Blinded by technology
May 5th, 2010
There are lies, damned lies, and automated sensor readings:
A RECORDED downturn in [Adelaide's] Central Market shoppers that had been attributed to the global financial crisis has now been blamed on a faulty doorway sensor system.
The council and traders have been in a panic over the past year over a sharp downturn in visitor figures and fine-tuned advertising campaigns to attract shoppers.
A council report obtained by The Advertiser has found faulty sensors caused the dramatic drop in recorded visitors and ACC has now been forced to review at least a year of data.
[...]
The council's best estimate is that the drop in actual visitor numbers over the past year is less than 1 per cent, compared with about 10 per cent previously believed. [...]
[Via RISKS Digest]
May 6th, 2010 at 12:54
Ha! We actually visited those markets in October on our trip to the Outback. They certainly looked busy when we were there. (Great markets. Rodd started wondering whether there were any I.T. job openings in Adelaide; they were that good.)