This week, our blog features guest contributor, Tracy Benaman, vice president of retail sales at Deep North. Deep North is Analytics and AI for the physical world. Its end-to-end software solution combines artificial intelligence with computer vision to help retailers and businesses digitize and analyze behavioral metrics in the physical world, and gives them tools to act upon these insights.
The use of video analytics in retail and quick service restaurant (QSR) operations has greatly accelerated over the past 18-24 months. While these businesses were on track to deploy a host of emerging technologies like AI, video analytics, robots and self-serve kiosks, the pandemic greatly accelerated adoption in response to the sudden and dramatic shift in consumer buying behaviors.
Prior to the pandemic, specialty retailers had set their sights on upgrading the in-store experience with interactive technologies. But COVID-19 also accelerated those efforts, as customers began to demand an in-store experience worthy of the trouble to make a visit when retail transactions can now be completed 100% online.
In QSR, the major shift was from dine-in to drive-thru and curbside. The change was immediate and dramatic, in many cases shifting literally 100% of dine-in orders to some alternative. The result, of course, was a sudden tsunami of orders at the drive-thru and curbside that operators struggled to handle in a streamlined way.
Providing real-time video analytics leveraging your existing video assets through a groundbreaking cloud-based AI platform, Deep North is well positioned to support retailers and QSRs in their efforts to leverage video analytics to support new ways of doing business.
Consider some of the ways video analytics from Deep North help customers streamline their operations, improve the customer experience and operate in the post-pandemic world.
Intelligent video analytics solutions for retail
Traffic patterns – Video analytics can determine the flow of in-store traffic including footfall and occupancy, most visited locations, dwell times and most effective merchandising displays. This allows for optimization of store layouts to increase shopper engagement and even increase revenue per transaction.
Validate payroll – In light of labor shortages, it’s critical to maximize the value of each and every employee. Video analytics can easily identify where help is needed most in real time. Is the checkout queue long? Is a customer waiting for someone to unlock a high-value merchandise case? Is there a line for the fitting rooms? Understand dynamics in the store as they are happening and reassign employees to address critical needs.
Compliance auditing – With a growing number of health and safety protocols enacted during the pandemic and OHSA safety standards in place, video analytics is an invaluable tool for monitoring and alerting managers of compliance failures immediately so they can be addressed.
Out-of-stocks – Out-of-stocks result in customer frustration and abandoned shopping carts. Video analytics can continually monitor stocks and alert associates when out-of-stocks occur – either at the end caps or in back-of-the-house storage areas. This allows associates to point customers to online ordering or alternative products.
Intelligent video analytics solutions for QSRs
Speed at the QSR counter – Using video analytics, employees supporting the drive-thru can receive alerts prior to peak demand times, allowing them to expedite food preparation to support higher traffic volumes before lines get long.
Order accuracy at the drive-thru – Video analytics provide an effective way to ensure that the right order is delivered to the right car, improving order accuracy and customer satisfaction.
As retailers and QSRs discover the power of video analytics, we expect use cases to explode over the next three to five years. With Telaid’s help, Deep North can deploy their solution using your existing IP cameras in as few as two to three weeks. Don’t miss the opportunity to leverage video to improve every aspect of your business. Check out the latest Telaid Tech Connect podcast, The Use of Data Analytics and Understanding the True Omnichannel Experience for Customers, for more insights on video analytics and get started with Deep North today!
