While cameras, security and surveillance spook most of us, IT major Mindtree has used this combination to develop Flooresense — a solution that helps retailers identify visitors most likely to make a purchase, helping them convert footfalls into sales. “Most retailers are familiar with CCTV cameras, but they do not use existing video surveillance technology to increase sales conversions and in-store customer experience,” Sudhakar Shivashankar, General Manager – Retail Platforms at Mindtree, says. The platform ensures that a shopper’s credentials remain anonymous, he said.
Flooresense’s insights are generated from existing infrastructure, such as video cameras at retail shops. The solution sends an app alert to sales executives if it identifies a customer in need of help, in turn boosting the chances of making a sale. The platform uses a patented machine learning – and crowd analytics-based algorithm to spot a “high potential shopper” using more than 20 different parameters, and notifies the in-store sales associate. “It provides insights like how many customers visited which category, how much time did they spend there, the path they took, which promotions and displays were most effective, etc.” Shivashankar said.
Mindtree has already deployed its patented Flooresense platform at malls and a few retailers in India and abroad. “We are piloting the Flooresense solution with a jewellery retailer in Bengaluru,” the company said, refraining from naming the retailer. While online retailers have an in-depth understanding of shopper activity and behaviour, retailers at brick-and-mortar stores have little idea about how a customer shops. The physical retail segment has thus turned to technologies such as crowd analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence to regain foothold.
