Summary
What are heatmaps?
In modern retail, every square meter counts. Yet most stores still rely on assumptions to design layouts, place signage, or optimise staff.
Merlin Cloud’s Heatmaps solution changes that - giving you a live, visual understanding of how shoppers move, pause, and engage inside your space.
Modern Retail
AI supported people counting
Backed by deep-learning cameras and real-time analytics, it transforms your store into a responsive, data-powered environment.
Whether you’re looking to improve product placement, reduce blind spots, or improve shopper experience, Heatmaps give you the insights you need - clearly, instantly, and at scale.
Smart View
Visualise foot traffic in real time
Footfall numbers are useful - but they don’t tell the full story. Heatmaps show you where shoppers actually go once they walk in. By tracking movement patterns and dwell times, you can identify high-traffic zones, ignored areas, and bottlenecks that hurt flow and conversion.
Data Insights
This kind of real-time retail data helps answer questions like:
Which displays are drawing attention?
Are shoppers spending time in the areas you expect?
Where are you losing potential sales?
Optimisation
Turn movement into strategy
If a featured product isn’t converting, you’ll know whether the problem is poor visibility or lack of foot traffic. If certain areas consistently underperform, you can test new layouts - and measure the results instantly.
The platform doesn't just show you what happened. It helps you understand why - and what to do next.
Platform
Built for smart retail environments
Heatmaps are fully integrated into the Merlin Cloud platform. That means no standalone systems, no complex integrations, and no waiting on monthly reports. Data from cloud-based cameras is processed securely and anonymously, then surfaced in your dashboard alongside other key metrics like occupancy measurement, POS analytics, and shopper engagement.
Frequently asked questions
We have a friendly team of account managers who would love to answer any questions you have along with a complete knowledge base.
What are heatmaps in retail analytics?
Heatmaps visually represent where shoppers move and dwell inside your store, using data from integrated cameras and AI tracking to highlight high- and low-traffic areas.
How do heatmaps help improve store layout?
By showing where customers naturally go - or don’t - heatmaps help optimise product placement, signage, and aisle flow for better store performance and higher conversions.
Are heatmaps in Merlin Cloud real time?
Yes, all heatmaps are generated in real time from deep-learning devices, giving you up-to-the-minute visibility into shopper behavior.
Can I use heatmaps across multiple stores?
Absolutely. The solution supports multi-location rollouts with side-by-side comparisons, perfect for mixed use retail or international campaigns.
Do heatmaps track individual customers?
No. All tracking is anonymous and GDPR-compliant, using AI cameras to analyde patterns - not personal identities.
How do heatmaps support merchandising decisions?
By revealing dwell times and engagement zones, heatmaps show which products get noticed, helping optimise visual merchandising and promotional placement.
What kind of hardware is needed?
You can use Merlin Cloud’s cloud-based cameras or bring your own hardware, as long as it meets our integration standards.
Will heatmaps help with staffing decisions?
Yes. Heatmaps show traffic trends by time of day and area, helping optimize staff scheduling based on real shopper demand.
Is the Heatmaps solution part of a bigger platform?
Yes. Heatmaps are just one feature within the full Merlin Cloud retail analytics platform, which includes tools for occupancy counting, people tracking, campaign management, and more.
