Computer Vision in Retail for Future Stores

Optimized store operations is a key to success in Retail. Retailers are always on the lookout of technologies that can help automate several in-store operations such as people-counting and estimated wait times of checkout lanes, availability of counter staff, aisle occupancy trends and popularity, among many others.

In the current pandemic, implementing safety and social distancing protocols to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 constitute an additional part of the day-to-day operations. This includes setting occupancy limits within the stores, broadcasting crowding information on screens, ensuring face-masks for employees & counter staff, etc.

Hundreds of solutions are available in market and retailers are spoilt for choices. However, while making a decision, one should look for the following decisional criteria:

Deployment Time and Costs - Most solutions available in the market involve hardware sensors that require installation at the stores and integration with the local systems. The presence of hardware makes it both costly and time-consuming to deploy.

Ease of Use - With a myriad of disparate systems already existing in retail, staff is usually apprehensive of adopting new technologies for a simple reason that they need to learn a new technology and its interface and usage from scratch.

Scalability - Most of the hardware based systems have limitations in terms of applications and scalability. For instance, a people counting sensor for a given zone can be utilized only for people counting purposes. Further, expanding the solution requires deploying new hardware, purchasing additional infrastructure like local processing power / GPU etc., making scalability a challenge.

If any or all of the above challenges affect your business, then you should consider video analytics software based solutions that operates on artificial intelligence and addresses each of the above challenges effectively.

Here's an overview of how Video Analytics Software based solutions are the best choice for the future retail stores:

• Uses computer vision and artificial intelligence by leveraging existing CCTV cameras in the store premises. This eliminates the need for initial capex into hardware installation and significantly reduces the time of deployment.
• Most modern AI platforms run on cloud based systems. Benefits of cloud based systems are many, including easy scalability.
• Artificial intelligence allows normal cameras to convert everything into data. Be it people, objects, or situations - the same camera becomes smart enough to detect everything instead of deploying separate sensors for each purpose.
• Cloud based system also eliminates the need to procure additional processing power, resulting in further cost savings and quick scalability.

To conclude, savvy retailers must look closely at the benefits and drawbacks of different technologies available for retail and match it with their goals and needs before deciding to invest into one.

About Zensors:

Zensors is a flexible software-defined sensing platform that leverages your existing camera infrastructure to unlock data to enable real-time operations and enhance customer experience.

Zensors can automate a lot of in-store operations such as people counting and estimated wait times of checkout lanes, availability of counter staff, aisle occupancy trends, parking, shopping cart counting, and much more.

Zensors Visual Sensing AI platform automates critical Covid compliance operations in retail and grocery chains, saving costs for additional resource deployment.

Zensors AI platform:-

• Uses existing cameras without any additional hardware investment
• Can be deployed remotely and can be operational in no time even for hundreds of stores

Contact Rishi Nair [[email protected]] to know more.