frequentation

Frequentation is a noun that refers to the act of visiting a place regularly or the pattern and level of such visits. In English usage, the term is relatively uncommon and tends to appear in sociological, marketing, or urban-planning contexts. It can describe both an individual’s habit of going to a location—such as a café, library, or park—and the overall visitation patterns of a site’s population.

Etymologically, frequentation derives from the French fréquentation, from fréquenter “to frequent,” which means to visit often or to be a regular patron. In English, the word is mostly found in specialized writing, with more common equivalents such as attendance, visitation, or patronage used in everyday language.

Measuring frequentation involves metrics such as visit frequency (visits per day, week, or month), dwell time, and total footfall. Data sources include surveys, transaction or access records, and sensors that count entries or measure time spent at a location. Applications span hospitality and retail analytics, urban planning, and anthropology, helping assess a venue’s popularity, capacity needs, or social usage of public spaces.

In usage, frequentation is distinct from attendance or patronage, though related. It emphasizes recurring presence and the cadence of visits rather than a single event or purchase. In many contexts, researchers prefer terms like visitation rates, foot traffic, or customer frequency to convey similar ideas.

See also: patronage, foot traffic, visitation, attendance, user frequency.