Foot traffic data has become one of the more widely adopted alternative datasets in institutional investing. The idea is straightforward: if you can see how many people are visiting a store, restaurant, or property before a company reports, you have a behavioral lead on the financials. In practice, the signal is real but requires context to be useful.
This post covers how foot traffic data works, where it adds value, and how to avoid the common pitfalls when using it in investment research.
What foot traffic data actually measures
Foot traffic datasets are typically built from mobile device l