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Video analytics for supermarkets on your store cameras
The cameras already mounted over the registers and on the sales floor count people in the checkout line and tell you when to open another register. The same cameras show sales floor occupancy by hour, activity in the stockroom and supplier trucks at the loading dock. We configure the rules for your store and prove them on your cameras before launch.
- An alert to the floor manager when checkout lines at open registers run longer than your standard
- Foot traffic and sales floor occupancy for every hour, next to the number of open registers
- A log of supplier trucks at the loading dock with license plate, docking time and unloading time
Where the industry hurts
Problems we have seen at sites in this industry.
Shoppers leave the store because of the line
In a Forrester Consulting survey commissioned by Digimarc, 39% of 1,000 US shoppers said they had left a store without buying at least once because of a long line. The survey was commissioned by a checkout technology vendor, so treat the figure as a rough guide. Digimarc, press release on the Forrester Consulting study, August 14, 2018
Shoppers judge a line by its length
A study in Management Science combined video camera data on the line at a service counter with sales receipts. It showed that shoppers react mostly to the length of the line and give too little weight to how fast it moves. Lu, Musalem, Olivares, Schilkrut. Measuring the Effect of Queues on Customer Purchases, Management Science, 2013
A cashier gets called once the line is already stuck
The floor manager notices the line when the registers are already blocked, and only then looks for a free clerk. The POS system shows the number of receipts. It does not show how many people are standing with baskets.
Shoppers see an empty shelf before the merchandiser does
Floor walks follow a schedule, while products run out at peak hours. After the shift, nobody can tell how long a shelf stood empty.
The stockroom and loading dock run apart from the sales floor
A supplier truck waits at the dock, the stockroom door stands open, and someone has parked a pallet in the aisle to the emergency exit. The cameras record all of it, but the footage gets opened after a complaint or an inspection.
What the camera will notice
Every event reaches the person in charge as a card with a frame, and the log keeps the history.
| Event | What you get | Who acts |
|---|---|---|
| Checkout line longer than your standard | A live count of people in each register's line, and an event card with a frame when a line drags on | Floor manager |
| Time to open another register | An alert to the floor manager to open another register when open registers have more people than your standard | Floor manager, head cashier |
| Wait time in line | How long shoppers wait to reach the register on average, by hour. Nobody is identified | Store manager |
| Visitors and sales floor occupancy by hour | How many people came in and left and how many are on the floor at once: an hourly picture by day and week | Store manager, shift planning |
| Department traffic | A sales floor heat map: where people spend time and how long, by hour. No face recognition | Category manager |
| Gap on a shelf | An event card with a frame to the merchandiser as soon as a gap appears on a shelf. We train the AI model for your product layout | Merchandiser, floor manager |
| Activity in the stockroom and staff areas outside scheduled hours | An event card with a frame when someone is in the stockroom or staff areas during hours when nobody should be there | Store manager, security |
| Visitor in a staff-only area | An event card with a frame when a person without a staff uniform walks through the staff door. We train the AI model for your uniform | Floor manager |
| Stockroom or dock door open longer than normal | An event card to the stockroom manager when a gate or door stays open longer than your standard, with frames from the start | Stockroom manager |
| People on the sales floor after closing | An event card with a frame when a person is on the floor or near the entrance after closing time | Duty manager, security guards |
| Supplier truck at the loading dock | A truck log: license plate, arrival, docking, departure and unloading time | Stockroom manager |
| Blocked aisle or emergency exit | An event card with a frame to the responsible person when a pallet or boxes are left in an aisle or by an emergency exit | Fire safety officer |
| Parking occupancy and cars parked longer than normal | Parking occupancy by hour, and an event card when a car stays longer than your standard | Mall or store management |
| Camera went offline or was moved | An event card to the technician as soon as a camera goes dark, freezes or points the wrong way | Technician, store manager |
Camera map
Typical site: supermarket with 6 registers, a stockroom and a loading dock. Select a camera to see what it covers.
Regulations and requirements
What they mean for video monitoring. This is not legal advice.
- Law of Ukraine No. 2297-VI «Про захист персональних даних» (Law of Ukraine “On Personal Data Protection”)The purpose of processing must be defined and documented and the data collected must not be excessive (Art. 6); people are informed of the data controller and the purpose (Art. 12). For a store this means a sign at the entrance, a separate purpose for each scenario and counting people without identifying them wherever identity is not needed.
- Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine No. 1417 of 30.12.2014 «Про затвердження Правил пожежної безпеки в Україні» (On Approval of the Fire Safety Rules in Ukraine)Section III, chapter 2, cl. 2.37 prohibits blocking evacuation routes with furniture, equipment and materials. The system flags pallets and boxes in sales floor and stockroom aisles as event cards with a frame; we train the AI model for your store.
- EDPB Guidelines 3/2019 on processing of personal data through video devices (final version of January 30, 2020)The European Data Protection Board recommends a warning sign placed before the entry to the monitored area and, in most cases, automatic deletion of recordings after a few days. They are not binding in Ukraine, and we use them as a reference. A Ukrainian translation of the guidelines is published on the Ombudsman's website.
What we measure
- Average line per open registerHow many shoppers there are per open register in every hour of the day: you see where cashiers are short
- Wait time in lineHow long shoppers wait to reach the register in every hour, including the longest waits
- Response to the “open a register” alertHow many minutes after the alert a cashier opens a new register, week by week
- Foot traffic and sales floor occupancyHow many people come in each hour and when the floor is most crowded, by day of week
- Truck time at the dockHow long a supplier truck spends at the dock from docking to departure, week by week
FAQ
Have you worked with stores before?
Yes. Stores run on the same proven platform: people, queues, stockroom doors and trucks at the receiving dock. We set the rules for your sales floor and train the AI model for your store, and every event arrives as a card with a frame that your manager reviews in one click. We show you the results on your cameras before launch.
Can the system detect empty shelves?
Yes. We train an AI model for your shelving and product layout. We start with a few shelving units, show you the results and decide together how many shelves to expand to.
Does the system catch shoplifting?
We do not promise theft detection. The system provides a log of events with frames: who was on the floor after closing, who walked through the staff door, which stockroom doors stood open. The investigation stays with your security team.
Does the system recognize shoppers' faces?
No. Queues and foot traffic do not need identity, so the system counts people and their time in a zone without face recognition.
What if the system gets it wrong?
Every event arrives as a card with a frame, so your floor manager sees what happened in a second and decides in one click. You set the standard for the “open a register” alert, and we fine-tune the rule to your peak hours.
Where does the video go?
We deploy on-site in the store, in your own cloud, or in our secure cloud. Frames never leave the environment you choose. A roll-up across a store network can be added if you want one.