With a huge variety of options for online and hybrid shopping, physical stores need to increasingly offer great customer experiences to remain competitive. Therefore, it is essential to adopt advanced technologies, such as intelligent video, which provides real-time visibility into consumer needs in stores and supports faster, more responsive service.
Benefits in customer service
There are several technological tools that significantly improve service—without the high costs and complexity of manual processes. AI-enabled video solutions, for example, enable ‘simultaneous awareness’ of customers’ journey through the store, as they count the number of people entering and exiting the establishment, ensuring there are enough staff available to assist them. The team can be redirected to checkout counters when queues grow and return to their regular tasks (such as administration, inventory, and shelf restocking) during off-peak hours.
For consumers, having access to the right product, in the right place, at the right time is crucial. In this sense, intelligent monitoring images help manage merchandise on shelves and trigger alarms for restocking, ensuring items are always available. This also allows analyzing which products are most popular and positioning them in strategic locations where customers can find them quickly.
Adoption of autonomous stores and security solutions
With the rise of autonomous spaces or spaces with few employees, recording with modern, technological surveillance cameras plays a very important role. They can identify individuals struggling at self-checkout counters and send an employee to assist them. Beyond offering high-value applications for autonomous environments—from traditional camera security to AI algorithms that detect theft—these features ensure shoppers feel safe and help minimize inventory losses.
Improvement in the omnichannel experience
Smart cameras provide a much better omnichannel shopping experience, based on a deep understanding of shoppers’ journeys. Data analysis from recorded images ensures that online order kiosks and product pickup areas are located in the right parts of the store to minimize congestion and speed up service. Additionally, in distribution centers, orders can be picked and packed with greater accuracy, reducing sorting errors.
Many leading retail brands are already partnering with monitoring and security companies to enhance their in-store services using smart cameras. Ultimately, by adopting these advanced technologies, merchants deliver high-quality customer service and remain competitive.
