Video analytics is changing the retail industry

Brands are collecting volumes of data generated by a variety of sources at extreme volume. This collection of data is Big Data. With the volume on an increasingly upward trend, new technologies are required to analyse and make sense out of it. Video data which is collected through various surveillance devices forms a significant part of big data. To leverage video data for better security and business performance, video analytics solution is most commonly used to analyse and translate this data into business insights.

Omnichannel retailing

Modern day customers are driving the revolution in retailing to be highly accessible and customer-centric. The access to new technologies, the demand for convenience and the vast variety of online resources allows customers to use multiple sources of information during their shopping experience. Such information comes from online review sites, social media, retail websites, blogs and even in-store marketing displays.

How engaged are your customers?

As businesses in the retail industry steer toward a customer-centric model, customer engagement has been a buzzword. Social media created a fundamental shift in the way retailers engage with their customers and new solutions were created to gain better customer insights. According to Bain & Company, it costs between 6 – 7 times more to acquire a new customer than to retain existing customers. In addition, repeat customers tend to spend as much as 67% more.
However, the shrinking attention span of modern day consumers is a challenge. Retailers and marketers are finding it increasingly difficult to capture and hold customers’ attention. In fact, in 2000, the average attention span of a customer was 12 seconds. Now, it is 8 seconds; and that is lower than the attention span of a goldfish at 9 seconds.
Below we list 3 ways for retailers to effectively engage with the modern day customer.

Big data for retailers

Brands are collecting volumes of data generated by a variety of sources at extreme volume, velocity, variety and veracity. This entire collection of digital data is big data. Big data can be generated from CRMs, social media activities, sensors, web search, video analytics and more. With the current rate of data generation, there is seemingly endless amount of data to be collected. Leading retailers adopt advanced technologies to generate insights from big data to help them enhance the customer experience, increase operational efficiency, understand buying patterns as well as shifting customer trends.

3 retail solutions to employ in 2015

A successful retail operation is all about people: employees, customers, and the interactions between them. For seamless and efficient interactions to occur, countless solutions have been devised. New technology solutions are converging and transforming the way we shop and purchase. The list of retail solutions listed below might not all be new. However, there remain retailers who are very conservative towards the adoption of new technologies. As 2015 draws closer, retailers need to be receptive towards technology and view it as a tool to aid them in achieving customer profiles, changing buying habits, innovation, operational efficiency and customer service.

The importance of customer service for retailers

A unique shopping experience is becoming a significant factor of success for retailers, according to a “Future of Retail” study by Motorola Solutions. Customer service is extremely important in cultivating a good shopping experience. This can be done with better store employee support through real-time access to product information as well as a trend-setting development of IT systems to help retailers keep abreast of retail competition. Recognizing the need to deploy advanced techniques, retailers will increase technology spending on BI and analytics from 15.6% of IT budget in 2014 to 23.3% of IT budget in 2017, representing a 14% compounded annual growth rate*. With the help of video analytics solutions, retailers would be able to make good business decisions as well as allocate retail staffs wisely.

Is traditional retail dying in Singapore?

The rise in online shopping continues unabated leaving brick and mortar retailers to face more challenges and upheaval. In fact, more than 50% of Singaporeans shop online at least once a month, placing them as Southeast Asia’s top online shoppers. However, is traditional retailing really dying?

What makes in-store shoppers leave without buying?

There are a various number of reasons why people shop – ‘showroomers’, window shopping, shopping for specific product, the list goes on. Although recreational window shopping where people use shopping to socialise has always been popular, showrooming is a new term to describe shoppers who visit a shop to check out a product but purchase online. In Singapore, showrooming is getting common with 78% of consumers using their smartphones while in-store and 73% stating they would leave the store if after researching they find the same or similar product 5% cheaper somewhere else.

Increase customer conversion rates in retail stores

Retailers all know that to increase retail sales, they need to drive more prospect traffic to their stores, convert shoppers to buyers and increase the average spending per customer. Driving traffic to your store and increasing the average spending per customer will be discussed on separate articles. Below are some tips to help you increase customer conversion rate and get that sales needle shifting.

KAI Square earns Accreditation@iDA

SINGAPORE, October 2014 – KAI Square is honoured have its video analytics solution – VAaaS accredited by iDA in 2014. IDA accredited products under the new Accreditation@IDA programme will be considered first for government projects.

5 myths of IP surveillance cameras debunked

There are more benefits in using IP-based surveillance over its analog counterpart. One main advantage is the cabling. IP-based cameras transmit video images over Ethernet cable, which is the same standard used in IT networking, while analog systems transmit signals over coaxial cabling. Another advantage is the cost and management. Users use standard PC server for video management and storage. These make maintenance easier and cost-effective.

Singapore startup KAI Square awarded at The 1st Fukuoka Global Venture Award

Together with Prof. Wong Poh Kam, CEO Dr. Neo and CMO Sean Seah holding the Prize Award.

FUKUOKA, October 18, 2014 – KAI Square was awarded with the Award of Excellence at Fukuoka Global Venture Awards.  The Fukuoka Global Venture Awards is a business plan contest for Japanese companies expanding internationally or foreign venture firms aiming to establish a presence in Japan.

KAI Square's VAaaS - How does it work?

KAI Square is a video analytics solutions provider with the widest range of video analytics in the market currently. Our signature product, Video-Analytics-as-a-Service (VAaaS) comes in 3 choices – Node 1, Node 4 and Node 10. Below is an infographic chart to show how these products work.

5 successful store layout secrets

Typically store layouts can be divided into 3 – race track, grid and freeform. However, what makes 1 store stand out from another if they are of the same layout format? Designing an effective store layout is not an overnight process and requires much analysis as it varies from store to store. Here we uncover 5 tried and tested secrets for a better store layout.

How to evaluate big data products?

In the current world of advanced communications, there is a significant rise in the amount of data that is generated daily. Data can come from multiple sources, such as social media, sensory devices such as thermostats, and from personal devices such as mobile phones.

These data that are generated can actually be put into use if there are effective tools in mining them. However, how do we know what data can be mined and what useful information can be gathered from them?

How retailers can use video data to drive business growth

In our previous article, we talked about why data and analytics is important to brick and mortar retailers, and also some of the technologies available to capture these data. However, data on its own does not serve any purpose. What is more important is how these data are put to use, to reduce inefficiencies and maximize profits. Having spoken to many retailers, here are some of the ways that the data has been or can be utilized to help improve the business.

KAI Square secures S$4m in Series B funding to accelerate expansion of its Video Analytics as-a-Service Platform

SINGAPORE, 24 April 2014 – KAI Square (KAI), a Singapore-based company offering Video-Analytics-as-a-Service (VAaaS), announced today it had secured S$4m in Series B financing from Ingrasys Technology (Ingrasys), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Foxconn Technology Group, and SingTel Innov8 (Innov8). The funds will be used to fuel product development of new video analytic applications onto its cloud-based platform and market expansion outside of Singapore. The additional funding will also allow for product expansion of its home based solution targeted at family safety in late 2014.

KAI Square presents Video Analytics as a Service at SecuTech 2014

   

25 Mar 2014 - KAI Square is proud to have been invited by Ingrasys Technologies to showcase our VAaaS at their booth during the recent SecuTech 2014. The 3 days event, held at the Taipei World Trade Center Nangang Exhibition Hall, featured the latest developments in the security and surveillance sector.

What options for data and analytics do brick-and-mortar retailers have?

While talking to many retailers, we realized that the answer to retailing eludes many. Even with full information on products and markets, retailers find it hard to define why certain brands or products sell while others don’t.

Statistics can help to elevate the level of understanding of the successes and failures, provide important information that retailers can work with. Example, number of visitors to your store can tell you whether low sales level is due to low activity, or simply that the visitors are not converting. Visitor profile information can help you to understand whether you are attracting the right crowd with your marketing campaigns, browsing patterns lets you know which areas are getting more attention, and provide you with an idea on how to place your products and ads.