GO FORTH Stirling has launched a data analysis and intelligence gathering scheme which will help the city’s businesses plan for the future.
The Business Improvement District (BID) team secured £18K of grant funding towards a £50K initiative to install footfall counters in key city streets.
The move allows Go Forth to monitor traffic figures and pedestrian footfall providing data on when the city is at its busiest and what kind of events and projects are bringing visitors into Stirling.
Such insight is vital in understanding trends and changes impacting the city centre as businesses recover from two difficult years of trading.
Danielle McRorie-Smith, Project Director at Go Forth Stirling, said: “We want to collect data which we can analyse and share with businesses and use to encourage inward investment for Stirling.
“The footfall counters enable us to find out at what times and what days the city is busy, where most people are going and if there are specific events or projects which are drawing visitors in.
“Business intelligence, insights and monitoring are vital tools when planning for the future and will give us a lot more information to work with. This will be invaluable for the businesses we represent.
“Monitoring the performance of Stirling city centre has never been so important as we recover from pandemic restrictions.”
The counters provide analytics which the BID, Stirling Council, future investors and other organisations can use to measure the performance of projects and events.
Go Forth secured a £18K grant from the Love Local Fund II towards the counting devices which have been installed in various locations including Barnton Street, Friars Street, King Street, Port Street and Goosecroft Road.
They offer 24/7 footfall monitoring of both pedestrian and vehicular traffic and will provide a wealth of data including seasonal averages, variations, daily and monthly footfall reporting.
They also classify the types of vehicles which are using the city’s streets at various times of the day.
Ms McRorie-Smith added: “The information will allow comparisons to be made to other towns and cities throughout the country and provide figures we can use to source innovative, future funding opportunities.
“The intelligence will also enable businesses to identify key patterns and trends which could inform and influence their own marketing efforts to increase trade and maximise their profits.
“In addition, it will allow ourselves and our businesses to measure the impact of events and discover any notable changes, trends and habits.
“Stirling needs these statistics for both the current and future economic landscape, potential investment and funding opportunities and so we’re delighted to be able to move forward with this project thanks to the Love Local funding.”
The Scotland Loves Local Fund II is a multi-year fund with awards totalling up to £2million provided by the Scottish Government to support a range of towns and community/neighbourhood partnerships to deliver projects.
The Fund is administered by Scotland’s Towns Partnership with the key aim of increasing footfall and activity in towns and cities.
Go Forth Stirling BID was set up in 2017 and currently represents more than 600 local businesses with a key objective of delivering projects and services which improve Stirling’s trading environment to benefit businesses, shoppers and visitors.
In July this year, the BID decisively won a re-ballot for a second five-year term which began on September 1.
For more details visit www.goforthstirling.co.uk
