destinations’ websites and help customers plan their physical shopping visits.

Many shoppers still remain reluctant to go into physical retail stores due to the fear of over crowding amid the Coronavirus pandemic.

The feature is currently available for Brent Cross, Cabot Circus and Westquay in the UK, and Les Terrasses du Port in Marseille, France. It will shortly be rolled out across the rest of Hammerson’s flagship destinations.

Head of Customer Experience at Hammerson, Kathryn Malloch said: “We know that some customers are still a little nervous about visiting their favourite shops, and want to beat the crowds. Not only does [Crowd Checker] enable shoppers to avoid the queues, it also helps us to manage footfall, and to ensure our destinations are safe places to visit.”

It will then show four options such as “Now is a great time to visit the centre”, along with “Now is a popular time to visit the centre”, “The centre is really popular right now. Allow extra time”, and “Centre closed. Plan when it’s best to visit”.