Surveillance in retail has a primary role in preventing theft and ensuring safety among staff and customers. However, as retailers make the switch from analog to IP camera systems, a multitude of new features are at their fingertips and can help provide advanced business insight.
While retail analytics are available and being used in some stores already, the potential for improving these technologies promises benefits for both the retail and security industry. Network cameras are being manufactured with intelligent analytics and video management systems can take these analytics further.
Things like hotspot detection and facial recognition give retailers data about the age range and in-store behavior of their customers. This information can help to improve the store layout and target promotions to maximize sales.
The solutions are ready to be applied, but there is hesitation for rollout. Marketing, IT, and security will need to understand how these technologies will benefit them before they decide to invest.
Because the systems are fairly scalable, retail analytics can appeal to various types of businesses. Companies can take a “build your own” approach by investing in the individual components and evaluate its value over time. From there, they can decide to potentially build out their system. For example, simply monitoring foot traffic can produce great benefits. Retailers can tailor events, promotions and new product displays to high traffic periods. This can also help with staffing, allowing more workers on the floor at busier times, and potentially improving customer service.
This can assist small business, as budgets may not allow for large scale retail analytics systems. And larger retailers can build from basic systems, adding any advanced features as they see fit. Things like heat mapping and inventory alerts enable managers to understand which areas attract customers for longer periods of time as well as how often products need to be restocked.
The most important detail is to ensure that all components can work together seamlessly. Manufacturers realize this and are working across industries to ensure compatibility. For example, Canon and NETAVIS have partnered to provide comprehensive and compatible surveillance cameras and video management software.
Since online stores have somewhat of an upper hand when it comes to customer data, retail analytics play an important role in keeping brick and mortar stores alive. In your opinion, how do you think retail analytics will help the customer experience? If you own a business, have you considered employing retail analytics? Share your thoughts with us on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and Pinterest. You can find us on Vine, too!
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