What does dwell time actually tell you?
Dwell time tells you how long a shopper had the opportunity to be exposed to something, measured as the time spent within view of an advertising display 1. In store, dwell time is acquired at the screen or shelf level, showing how long a potential watcher had a chance to see an ad 1. It is a measure of opportunity to engage rather than proof of viewing; attention time is the separate metric that indicates how long a customer actually watched an ad 1.
What dwell time is used for
- Dwell time feeds ad exposure calculations: with an 8 second ad slot and a screen dwell time of 24 seconds, a probabilistic calculation yields 3.88 ads viewed 1.
- Sensors can detect audience presence by time of day or day of week and the varying dwell times behind those shopping patterns, which supports different content strategies 1.
- Dwell time sits alongside interaction rates with touchscreens, QR code scans and responses to audio messages as a measure of how deeply consumers engage with content 1.
- Dwell time can be calculated and compared against similar products to understand in-store performance 2.
- Flow in store and dwell time around certain products can be analysed and sold back to CPGs for insight on product positioning and brand perspectives in store 2.
Reading the number honestly
For transparency, retailers should provide aggregate or average dwell time together with a distance matrix of viewability by zones 1. Dwell time also carries a customer experience reading, where "stay" drives longer dwell times, greater satisfaction and stronger advocacy over time 2. Detection of unique mobile devices adds repeat visit and engagement depth context to dwell time 1.