Formerly known as Glimpse, VisionR provides retailers with insights from the shop floor by aggregating previously inaccessible data to personalise the shopping experience and drive sales.

The company’s Scout technology uses computer vision and machine learning to transform real-world shopper experiences into online data that retailers can access through VisionR’s App.

The Scout breaks shoppers down anonymously into footfall, shopping groups, shopper profile, shop duration, product engagement, penetration, and spend. Using this information, it is claimed that retailers can then make the same informed decisions about marketing, sales, and operations, as they can online, maximising revenues.

“We give retailers a uniform view of their online and offline shoppers, a complete connected shopper journey, all without storing any personally identifiable data,” said VisionR Co-founder, Shane O’Sullivan.

SPAR internationally has been focused on utilising shopper insights to unlock new opportunities instore and improve the shopping experience.

In select Irish stores, SPAR retailers could perform actions using VisionR data at the promotional shelf-ends that yielded positive results. This is said to have caught the attention of SPAR International, which works with over 105 regional retail organisations.

“Through our partnership with SPAR International, we [VisionR] are able to support SPAR organisations across 48 countries by providing revenue generating data,” said VisionR Co-founder, Oran Mulvey.

VisionR has recently completed a €1.5m investment round, led by Delta Partners, backed by Bank of Ireland, to provide insights to any retailer with physical premises, from grocery to convenience to fashion.

Dermot Berkery of Delta Partners commented: “Physical retailers have been starved of insights to their customers. That makes it incredibly hard for them to compete against online retailers that have voluminous data and rich insights.

“What excited us at Delta about what Oran and Shane are doing is the promise of levelling the playing field for physical retailers. Their technology is simple to adopt and gives insights right out of the box, all while staying within the important bounds set down by privacy requirements such as GDPR.”

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Amazon has the largest number of checkout-free stores globally, mostly in the USA and the UK, with plans for expansion in these markets and others. These locations use its Just Walk Out solution, although other retailers are also using the firm’s technology, including travel convenience store chain Hudson.

RBR’s research shows a wide range of suppliers are present in the market, with technology from firms such as AiFi, Zippin and Trigo live in an ever increasing number of stores.

A number of large supermarket chains, including Ahold Delhaize, REWE and Tesco, are also piloting the technology in existing outlets.
In addition, startups have been opening concept stores to showcase their own checkout-free offerings. To date, checkout-free stores have mainly been small in scale, with cart-based technology deployed in larger supermarket formats.
RBR forecasts the number of stores with checkout-free technology around the world will reach more than 12,000 by the end of 2027. If pilots at big box and grocery retailers are deemed successful there will be more extensive roll-outs across store networks.
The USA, China and large European markets will see the strongest growth in the number of checkout-free stores in the years ahead, with many other markets right across the world expected to see expansion too.
RBR’s Alex Maple comments: “Physical retail is undergoing unprecedented change, with retailers investing heavily in technologies to transform their stores, making customer journeys smoother, and helping to offset rising labour costs and shortages in several markets.
“While the deployment of checkout-free technology in some countries has been faster than in others, these stores have been set up in every region across the world.”

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Tell Us First, a feedback system introduced earlier this year, has been installed in 420 Henderson stores nationwide. So far the Henderson group have received an above average score of 78.81 according to data, with 2,350 completing the online questionnaire since April of this year.

The incentive scheme offers participants the chance to win £100 every month, while providing the symbol group vital feedback on their customer service.

Bronagh Henderson, head of brand marketing at Henderson group, said: “Tell Us First is an opportunity for retailers to have a direct line of communication with their customers, ensuring the highest standard of customer service and product availability.

“The process is very simple, with the shopper accessing the survey via a QR code or weblink, taking only a few minutes. This feedback goes straight to the store manager, and if any details need to be flagged, the customer can be contacted immediately”

The technological update ensures Henderson’s retailers, which include Spar and Vivo, are able to maintain a strong connection with their customer base and respond to feedback in real time.

Henderson is comprised of four individual groups, and is the owner and operator of 80 Spar and Eurospar stores in Northern Ireland. The group currently employs 3,099 employees throughout the country.

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