Video analytics are an optimal solution for luxury retailers. Not only does it enable them to leverage existing resources to gain operational intelligence, it also empowers them with the data to personalize and optimize the in-store experience.
Video analytics are an optimal solution for luxury retailers. Not only does it enable them to leverage existing resources to gain operational intelligence, it also empowers them with the data to personalize and optimize the in-store experience. This helps to cement brand loyalty, increase engagement and ultimately drive sales.
“Whether customers are window shopping, walking through the store, interacting with products or dwelling at certain displays, video analytic data helps the retailer understand visitor behavior and tailor the experience to meet consumer demands and expectations: from understanding when to mobilize sales associates to engage customers, to how to update the store layout for optimal navigation, video business intelligence empowers retailers to cater to luxury shoppers based on qualitative, actionable data insight,” said Stephanie Weagle, CMO of
BriefCam.
While in-store video surveillance still has security monitoring functions in luxury retail, now more than ever it has become an important source of data. This is due to advances in analytics, which have retailers seeking new and innovative ways to collect and utilize data, while also taking advantage of existing resources such as video.
Image source: Briefcam
“Many retail businesses rely on video surveillance for security monitoring; however, video analytics solutions are
enabling retailers to harness video for more, such as optimizing operations and performance,” Weagle said.
In order to increase video-content-analytics coverage to optimize operations, some retailers are expanding their video surveillance systems.
“By measuring traffic hotspots, store navigation patterns, dwell time and product display activity, the retailer can harness video intelligence to uncover trends; A/B test advertisements, layouts and displays and increase security and efficiency throughout its stores,” Weagle explained.
Furthermore, the demographic and activity data drawn from video analytics helps retailers make intelligent merchandising, staffing and inventory decisions to optimize sales at each store.
Video analytics solutions are also enabling retailers to integrate data from sources such as point-of-sale (POS) devices in order to achieve more comprehensive analytics.
“Retailers might, for example, draw conclusions about staff effectiveness by evaluating information about store entries and time spent in store, staff positioning throughout the store and final sales data,” Weagle said.
“The ability to analyze and visualize traffic and shopping data into dashboards and heat maps makes it easy for retailers to identify inefficiencies, test solutions to problems and achieve data-driven optimization in store.”
This data can provide important insights into questions such as: Are shoppers dwelling next to a certain display, removing items but not purchasing? Are certain areas of the store underutilized or infrequently visited? The ability to recognize and identify objects in video was also instrumental for employee oversight, Weagle added. “Rules can be configured to trigger calls to action for certain employee activities. For instance, by adding images of employees and using face recognition capabilities, the retailer can set alerts for when employees enter the stock room or to mobilize employees to the checkout when crowds start forming by the cashier.”