How AI is transforming merchandising: from shelf to intelligent planogram

Against a backdrop of ever-increasing pressure on sales performance and operational efficiency

The use ofartificial intelligence (AI) is accelerating in all retail professions. While AI is already widely used for inventory management, sales prediction and targeted marketing, its integration into merchandising is opening up new, highly concrete prospects for retailers and manufacturers alike.

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AI: what are we talking about?

Artificial intelligence brings together a range of technologies that enable machines to perform tasks previously reserved for humans: image recognition, natural language processing, decision-making, content generation...

In the retail sector, these technologies take a variety of forms:

• Deductive AI (analysis and recommendation algorithms)
• Generative AI (product content, visuals, planograms, etc.)
• Computer vision (image recognition)

The best-known AI uses in retail

AI has already proved its worth in several key areas of retail:

• Inventory optimization: demand forecasting, automatic restocking
• Dynamic pricing: adapting prices to changing circumstances
• Marketing targeting and personalization: product recommendations, customer segmentation
• Automate content creation: product sheets, visuals, e-commerce campaigns
• Sales analysis and customer behavior: via cameras or transactional data

But one of the next revolutions is in merchandising.

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The concrete contribution of AI to merchandising

Merchandising is a field where decisions have historically been based on experience, field surveys, past performance and a certain amount of intuition. Today, AI makes it possible to deliver precision, automation and adaptability on a grand scale.

Image recognition for shelf auditing

Image recognition automatically detects products on the shelf, their location, facing and conformity with a theoretical planogram.

This type of AI makes it possible to :

• Perform an instant point-of-sale audit
• Generate a corrective action plan
• Provide a reliable database for adjusting recommendations

Generative AI for planogram construction

Based on sales data, shelf size, number of shelves or store typology, AI can automatically generate planogram variants adapted to local specificities.

This allows :

• Saving time for head office merchandising teams
• In-store fine-tuning
• Better execution thanks to customized plans that reflect realities on the ground

What Retail VR is doing on the subject‍

Since 2018, Retail VR has simplified the use of 3D for merchandising players. By developing a patented AI-based technology, Retail VR enables brands and retailers to model products in 3D automatically.

Today, the French startup integrates AI technologies to go even further in simplifying automatic planogram generation processes...

Automated auditing using visual recognition
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Retail VR's shelf audit functionality is based on advanced image recognition. It automatically reconstructs the planogram observed in-store from photos taken by field teams.

The benefits:

• A lightweight, easy-to-use tool for sales forces or stores
• A fast, reliable view of store reality
• A business model tailored to field operations

Automatic planogram reconstruction
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Retail VR works with major players in the retail industry to automatically generate customized planograms:

• to the physical constraints of each store
• local demand (VMH, margins, rotations, etc.)

This makes it possible to :

• Quickly create personalized recommendations
• Reduce design time for category managers
• Improve in-store efficiency with precise, relevant layout guides

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Conclusion
AI is profoundly transforming the merchandising business, bringing rigor, personalization and efficiency. From more reliable field audits to generative planograms, it paves the way for intelligent merchandising, connected to data and real needs in the field.

At Retail VR, we believe that the future of merchandising lies in AI... but always at the service of the teams!

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