Not long after coronavirus began to shut down many of the stores, events and venues that we are privileged to measure, Digital Mortar began to consider an appropriate response.

Keeping our ear to the ground of both science and retail, two things became clear…

1 –COVID-19 is going to impact our lives for a prolonged period, but to differing degrees depending on location and time

2 — To enforce physical distancing guidelines retailers must (probably regularly) change their definition of ‘capacity’

Occupancy Alert App for Android and iOS was born out of those considerations. Its purpose is to help the retail community reopen stores safely with minimal operational overhead from occupancy management.  The app provides real-time store occupancy information and triggers alerts (to individuals or groups based on their identified role).  To get the full feature rundown, visit digitalmortar.com/occupancy-alert.

The app is designed for enterprises with large store fleets, that make up or core clients, but it’s also perfectly appropriate if you have a single location.

We made the app because Digital Mortar is largely comprised of engineers, who have deep knowledge of people counting and behavioral analytics…and suddenly had some spare cycles.  It is our way of helping through the vehicle of code.

We did not make the app to get rich.  Digital Mortar is offering it for a price between free and at cost.

Here’s how you can start using Occupancy Alert:

Existing DM Clients With Our Door Counting Hardware

Digital Mortar clients with our door counting hardware have free, immediate access to the app.  Just ask your account manager and we’ll get you set-up.

Retailers With Existing Door Counting Hardware 

If you have door counting hardware in-place that supports real time, accurately records in/out and had an API, we’ll integrate.  We’ve already worked with many systems (our typical DM1 deployments include a door counting integration) and we’ll quickly onboard yours if necessary.  We’ll charge for any custom engineering time and whatever ongoing cloud resources your deployment will consume – but that’s it.  And we’ll do our best not to turn anyone with a need away.

Retailers In Need of (Modern) Door Counting Hardware

If you do not have door counting hardware installed or you have legacy hardware that doesn’t meet the app’s minimum requirements (real-time, accurate in/out and has an API), we’ll supply the best equipment for the job — 3D people counting camera sensors from our hardware partners  – Xovis or Hella.  Sensors will be sold to you at our cost, including passing along our volume discounts.  We’ll work with your installation partner, providing documentation and live support to facilitate getting the hardware in place.  Or can use our own installation partners and pass through those costs.  Ongoing charges for the app will only be reflective of the cloud resources your deployment consumes.

Retailers Lacking Hardware Who Need It Immediately

Occupancy Alert has a manual mode where associates positioned at the entrance(s) can manually record entries/exits.  All features, including occupancy tracking and alert push notifications, remain intact at this mode.

Hospitality, Venues & Large Stores Who Need Zone Based Occupancy

For hospitality, event venues and larger stores that want to measure occupancy by zone/area/room/etc. – the app incorporates full featured zone-based occupancy thresholds and alerting. Zone occupancy deployments have some added complexity and considerations so it’s best to reach out (see below) to start a dialogue if you want to explore this configuration.

If you have questions or would like to see a demo, you can fill out our Request a Demo form or email us at info@digitalmortar.com