Pass-By Traffic Count: Draw the Two Lines That Build Your Funnel

A pass-by traffic count sounds like it needs a person with a clicker or an expensive sensor. It needs neither. On a video of your frontage, a pass-by count is just people crossing a line — a line you draw once on a still frame. Add a second line at your door, and those two lines produce your whole street-to-door funnel: who walked past, and who came in. This guide shows exactly where to place them so the count is clean.

If you have not filmed yet, start with how to capture footage with a phone. If you have your clip, read on.

Why a pass-by traffic count is just two lines

Everything CaptureRate does rests on a simple idea: a person "counts" when the point tracking them crosses a line you have defined. One line across the pavement captures pass-by traffic (walk-by traffic). One line at your entrance captures entries. The ratio between them is your capture rate.

That is the entire funnel:

• Line 1 — the pavement line: everyone walking past → passers-by.
• Optional window zone: people who slow or stop at your display → window stops (dwell).
• Line 2 — the door line: everyone entering → entries.

No second sensor, no second install. Two lines on one video do what a street sensor plus a door sensor do in hardware — which is exactly why you can skip the hardware.

Where to place the pavement line

The pavement line should sit where everyone passing has to cross it, and nowhere they would cross it for another reason.

• Span the full walking width. Draw it from the shop-side edge of the pavement to the kerb, so nobody passes "around" the end of the line.
• Put it square to the flow. People should cross the line roughly perpendicular, not skim along it. If your camera looks along the pavement, the line runs across the frame.
• Keep it clear of your door. If the pavement line sits right on your threshold, people entering trip both lines at once and the funnel blurs. Set it a metre or two to the side of the entrance.
• Avoid dead zones. Do not run the line through a bus shelter, planter or A-board where people are hidden — the count drops wherever the view is blocked.

Direction matters and is recorded for you. The line knows left-to-right from right-to-left, so you learn which way your street flows and at what hours — useful when you decide which side of the window to dress.

Key takeaways

• Two lines make a funnel: one across the pavement for pass-by traffic, one at the door for entries.
• Span the full walking width and keep lines square to the flow.
• Keep the pavement line clear of the doorway so entries are not double-counted.
• Each person is counted once per direction, so pacing and loitering do not inflate the number.

Where to place the door line

The door line is shorter and simpler, but two things make or break it:

• Cover the whole opening. If your entrance is wide or has double doors, the line must span all of it, or you will undercount entries and understate your capture rate.
• Set it at the threshold, not inside. Draw it where the pavement meets your door, so it catches the actual entry, not someone browsing the front table who never really came in.

If you have a second entrance, add a third line for it — the tool supports up to three lines, which covers almost every street-front layout. Corner units with two frontages are the usual reason to use all three.

What about people who stop but do not enter?

The most valuable people on your pavement are the ones who almost came in — they stopped at the window, then walked on. A dwell zone (a marked area in front of your glass) captures these window stops, turning your funnel from two stages into three: passed → stopped → entered. That middle number tells you whether your window is doing its job of stopping people, separately from whether your door is doing its job of pulling them in. It is the difference between "my display is invisible" and "my display stops people but does not close them."

Reading the count you just built

Once the lines are set, the software counts every crossing across your whole clip and rolls it up by hour. You do not tally anything by hand. What comes back is your Capture Rate Audit — hourly pass-by traffic, window stops, entries and capture rate — plus a 60-second annotated clip showing the lines and every counted crossing, so you can spot-check that the lines were placed well.

Want to see it on your own frontage? Get a $99 Capture Rate Audit, or check pricing for the full seven-day audit with weekday-versus-weekend breakdowns.

Frequently asked questions

What is a pass-by traffic count? A pass-by traffic count is the number of people who walk past your frontage over a period, measured by counting each person who crosses a line drawn across the pavement in your footage. Paired with an entry count, it gives your capture rate.

How many counting lines do I need? Two is enough for a capture rate: one across the pavement for pass-by traffic and one at your door for entries. You can add a third for a second entrance or to split the near and far side of a wide pavement.

Does the line count people twice if they walk back and forth? No. Each track is counted once per direction within a short window, so someone pacing outside your window is not double-counted. Direction is recorded too, so you see which way your traffic flows.