Monitoring not only for security
How can cameras be used to increase sales?
The high-resolution image recorded by store CCTV cameras can be successfully used for marketing purposes.
Video surveillance systems in stores are no longer just an observation tool used to ensure safety. Analysing the flow of people within a facility and their interests helps achieve better sales results (customers find the products they are looking for more easily and are served faster). This is extremely important, because according to data from Digimarc, people forced to wait in queues often leave the store. 11% give up shopping altogether, 23% remove unnecessary products from their basket in order to use the express checkout, and as many as one in three consumers ultimately decides to shop online.
The customer in the centre of attention
The customer in the centre of attention
Intelligent monitoring systems provide information about display locations that attract the most attention. They make it possible to draw statistical conclusions, but also to track the behaviour of particular customer groups. You can check, among other things, how people shop depending on gender and age group, and use this knowledge to ensure better product displays.
- Once the system learns that men spend less time in the store, turn right just after passing the gate, while women turn left and need more time to make a transaction, the product display can be optimised so that shopping is faster and more convenient for both groups – explains Piotr Bettin, business development manager for intelligent video systems at Konica Minolta.
He emphasises that intelligent monitoring also makes it possible to trace the behaviour of people who made large purchases, and if the pattern repeats, to look for similarities and draw conclusions that attract more valuable buyers.
More effective advertising
More effective advertising
Monitoring analysis makes it easier to observe, for example, where passengers at a railway station most readily spend time, and to adequately adapt the placement of advertising media to the marketing message. Intelligent monitoring makes it possible to define "corridors" in which people passing through particular gates, doors or entrances are counted. On the basis of this data, rental rates for retail space can also be set, as well as advertising in public space and in-store better positioned. A young man will not necessarily be interested in information about denture cleaning liquids. He is more likely to pay attention to adverts for electronic gadgets or cars. A camera placed near the checkout queue can detect who is standing in it and display advertising tailored to the target group on a nearby screen.
The information is processed locally, in a controller located in the camera housing, without the need to connect to external servers. In the finished report, in addition to information about the number of customers, the user can also receive a "heat map" of the room, that is, data on where and when traffic was highest.
Monitoring as a chance to gain a market advantage
Monitoring as a chance to gain a market advantage
Owners of retail outlets compete with e-commerce giants that spend millions on profiling users and tailoring advertising messages. Until now, analyses of traffic in brick-and-mortar stores were based to a large extent on costly sociological and marketing research. Now similar data can be obtained on the basis of image analysis from monitoring cameras. What is more, obtaining this information is compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Piotr Bettin of Konica Minolta emphasises:
– The data can be anonymised, the faces of recorded individuals will be "pixelated", and only static elements in the system, such as walls or store shelves, will remain sharp. Only in a situation where the law has been breached will it be possible for an authorised person, the police or a prosecutor to log into the system, which will make it possible to establish the identity of a given person.
Thanks to the remote access provided, the store owner can check at any time what is happening on the premises. Monitor the length of queues at individual checkouts, plan work and customer service as well as delivery dates. They can also react faster to losses caused by dishonest staff. The system raises an alarm if a product return has been made and no one was at the checkout at that time. It can also notify of a suspicious situation when a cashier scans products that are not on the counter.
Terms from the article
GDPR — the General Data Protection Regulation. EU regulations governing the processing of personal data. It requires, among other things, a legal basis, data minimisation, appropriate safeguards and the fulfilment of the rights of data subjects.
Why it matters: It sets the legal boundaries for working with personal data: legal basis, minimisation, safeguards and the rights of individuals. It applies to every form, newsletter and contact database in a company.
When it applies: Whenever personal data is collected and processed: sign-ups, consents, exports, deletion on request.
What happens if it is ignored: Ignoring the regulations results in a fine calculated on turnover, and a data breach without safeguards — additionally the loss of customer trust.
Summary
Store monitoring today is not only protection, but also an analytical tool that increases sales. Intelligent video systems, by analysing customer flow and behaviour, make it possible to display products better and tailor advertising to target groups. Data can be processed locally, in compliance with GDPR, with images anonymised.
Facility owners gain access to information about queue lengths or suspicious incidents, which makes it possible to optimise work and react to losses — without costly marketing research.
