Shelf intelligence has become a strategic imperative, as retailers move towards investing in technologies that drive inventory accuracy, profitability and CX, the latest research from smart data capture solution, Scandit, and IHL Group, has revealed.

With stock availability remaining a critical – and costly – challenge for retailers and a bugbear for shoppers, Scandit’s research of 400+ retailers in the U.S. and EMEA showed that inventory visibility is a key investment priority for in-store tech.

A competitive necessity

“Grocers and other retailers are no longer asking whether shelf intelligence works – they’re asking how fast they can scale it,” said Christian Floerkemeier, CTO and Co-Founder at Scandit.

Its poll found that retailers who were described a ‘profit growth leaders’ (those operating at 10%+ margins) are investing +208% more in inventory visibility solutions compared to profit ‘laggards’. Meanwhile, retail’s profit growth leaders are 94% more likely to invest in shelf intelligence solutions compared to profit laggards.

“Shelf intelligence technology has matured to a competitive necessity and retailers who have embraced this shift are breaking away from the pack,” said Greg Buzek, President at IHL Group.

Those investing in shelf intelligence solution cited increased customer satisfaction (57%), reduced labour costs (55%), on-shelf availability improvements (49%) and greater store staff productivity (38%) as key drivers for deployment.

Creating smart shelf-edge eco-systems

The Scandit research follows yesterday’s announcement by Morrisons that it would digitalise the shelf-edge, deploying VusionGroup’s ESLs across its entire supermarket estate of 497 stores.

While the ESL solution will deliver digital pricing and use 10.8million digital labels to automate repetitive manual tasks to free up colleagues to focus on CX, it will be integrated as part of a wider smart shelf-edge eco-system.

The ESLs will be integrated with shelf-edge cameras to help store staff identify shelf-gaps faster, speed up replenishment and optimise efficiencies for picking ecommerce orders in-store.

“By equipping all [Morrisons’] supermarkets with our solutions, we’re not only delivering immediate operational benefits, but also laying the foundation for future innovation in omnichannel retail,” said Sébastien Fourcy, SEVP EMEA at VusionGroup.