In the competitive world of retail, proper and on-time data is needed to ensure a good execution within the stores. Retail audits are very crucial in that they give insights about the adequacy of product display, stocking, and promotion within stores. However, manually executing audits takes hours, with high chances of human error. This is where image recognition technology comes in as a game-changer in the world of retail audits.
In this blog, we are going to discuss how image recognition technology is transforming retail audits- making them speedier, more accurate, and highly effective.
Image Recognition in Retail Audits
Image recognition is a technology that uses artificial intelligence to analyze images and extract information. In retail audits, this enables brands to take pictures of store conditions, and these images are automatically analyzed for product placement, stock level, shelf compliance, and promotional displays.
How Does It Work?
Capture images: Representatives in the field or merchandisers take photos of product displays on shelves using LoveInStore app with a built-in camera app.
AI-Powered Analysis: The image recognition software scans the images to identify products, stock levels, and promotional materials. The images are matched against a predetermined set of criteria that could include planograms, the level of visibility that brands have, and other details relevant to the brand.
Data Insights: This software creates live data and reports on the needs to be addressed: low quantities, wrongly positioned, or simply missing products.
Actionable Results: Brand managers and sales teams can act out the insights and resolve any in-store execution issues on time.
Benefits of Using Image Recognition in Retail Audits
Speed and Efficiency
The traditional retail audits are characterized by physical visits to the sites that are under inspection and data recording, a process that consumes a lot of time and is prone to errors. The image recognition speeds up the process drastically by allowing data to be collected and analyzed automatically. This allows field teams to carry out audits with efficiency and minimal error rates.
Real-time Insights
One of the major advantages that image recognition technology can offer is actual real-time insights. Brands will not need days or weeks for audit reports. Instead, instantaneous data on conditions within the store can be accessed and brands can instantly respond to conditions like out-of-stock products and non-compliance with planograms.
Improved Accuracy
While human supervision is likely to commit some errors in a classical audit, AI-based image recognition can allow brands to attain better accuracy in their audits. Technology can identify the tiniest variations in product placement, stock levels, and promotional materials that easily evade human eyes.
Cost-Effective Auditing
Less human resource is needed in collecting and analyzing the data, hence saving the brand more funds in case more is allocated for the budget.
All-inclusive Data Collection
This kind of imaging recognition helps gather wide data points from a single image-including shelf space, promotional materials, even competitors’ products-all of which yields an all-over view of the environment where their products lie on the shelf. If you need an AI-enabled image recognition and audit technology for your brand, we got you. Through a partnership with Love In Store (LIS), brands can leverage advanced image recognition technology to transform their retail audits with the guarantee of having their products always front and centre, well stocked, and promoted according to brand guidelines.
