In the ever-evolving Consumer Products industry, staying ahead of the competition is essential. One technological advancement that is revolutionising the field is image recognition (IR). In fact, the image recognition market size is projected to grow from $1.4 billion in 2020 to $3.7 billion by 2025. But what exactly is image recognition, and why does it hold such value for the Consumer Products sector?
Image recognition is a technology that allows computers to interpret and process visual data from the world around us. In the context of consumer goods, this means using AI and machine learning to analyse photos and videos of products, shelves, and retail environments. This technology can identify products, assess their placement, and gather critical data that can inform business decisions.
One critical area where image recognition proves invaluable is in managing out-of-stocks (OOS). Out-of-stocks and overstocks cost retailers $1.1 trillion globally in lost revenue.
The average OOS rate is 8%, with sales losses accounting for 4% of total revenue. Successive OOS incidents have an even more profound impact, driving 70% of customers to move to a different store.
Addressing these issues is where image recognition shines, offering precise monitoring and real-time data to mitigate the occurrence of OOS situations.
The importance of image recognition in the consumer goods industry cannot be overstated. It provides a level of detail and accuracy in data collection that traditional methods simply cannot match. By leveraging IR, companies can gain deeper insights into their retail operations, streamline workflows, and ultimately enhance their competitive edge.
Retail Insights from Image Recognition
Consumer goods companies can rapidly gain a range of insights from image recognition, transforming how they approach retail management. Here are some key areas where IR makes a significant impact:
1. Product Availability Checks
One of the most critical metrics in retail is product availability. Image recognition technology can automatically detect whether a product is present on the shelf. This ensures that out-of-stock situations are minimised, allowing companies to respond quickly to restock needs and maintain customer satisfaction.
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2. Detecting Competitor Brand Presence
Understanding the competitive landscape is crucial for any business. IR can identify competitor products within retail environments, providing valuable data on competitor brand presence. This insight helps companies strategize their positioning and promotional efforts to better compete in the market.
3. Understanding Share of Shelf
Share of shelf refers to the amount of shelf space a brand occupies compared to competitors. Through image recognition, companies can accurately measure their share of shelf and make data-driven decisions to optimise product placement and maximise visibility.
4. Ensuring Planogram Compliance
Planograms are visual representations of how products should be displayed in stores. Ensuring compliance with these plans is essential for brand consistency and maximising sales. IR technology can verify planogram compliance by analysing photos and highlighting discrepancies, allowing companies to address issues promptly.
5. Guaranteeing Promotion Compliance
Promotional displays and special offers play a significant role in driving sales. Image recognition helps ensure that these promotions are executed correctly in-store. By verifying promotion compliance, companies can maximise the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns and improve ROI.
Photos & Video Input
The effectiveness of image recognition depends on the quality and variety of input data. IR vendors can work with both photos and videos captured in the field.
Field representatives or automated systems can capture high-resolution images or videos of retail environments, which are then processed by AI algorithms to extract meaningful insights.
Aforza Studio Marketplace: Driving Business Workflows with IR
At Aforza, we recognize the transformative potential of image recognition. Our Aforza Studio Marketplace is the first photo automation ecosystem specifically designed for the consumer products sector. By uniting leading partners across AI, image recognition, CRM, geo-location, and collaboration solutions, we maximise the business impact of photo automation.
We work with top IR vendors to integrate their advanced technologies into our marketplace, enabling seamless data capture and analysis. This integration allows businesses to drive workflows based on the insights gained from image recognition, from restocking shelves to optimising promotional strategies.
The IR vendors in the Aforza Studio Marketplace can be found below:
EasyPicky
EasyPicky lets you activate the camera on your smartphone or tablet and walk the aisles of a store, collecting all field data through video and obtaining all your key performance indicators in an instant and on your CRM or other internal tool.
Neurolabs
Neurolabs is a premier synthetic computer vision partner. Their Synthetic Image Recognition (SIR) models harness image data to accurately identify and classify objects in retail stores. Aforza works with Neurolabs to capture and understand retail scenes, product availability and share of shelf, and take action.
ParallelDots
ParallelDots is a leading image recognition solution provider for FMCG companies and retailers globally, helping them optimize their in-store execution and maximize their sales. Aforza works with ParallelDots to undertand retail share of shelf, product availability, planogram compliance and competitive presence.
Ready to revolutionise your retail operations with cutting-edge image recognition technology? Explore the Aforza Studio Marketplace today and discover how our ecosystem can help you stay ahead in the competitive Consumer Products industry.
By understanding and leveraging the power of image recognition, Consumer Products companies can unlock new levels of efficiency, insight, and competitive advantage. Embrace this technology today and see the difference it can make for your business.