In-Store Advertising in the Age of the Data-Consciousness
The monetization of customer data is a significant trend in retail, but today’s shoppers are as tech-savvy as they are sensible and acutely aware of how their personal data is used. This poses a unique set of challenges and opportunities for retailers, as customers expect exceptional shopping experiences while remaining vigilant about their privacy.
In the rapidly evolving digital retail landscape, privacy-first artificial intelligence (AI) is essential in addressing consumer demands and generating transformation within the industry. To lead this innovation and stay ahead of competitors, businesses need to adopt technologies that prioritize customer privacy while exploring new avenues for revenue generation.
Harnessing Vision AI for Enhanced Customer Insights and Revenue Opportunities
While online campaigns and incentives have proven effective in driving customers to physical stores, settling for point-of-sale data alone limits the visibility into customers' shopping behavior and buying considerations. The physical presence of shoppers in stores presents a unique opportunity to use image data and gain deeper insights that improve experiences and boost revenue. By analyzing shopper movements, interactions with promotional areas and product engagement, retailers can better understand buyer considerations and unlock a compelling revenue stream for their brands and suppliers.
However, creating valuable experiences, running effective advertising and respecting customer concerns are a delicate balance, but one of paramount importance. Sensing-based AI, particularly vision AI, uses sophisticated AI models and training to name specific objects and scenarios. That may include data about shopper movements, interactions with promotional areas and product interactions.
Leveraging Data for Mutual Benefits
Equipped with intelligent vision sensors, edge devices alike to cameras use these sensing technologies and rely on AI models running behind the lens of the device to effectively translate its field of view into data. This data can be used for various purposes, as mentioned, and to enhance the in-store experience. In fact, retailers such as 7-Eleven in Japan have already started to embrace this sensing and vision AI, gaining key insights on its customers, achieving localization at scale, and benefiting from reduced cloud and infrastructure costs.
In its case, 7-Eleven installed discreet edge AI devices that could determine customer interaction levels with digital signage advertisements by analyzing the time spent gazing at the promotional displays.
Likewise, the anonymized metadata from intelligent vision sensors also provides a compelling revenue stream for retailers and their brands. It’s a situation that benefits all parties. Retailers can earn money from their vision AI data by selling insights to brands about customer engagement, dwell time, and interactions with product packaging. They can also charge extra for promotions in areas where customers interact more and on end caps. Brands can make informed marketing decisions based on proven, tangible store data to determine strategies like product placement, messaging, pricing, packaging and other key elements. Meanwhile, customers receive promotions and in-store experiences that are data-backed to be of interest to them.
By embracing vision AI technology at the edge-most-device, retailers can respect customer privacy with anonymized customer metadata while unlocking new revenue streams from outside brands and suppliers. The ability to analyze image data while preserving privacy sets them apart from the competition by offering value to customers, brands and localized store sales alike.
The retail industry has the power to lead the way in privacy-conscious experiences for customers. Now it’s possible with privacy-conscious technologies and insights generated by vision AI.
Eita Yanagisawa is senior general manager of the Systems Solutions Business Division at Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation (SSS), where he oversees semiconductor business and AITRIOS™, Sony’s edge and vision AI sensing platform for industries.
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