Video surveillance plays an important role in securing people and premises, and it has done that job well. Yet, with the market becoming increasingly commoditized, most players are looking for applications beyond traditional security. One area that can benefit from smart video is retail.
According to Samantha Hu, territory sales account manager for IP surveillance at ACTi, retailers face various challenges in addition to security, for example the need to understand customers – their age/gender and behavior, how often they visit, the average time they spend in the store, among others. This is where video combined with analytics and cloud processing can help.
“Traditional POS devices can’t give you this information, but with smart video this is possible,” Hu said.
Cameras together with people counting, for example, can help determine how many people actually come to the store. On the inside, video is deployed at key locations or by the elevators to find out how many people are visiting a certain area or a particular floor.
Analytics detecting visitors’ gender and age can also help the retailer determine which merchandises attracted which demographic groups, or whether demographic-specific campaigns – for example those targeting women in their 20s – were indeed effective (were female visitors mostly in their 20s or older/younger?).
More importantly, this can help retailers run target-specific video ads displayed on digital signage. For example upon a male passing by the signage would display ads on men’s shoes or sportswear, or perfume when a woman is lurking around.
Then, video can help estimate the total number of people in the premises, in compliance with laws or regulations limiting a certain amount of people at a given time. It would also help determine whether a particular campaign, for example an anniversary sale, was successful by letting the retailer know how many people actually showed up.
Since everything is online, all this information about customers in relation to the retail space can be displayed on the owner’s mobile app, allowing them to get insights anywhere on any device.
Hu shared many ACTi case studies in retail around the world. In Taiwan, ACTi solutions are found in Taipei 101, the Dream Mall, and a prestigious furniture store. “In one case, the retailer saw their revenue increase by 50 percent due to our solution,” she said.