Retail is Facing a Real Revolution: ShelfWise Automates Planogram Audits in Stores Using Image Recognition

KRAKOW, Poland, September 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

A lot is said about Artificial Intelligence and the fact that it will take over most aspects of work in the future. However, that's not the point. The goal here is to direct human action towards things that are really important - other humans.

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Technology nowadays is present in almost every aspect of people's lives. It is able to change habits, sometimes even without people realizing it. The world of retail is an excellent example. Mobile payments, online grocery shopping and even fully autonomous shops are now a reality. There are more and more factors that make purchasing easier for consumers. At the same time, the idea of "stimulating" the shopper to make better purchasing decisions is being intensified

It is common that right presentation of a product can really make a difference. That's why most consumers choose nicely packed chocolate boxes over normal bars and are more likely to reach for recognizable brands over lesser known ones. The biggest brands know it and invest millions on marketing, advertising, packaging as well as the appropriate display of products in the store. This is done to primarily grab shoppers' attention and then help shoppers retain the offer in their memory.

Due to tough competition in the market, an interesting product layout is no longer enough. Availability at customer's fingertips is the key, but maintaining a good place on the shelves is a difficult task even for the largest FMCG producers. Store chains are also taking a significant part in it, acting as a kind of intermediary between customer and the brand. Shoppers constantly interact with the assortment and that's why it can deviate completely from the desired planogram within a few moments. Sales Representatives are supposed to take care of display and good visibility of the product, but managing various categories across numerous alleys in the store means a visit in the point of sales can go on forever.

Thanks to a significant step forward in machine learning, it is now possible to autonomously watch over store shelves. ShelfWise is based on computer vision technology that identifies all the objects appearing in the image. Advanced algorithms are trained in real life photos from the stores to capture every single SKU. The fact that it uses actual shelf data makes the solution unique, because it eliminates any human errors and makes the audit last a fraction of the time taken earlier.

What does it change? Instead of manually checking products list or gathering data about the shop display for days, everything is available right after taking the photo of the shelves in the store. There is also another way - using cameras focused on shelves that monitor shop displays without human supervision, and alerts when necessary.

Why is it important? Time equals money. If the same work can be done in a fraction of the time and with better results - it is a win-win situation. Therefore more tasks can be completed, while, at the same time, maintaining the high quality.

The space on shelves is valuable. In the world of big data, driven by the information, knowledge about placement of each product on the shelves provides a real competitive advantage. That's why ShelfWise is far more complex. It does not only detect every single product on the shelf but also compares the actual state of the display with planograms. Information about the best-shelf, shelf share and out-of-stock items is delivered in real-time so that any opportunity to sell is not missed out

See how Artificial Intelligence changes the world of retail on www.shelfwise.ai

Media Contact: 

Konrad Wróbel
konrad@shelfwise.ai