Shopping Trip 360 replaces item-level RFID applications to track products and people flow in stores
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Three global retail and consumer packaged goods (GPS) giants are currently trialling a system Shopping Trip 360, which uses hosted software, active wireless sensors and RFID tags to track products on store shelves and anonymously track customers and employees. Shopping Trip 360 developed by Infosys provides an alternative to item-level RFID labeling for retail, GPS and logistics, according to Girish A. Ramachandra, the company’s retail innovation business director.
Infosys believes that compared with item-level RFID applications, Shopping Trip 360 has lower costs in tracking product inventory, wear and tear, and in-store consumer traffic. Item-level RFID applications require the use of a large number of tags to achieve item labeling, which is unrealistic for many CPG companies and retailers.
The Shopping Trip 360 system provides visibility of in-store activities without labeling each product
On the contrary, the Shopping Trip 360 system can provide visibility of in-store activities without labeling each product. Since the products purchased by customers are not affixed with identifiers or labels, this will not cause people to worry about safety issues. By installing wireless sensors and tags on shelves, promotional counters and shopping carts, stores and CPG companies can use software to track shoppers and inventory in stores.
The signal frequency of sensors and tags is 2.4 GHz, which conforms to the IEEE802.15.4 protocol, and can communicate with each other on the Mesh network. The system also includes Infosys smart shelf liners, each liner contains a sensor powered by store lights to detect the presence of products on the container. However, Ramachandra declined to disclose how the system’s sensors detect the product.
Each liner Infosys smart shelf liner contains a sensor powered by the store lights
The container in which the product is placed on the store container is covered with one smart liner for each. When the liner detects that the item is removed from its surface, it sends the data and its ID number to the store’s back-end system. The back-end system judges the inventory level of the product by comparing the sensor data with the store planogram or the location data of the specific product in the store.
If the product inventory on a certain mat is lower than the predetermined level, the Shopping Trip 360 system sends a notification via email to the relevant person in charge, such as the store manager or the CPG company. Since the system will be used for expensive or high turnover products, the store is unlikely to confuse the product and place the product on the wrong liner.
There is another application version of this system, which installs battery-powered or light-powered tags on the store shopping cart. The liner sensor is connected to the battery-powered tag on the shelf to obtain the ID number sent by the shopping cart tag. When the shopping cart passes through the shelf aisle, the retailer can detect the shopping cart according to multiple sensors that receive the signal from the shopping cart tag s position.
When shoppers stay in front of a certain display stand, the system can track this behavior, analyze the number of shoppers attracted by the stand, and
The dwell time of the shopper.
In the back-end system, Shopping Trip 360 software displays shopping carts on a heat map, and each dot replaces a shopping cart. When shoppers stay in front of a certain display stand, the system can track this behavior, analyze the number of shoppers attracted by the stand, and the length of time the shoppers stay.
The system can also be used to track shelf inventory. Install a tag on a shopping cart, and program an ID code to indicate that the cart is used for inventory, not shopping. Storage trucks full of products are placed in the storage room. When the storage truck enters the store, the shelf label starts to locate and send the location of the truck. In this way, the manager knows which shelves have been replenished within a certain period of time and how long it took.
In addition, the system also allows customers to use their mobile phones to obtain coupons and promotional information. The user must first download the Shopping Trip 360 software to the mobile phone. After arriving at the store, the customer enters the wireless receiver ID number of the shopping cart according to the prompt on the mobile phone to establish a temporary account. The system then tracks the customer’s location in the store based on the ID code, and displays the promotion information of the products near the shopping cart on the mobile phone through wireless connection.
Stores can use heat maps to analyze the traffic in the store, the crowded areas, the waiting time of customers at the checkout counter, and the loss caused by out-of-stock. Infosys does not charge for the installation of software and hardware in the store, but instead charges a service fee based on the application.
Currently, the three companies that did not want to be named are testing Shopping Trip 360 in North America, Europe and Asia. According to Ramachandra, Infosys is also currently discussing trial details with other companies interested in the system.
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