MRI OnLocation Footfall Analytics

MRI OnLocation Footfall Analytics is the leading platform for monitoring visitor traffic across retail destinations, commercial spaces, and downtowns.

Reviewed by 7wData

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Publisher review

MRI OnLocation Footfall Analytics is the leading platform for monitoring visitor traffic across retail destinations, commercial spaces, and downtowns. Owned by MRI Software (which acquired Springboard Research in October 2022), the product has tracked footfall data since 2002 and now processes 70+ million pedestrian traffic counts weekly across 5,261 US locations and 35+ downtowns. The platform combines computer vision, AI-driven counting algorithms, and machine learning with existing camera networks to deliver real-time occupancy monitoring and historical trend analysis.

It serves retail property managers, commercial landlords, shopping mall operators, and downtown development organizations seeking data-driven insights into customer movement, demographics (age and gender), dwell times, and queue lengths. The core differentiator is MRI's proprietary benchmarking dataset—the largest in the UK—enabling location-level performance comparisons against regional, national, and destination-type averages. The system integrates with Google Play and iOS platforms for mobile access, delivers reports on weekly and monthly cycles, and supports API-based data feeds in Excel and CSV formats.

Pricing is subscription-based through the UK government's G-Cloud 14 framework and public sector channels, though enterprise pricing remains custom. MRI OnLocation is positioned as a cloud-native SaaS solution (hosted on AWS) targeting organizations that need forensic understanding of physical location performance rather than light-touch occupancy tracking—making it most relevant for retail chains, REITs, shopping centers, and urban planning agencies that treat footfall data as a critical operational lever.

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How it works

  1. Real-Time Occupancy Counting

    AI-powered computer vision converts existing camera feeds into accurate pedestrian counts, updated in real-time across locations with capacity alerts and mobile app monitoring.

  2. Benchmarking Against Market Data

    Compare single-location or portfolio performance against MRI's proprietary dataset of regional, national, and destination-type footfall averages via the MRI OnLocation Index.

  3. Demographics & Movement Analytics

    Extract age, gender, dwell time, and queue length data from video, enabling audience composition analysis and operational bottleneck identification.

  4. Historical Trend Analysis & Forecasting

    Access 20+ years of footfall records to establish baselines, detect seasonal patterns, and inform sales and staffing projections.

  5. API & Automated Reporting

    Receive weekly or monthly benchmarking reports via email or pull data directly through APIs in Excel/CSV for integration with BI systems and enterprise reporting workflows.

  6. Multi-Asset Portfolio Management

    Monitor footfall across retail chains, shopping malls, office buildings, and downtown districts from a unified dashboard for comparative performance analysis.

  7. Vacancy & Retail Health Monitoring

    Track independent retailer presence, empty units, and pre-opening construction through quarterly surveys assessing overall town center vitality.

Strengths and trade-offs

Strengths

  • Proprietary national benchmarking dataset built over 20+ years (since 2002) with weekly updates across 5,261+ US locations; no competitor publishes comparable breadth of location-level historical data.
  • Computer vision integrates with existing camera infrastructure (no new hardware required), reducing deployment friction and cost for large retail chains already operating surveillance.
  • Dedicated to footfall and retail analytics (not a feature bolt-on to property/lease management tools), with vertical expertise evident in customer testimonials and case studies from major retailers like Rushden Lakes and Hudson Yards.

Trade-offs

  • Pricing is opaque and custom-quote-only (no public per-location or usage-based tiers published); enterprise sales cycle may deter SMBs and independent retailers seeking transparent, scalable options.
  • Footfall algorithms depend on camera angle, lighting, and occlusion quality; accuracy remains unvalidated against third-party benchmarks in public literature, relying on vendor claims and customer testimonials.
  • Benchmarking data represents aggregated trends, not real-time competitive intelligence; competing location details remain anonymized by definition, limiting value for micro-market site selection and tenant mix optimization at the individual-competitor level.

Pricing context

MRI OnLocation Footfall Analytics operates on a custom enterprise subscription model with no publicly listed pricing tiers. The product is available through the UK government's G-Cloud 14 framework (indicating UK public sector eligibility), and pricing documents exist but remain access-restricted. Customer engagement typically begins with a sales consultation to define location count, benchmarking scope, and API/reporting frequency.

Subscription structure is annual, cloud-hosted on AWS, and includes support. No freemium, usage-based, or per-location metering is documented; enterprise customers typically negotiate portfolio-wide agreements.

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Sources

Reporting on this tool draws on these publicly available sources.

  1. www.mrisoftware.com — Core product features, real-time counting, benchmarking capabilities, and primary use cases
  2. www.linkedin.com — Brand transition from Springboard Research to MRI OnLocation, acquisition context
  3. www.mrisoftware.com — Acquisition announcement, company background, and product positioning
  4. www.mrisoftware.com — Feature details, mobile app functionality, benchmarking methodology, and quarterly vacancy surveys
  5. www.mrisoftware.com — Real-world case study demonstrating occupancy monitoring, demographics, and dashboard reporting in a major mixed-use venue
  6. www.mrisoftware.com — Benchmarking data structure, report formats (weekly/monthly), and API delivery options
  7. www.prnewswire.com — Company founding (Springboard 2002), acquisition timing (October 2022), and market positioning
  8. assets.applytosupply.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk — UK public sector availability through G-Cloud 14 framework, service definition