Retail Inventory Shelf Analysis with AI

 Worked on something very similar to this in Laboratory Stores, but without AI.   Learned much in the general process. 

Google Cloud Introduces Shelf Inventory Predictive Tool for Retailers

The Wall Street Journal

Isabelle Bousquette, January 13, 2023

An artificial intelligence tool developed by researchers at Google Cloud aims to help big-box retailers improve shelf inventory tracking. The algorithm uses videos and images from the retailer's ceiling-mounted cameras, camera-equipped self-driving robots, or store associates to assess the availability of goods on shelves. The tool was trained on a database of more than a billion products and can recognize products regardless of the source or angle of the images. In tests at the innovation lab of supermarket chain Giant Eagle Inc., the tool achieved more than 90% accuracy, which Giant Eagle's Graham Watkins said is not sufficient to deploy it at scale. Giant Eagle will roll out a pilot program in an actual store, but a chain-wide deployment is not likely for several years (if at all).

Full Article   

AR Games for Grocery Aisles

Interesting,  but how well will this interact with traffic in store?  Gets in the way of of basic goals I believe.    Article contains other examples of the concepts that have been tested.

Giant thinks AR-games are ripe for grocery aisles  by Tom Ryan in Retailwire

Giant Food Stores has introduced an augmented reality (AR) promotion, Snowflake Search, designed to send kids on scavenger hunts in stores while their parents shop.

To play, customers scan a QR code on special in-store signage with their smartphones. An audio introduction by a snowman directs users to search for six unique snowflake signs throughout the store. Each snowflake triggers an interactive character on the phone, like a polar bear juggling clementines and bananas in the fruit section. Customers track the characters and receive clues to find the remaining ones.

Members of Giant Choice Rewards earn 50 points for each character found, with the ability to earn a total of up to 300 points each time they play. Under the rewards program, 300 points can be redeemed for $3.00 in savings.

Rewards members can redeem up to 1,500 points with a limit of five games until the promotion ends January 30. The game will be featured in 15 Harrisburg, PA-area stores.  ...."

More Experiments with Checkout-Free

Experiments continue.   Will this be inevitable in the near future?  Certainly it will be less-stress, once consumers get used to the approach.

Giant Eagle piloting checkout-free experience

Giant Eagle has teamed with Grabango to pilot checkout-free technology at a trial store. The partnership marks the first of its kind for a large-format grocery store in the US, with Giant Eagle's Dan Donovan noting, "Giant Eagle is committed to advancing technologies that create an improved, stress-free shopping experience for our customers while still protecting their privacy."  .... " 

Prescribing Fruits and Veggies

A clever idea, well worth a trial.   Though there is usually no direct joy in prescriptions,  unless they directly kill pain, so I wonder that they feed into the immediate gratification that comes from less than healthy food.   Not the same as cash payment.   Will track progress.    Read more of the expert comments in the link.

Giant Food to fill prescriptions for fruits and veggies in Retailwire   by George Anderson

Giant Food has announced that it is participating in a single-store pilot program in Washington, DC that will allow Medicaid beneficiaries suffering from diet-related chronic illnesses to receive a $20 coupon at the pharmacy to buy fresh fruits and vegetables in the produce section if they bring a doctor’s prescription.

The program, which kicks off tomorrow, is run in concert with DC Greens, a local nonprofit dedicated to giving the city’s residents access to healthy foods.  

“We believe that cross-sector partnerships are the only way to achieve health equity in our city,” said Lauren Shweder Biel, executive director of DC Greens, in a statement. “Doctors and patients both need more tools to address food insecurity and diet-related chronic illness. Through Produce Rx, our healthcare system can be a driver to get patients access to the healthy food that they want and need.”

.... '

Inventory Robotics at Giant Eagle

Note in particular the frequency of state and availability of merchandise.

Giant Eagle unveils plans for inventory robots

Giant Eagle has joined with Simbe Robotics to add the company's robot, Tally, to select stores in Pennsylvania and Ohio under a pilot program. Tally is an autonomous robot that regularly checks shelves for inventory and sends data reports to employees.  .... 

Giant Eagle Piloting In-Store Robots  in Progressive Grocer

 ... Giant Eagle has unveiled a pilot program with Simbe Robotics to deploy Tally, Simbe’s autonomous shelf-auditing and inventory analytics solution, at the grocer’s Giant Eagle and Market District stores in Pittsburgh and Cleveland, and Akron, Ohio. Tally ensures that products are on shelves when and where customers expect them to be, while enabling store associates to focus on customers instead of inventory.

In the pilot, Tally sends detailed data reports to store teams every 30 minutes that capture, report, and analyze the state and availability of merchandise. The reports help the teams address controllable out-of-stock and pricing situations while optimizing each store’s product layout. The solution requires no infrastructure changes to the store and operates safely during normal store hours alongside shoppers and employees.

Employing Tally’s cloud-powered software platform and API, Giant Eagle aims to streamline store performance, maximize customer satisfaction, boost sales and lower operational expenditures. ... " 

A Conversation on Smart Shelves

This work by Hitachi covers many of the experiments we did with the smartshelf.  Is it smart enough to make a real difference?  Finding new patterns of use may find better ways to use this data.

Will Smart shelves ever be smart enough for Kroger and other retailers?
by Tom Ryan

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Kroger CIO Chris Hjelm said the supermarket’s test of smart shelves has reached 14 locations.

With Kroger’s mobile app open, sensors detect shoppers in aisles to offer personal pricing and product suggestions. “I can highlight products for you on a high-definition display on the shelf edge,” said Mr. Hjelm.

As examples, he noted how a gluten-free shopper might find relevant products highlighted in the nutrition-bar section. Shoppers might receive their “personal price” or hear a ping to alert them that a bottle of wine from their shopping list is on a nearby shelf, he said.

Smart shelf proponents also tout their ability to facilitate automated pricing changes as a huge labor-saving advance. They also promise on-demand nutritional information updates.

Some smart shelves can measure inventory life or identify when shelves are running low on product or empty. Using a solution from Powershelf powered by Microsoft Azure, Giant Eagle has reduced its out-of-stock replenishment time by two-thirds and cut its out-of-stock SKUs by 50 percent on any given day, according to Microsoft. .... "