4D Imaging Radar Technology in Retail Stores

Brick-and-mortar retailers need to reinvent themselves or risk going the way of the main street travel agent. In the following article, we will discuss how introducing 4D imaging radar technology in retail stores can help physical networks survive and thrive.

The need for new technology in the retail industry 

Traditional retailers are drawing inspiration from the online customer journey with a new data-driven approach. Think Google Analytics and heatmaps for the real world.

Physical stores have been hit hard by COVID-19, with eCommerce eagerly picking up the slack. But the pandemic has merely exacerbated an existing trend. While customers still show a strong preference for offline when it comes to big-ticket items, time-poor consumers naturally gravitate toward their phones and PCs when it comes to the everyday essentials.

This is forcing leading supermarket, hypermarket, and convenience store operators to rethink their strategies. Most have, of course, offered online ordering, click-and-collect, and doorstep delivery for years. However, they’re now looking at new ways to offer safe, streamlined and contactless shopping and to replicate the digital experience in store.

What offline is learning from online

The success of eCommerce isn’t only due to sheer convenience; it’s driven by data. Marketeers, website developers and UX experts rely on deep conversion funnel metrics and heatmap analysis to reveal where and how the customer journey needs to be improved.

Along with far lower overhead, this level of granular detail has always been one of an online seller’s biggest competitive advantages over brick-and-mortar stores. Rapid information provides the ability to offer the best customer experience. It’s also the key to earning higher profits, minimizing lost sales and maintaining a physical footprint in a rapidly changing landscape.

Now cutting-edge technology is enabling leading retail networks and brands to harness a rich data stream that shows exactly how customers interact with their stores and products.

The in-store conversion funnel

Know more. Sell more. That’s the logic behind Vayyar’s 4D imaging radar technology for retail stores. Affordable, camera-free in-store sensors reveal a wealth of shopper insights. This 4D imaging radar retail sensor technology provides organizations with data that creates real-world versions of the most illuminating online analytics.

New technology in the retail industry: 4D imaging radar

Vayyar sensors count the number of people who come through the doors, stop by a product, pick it up and either return it to the shelf or place it in their basket. They also track how many pass each shelf or end cap, helping to optimize store layout and product impact.

In addition, this new technology in the retail industry allows retailers to identify hot and cold zones. They can also find out the most common paths customers take around their stores, enabling contextual selling.

Speeding up checkout

Like websites, real-world retailers need to avoid checkout abandonment. Faced with a long wait in a checkout line, a customer in a hurry will often head straight for the exit. Many customers struggle with self-checkout, while cashierless stores present significant privacy concerns and cost implications.

4D imaging radar technology in retail stores, on the other hand, provides effective checkout and service line monitoring with zero privacy concerns. This enables store managers to calculate wait times and deploy additional staff to clear bottlenecks.

Monitor, analyze, test and more

4D imaging radar is now coming to be seen as the best retail technology, offering numerous benefits. Actionable dashboard data provides real-time performance monitoring and enables informed decision-making. 

Analytics and benchmarking allow organizations to: 

• identify emerging trends 
• adapt their tactics 
• set benchmarks, and 
• compare KPIs over time and across stores. 

Retailers can carry out A/B testing of pricing and promotions by comparing conversion funnel data in real time to hit the sweet spot faster.

How 4D imaging radar technology in retail stores works

4D imaging radar technology in the supermarket industry maps and tracks people and products with unprecedented precision and detail across a wide field of view. Since it doesn’t rely on cameras or optics, the technology is robust in all lighting conditions. 4D imaging radar retail sensor technology requires no line of sight, providing high-resolution point cloud imaging.

It also maintains privacy at all times because no pictures are taken and no personal data is collected, ensuring full regulatory compliance.

The bottom line

Supermarkets and convenience stores can use 4D imaging radar technology in retail stores to improve store layout and perfect product placement, with benefits such as:

• increasing sales per square foot 
• enhancing profitability 
• boosting underperforming items, and 
• optimizing staffing for peak productivity.

To learn more about how Vayyar 4D imaging radar retail sensor technology is enabling leading organizations to reinvent the industry, click here.