Footfall trackers are set to be installed in eight locations in the Isle of Man.

The devices will be used to monitor footfall and help analyse shoppers’ habits.

The move is just one of a raft of new measures being brought-in by the Isle of Man Government as part of a 10 year-strategy aimed at boosting trade in the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors.

The scheme - currently in the draft stages and called the ‘Local Economy Strategy’ - is the brainchild of Business Isle of Man, an executive agency within the Department for Enterprise, who outlined the initiative at a press event on Tuesday.

Although vague in detail, the plan will broadly focus on ‘three key policy pillars’, namely ‘infrastructure and place management’, ‘enterprise and consumer experience’ and ‘local empowerment and partnerships.’ Support for initiatives and events that drive people to the island’s high streets has also been pledged as part of the scheme.

The strategy will also ‘support collaboration’ to fill what the government deems to be under-used commercial spaces in town centres.

One of the ways it plans to do this is to help ‘make upper floors [of commercial properties] more usable and where appropriate convert [them] to residential accommodation’.

An unspecified amount of funding - called a ‘Local Economy Fund’ - will be made available as part of the scheme.

Trade groups and local authorities will then be able to apply for money from this fund to help get economy boosting initiatives off the ground.

As part of the strategy, audits have already been carried out in Douglas and seven other towns across the island.

Business Isle of Man now plan on introducing trackers to analyse footfall in these areas to help businesses and local authorities better understand the shopping and spending habits of residents and visitors.

Government say that the footfall trackers will not capture any personal data but will only monitor activity in the areas they are installed.

A significant part of the scheme aims to make the process of hosting events on the island easier while also supporting the development of new attractions in town centres.

During the briefing on Tuesday, government representatives used the events taking place in locations such as North Quay and Castletown Square throughout summer as examples of how it can work with local authorities to boost trade.

Tim Cowsill, chief executive officer of Business Isle of Man, said: ‘When you look at events and what Castletown have done, they can’t put ratepayers money into events fully.

‘They’re restricted on what they can put into there.

‘Funding has been a big position, they’ve [authorities] got bold ideas and they want to work with their local area but they are restricted in terms of the ecosystem that comes away with that.

‘So things like the Domestic Event Fund are great to stimulate and start [an event] but there’s no continuation.

‘If somebody wants to do something over a three year period, there's no way of support, so this strategy really gives those pillars to be able to do that.’

Speaking more broadly about how the draft Local Economy Strategy will help local Commissioners and towns, Tim continued: ‘Port Erin is so well organised, the commissioners down there and the town group are linked in and when they get cruise passengers down there, they maximise the spend.

‘We've seen these little pockets of really great sort of dynamism and ideas and events, but now they want to go further.

‘When we've gone out to do this they’ve said we're just restricted because we can't, we can't push this as much as we want to. They have got great ideas.

‘And when we look at the local economy fund that will be a key place for them to build those positions to us.

‘The strategy doesn't call out to say that you need a [physical building] on Strand Street to sort it out, or whatever, but what it does is it enables businesses and town groups to come together and go, actually, we've got a proposition, and we'd like to bring that forward.’ Tim Johnston, Minister for Enterprise, added: ‘I acknowledge that our local economy has faced challenges in recent years.

‘This strategy provides us with a robust foundation and direction to ensure a secure, vibrant, and sustainable future for these sectors, addressing current issues while laying the groundwork for long-term success. ‘The strategy has been published in draft form whilst further consultation is undertaken over the summer, to facilitate the development of a detailed implementation plan to be published in autumn.

Business Isle of Man say its gathering feedback on the draft strategy through an online survey and a series of direct outreach sessions scheduled across the island.

You can find out more about the strategy and see the feedback page HERE.