Computer vision and IoT-powered shelf monitoring solution provides continuous, real-time shelf data to automate shelf condition measurement, resulting in improved product availability and store execution standards

Trax, a leading global provider of computer vision solutions and analytics for retail, has officially launched Retail Watch in the Americas. Retail Watch, a computer vision-powered store monitoring and intelligence solution, helps grocery retailers automate in-store data collection and optimize operations. This solution raises on-shelf availability and staff productivity resulting in incremental uplifts in revenue, as well as provides timely, accurate data for better supply chain replenishment, forecasting and picking for online orders.

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Retail Watch combines Trax’s proprietary computer vision and machine learning technology with its unique Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled shelf-edge and ceiling cameras and autonomous robots to provide retailers with ‘eyes in the store’ — automated, continuous visibility of every product, on every shelf, in every store. Armed with this stream of real-time shelf data, retail staff productivity is boosted immensely. Rather than spending time on manual, repetitive tasks, staff are alerted to replenish availability gaps, correct pricing errors and improve planogram compliance to promptly address what’s happening on the shelf.

At a time when ecommerce has grown exponentially, Retail Watch also supports online ordering options, like ‘click-and-collect’ or delivery, providing real-time product availability to online shoppers and allowing for faster fulfilment by store associates. The results drive sales, improve product availability and store execution standards, and elevate the consumer shopping experience.

After showcasing Retail Watch to the Americas at NRF 2020, two of the largest grocery retailers in Latin America will deploy Trax’s breakthrough shelf monitoring solution across the region. What’s more, Trax recently deployed Retail Watch with Auchan Retail in Portugal and formed an alliance with Deloitte Digital in Spain to make large-scale implementation and integration of Retail Watch available to Deloitte’s grocery retail customer base in Spain.

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Digital Retail Transformation Amidst a Pandemic

Newly exposed out-of-stocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to surge buying emptying aisles and more consumers turning to online ordering options, have already cost grocery retailers an estimated $76 billion in lost revenue. Implementing Retail Watch helps tackle these pain points, and the results to-date are significant. Within a few months of deploying the solution, one Trax customer has already experienced returns of improved shelf availability of up to 3 percent, decreased price anomalies of up to 75 percent, and improved workforce productivity equivalent to having an additional full-time employee in the store.

“With the pandemic showing no signs of abating, consumers are making fewer shopping trips and are less concerned about brand loyalty, focusing more on what is directly available to them when they are in the store. This means retailers literally cannot afford to have missing items or mistakes on the shelf,” said David Gottlieb, managing director, Americas at Trax. “In the past, retailers could look at previous data to drive demand forecasting and inform their supply chains. Now, retailers need immediate, granular, and actionable data, which is exactly what Retail Watch provides. These adjustments convert directly to sales growth and opportunities to improve the customer experience, both of which are essential, now more than ever.”

Retailers and consumer goods manufacturers around the world leverage Trax’s in-store execution, store monitoring and retail analytics solutions to better manage on-shelf availability and optimize merchandising. These solutions are powered by proprietary fine-grained image recognition and machine learning algorithms that turn photos of retail shelves into granular, actionable shelf and store-level insights.

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