For decades, footfall has been one of retail’s most trusted numbers. It’s simple. It’s objective. It’s easy to explain in meetings. “How many people entered the store today?” That question feels like the beginning of understanding performance. And for a long time, it was the best proxy retailers had. But somewhere along the way, footfall quietly took on a role it was never designed for: explaining why a store performs the way it does. That’s where the trouble starts.

Every digital business runs on an operating system. A platform that connects data, logic, and action. For years, the physical store, one of retail’s biggest assets, had none. Decisions relied on gut feeling, spreadsheets, and scattered data. But that’s changing. A new layer is emerging: an Operating System for the Physical Store. A system that transforms camera feeds and behavioral signals into continuous insight, guiding how stores attract, serve, and flow. We call it Storal

Online retailers know their numbers by heart: conversion rate, time on page, cart abandonment. Ask a physical store manager for the same metrics, and you’ll often get a shrug. But that’s changing fast. Thanks to in-store intelligence, the physical store is finally catching up with the digital one.