Retail Benefits for Video Analytics: Product Placement Planning

If you run a retail business, you know the importance of proper product placement. It can make or break a business and solidify a business relationship with product brands that want to see big sales from the retailers they sell through. How can video analytics help your retail business to thrive?

Heat Maps Reveal High Traffic Areas

A heat map can be your store’s best friend when it comes to placing the right products in front of customers. The way it works is that the system identifies the way people move through your store using an imaginary grid. High traffic areas are mapped out in red, with slightly less traveled areas being orange, and yellow. Low traffic areas of the store are highlighted in green or blue. How does the map help you plan your product placement?

Improve Your Store’s Floor Plan

There are several factors that come into play when some parts of a store are better traveled.

• Popular Products – A popular item may draw more attention to a specific part of the store since many shoppers may be looking for that item in particular.
• Ease of Movement – Sometimes a store’s floor plan may funnel traffic in a specific direction, even if this is done unintentionally.
• Special Promotions – A particular display may attract more attention whether it be the colors used, the design of the display, or the special promotion being offered.

Now you can use this information to your advantage.

• Make Navigation Intuitive – If some aisles see little to no traffic, the fix may be something as simple as moving a few shelves around to provide better access to that part of the store.
• Place Products Efficiently – Do want to sell a lot of that new item? Put it in a part of the building that already sees high traffic.
• Direct Customers to Promotions – Are you running a product special and want everyone to notice? The heat map can be a great tool for determining the best place to set up the display.

Long-Term Benefits of Video Analytics for Product Placement

Video analytics give you the opportunity to make changes in real-time. You can see where the traffic is and move products around the store proactively. However, this is also a great opportunity to watch what works and what doesn’t and apply what you learn to future sales. Repeat successful displays that result in high traffic and take note of what not to do when traffic flow isn’t up to snuff. Heat maps make it easy to repeat successes and learn from mistakes quickly—a must in business.