Dwell time is the time a visitor spends inside a store or a defined zone. An increase alone does not establish greater interest or more purchases. Define the measurement boundary and comparison conditions so you can investigate where visitors browse or wait.
Separate store and zone dwell
Time from entry to exit is different from time near a particular display. Whether re-entry counts as one visit, and how a brief exit and return to a zone are handled, also affects the comparison. Keep the floor plan and counting rules with the report.
Match hours, weekdays and operating conditions when comparing averages. If the zone size or observation coverage changes, do not assume the new value is directly comparable with the old one.
Investigate why the stay changed
A customer may stay to compare products, wait for service or look for directions. A shorter stay may mean finding the right product quickly or abandoning exploration. Each interpretation needs further evidence.
If average dwell increases, compare visitor counts, queue observations and staffing changes in the same hours. This narrows the questions to investigate. It does not reveal a customer's intention from video alone.
Heatmaps and attention provide different clues
A heatmap compares activity under its configured metric. Check what darker colors mean before interpreting them. A frequently visited area is not necessarily the area where people stay longest.
Read attention and product-contact indicators separately from dwell. Comparing zone visits, time spent and observed responses can identify where to look next. The combination does not itself prove purchase or preference.
Put distributions and floor records beside the average
Check whether a few long stays raised the average or many visits changed together. A distribution alone cannot automatically distinguish interest from waiting. Compare it with records of queues, changed signage or equipment conditions from the same period.
Use visitor analysis to align hours and traffic volume, and path analysis to examine changes in movement between zones.
Make a focused change and measure again
Choose one zone and one question. After moving a sign, check repeated movement and queues as well as dwell. Record promotions, stock and opening-hour changes, then compare similar conditions.
Do not apply a universal formula that turns extra dwell into a fixed percentage of additional sales. Check purchases by separating payment records from observed indicators. See saai insight for spatial and period-based comparison capabilities.
