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IoE will help retailers create the intelligent high street – Part 1

This year we saw a continuation in the decline of consumers visiting local high streets, writes, Sarah Eccleston, the director for enterprise Networks at Cisco UK & Ireland. November alone saw a 2.1% reduction on the previous year at what is usually expected to be one of the busier retail months, with consumers favouring the ease of online shopping and the thrill of getting themselves the best bargains from the comfort of their home. As such, the current challenge for UK retailers is all too easy to see.

The subsequent rise in online retailing, which reached double digit growth in September, according to the latest figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, has put increasing pressure on retail business owners to mirror the often seamless and consumer friendly in-store experience through new, digital channels. What’s more, we’re increasingly seeing online and offline come together to better the retail experience, in turn opening up new and interesting ways to engage with customers. The Internet of Everything (IoE), for example, is enabling retailers to go above and beyond consumer expectations by creating an intelligent high street that combines online and physical realms.

This is particularly prevalent in the start-up community that has the enviable position of coming at the retail industry from a fresh, new perspective. Cisco’s 2015 ‘Unlocking the opportunity for UK start-ups’ report revealed that there is a £37 billion opportunity for businesses embracing the IoE. By adopting an interconnected approach and introducing new technology, retailers can transform the in-store experience and provide better services that will exceed customers’ expectations, drive greater footfall and ultimately, higher revenues.

In addition, by utilising marketing strategies specifically aimed at the individual, it is possible to streamline the supply chain and revolutionise the way the high street operates. But this is easier said than done and requires bringing together a seamless customer experience across so called bricks and clicks requires investment from retailers and confidence from consumers to truly unlock its potential.

 

Analysing footfall

Hoxton Analytics, a start-up working within and being mentored by Cisco accelerator, IDEALondon, is just one example of an innovative company that is using IoE technology to transform the retail environment. The company has developed software that runs behind a small camera unit that can be installed in the doorway or entry corridor of a store to gather images of customer’s footwear as they walk past. From these images and using multiple layers of machine learning and artificial intelligence, it automatically counts people – to over 90% accuracy – and intelligently categorises customer demographics based on the shoes they choose to wear.

This use of big data analytics and artificial intelligence then gives retailers a unique insight into gender, age, grouping, style and timings. Armed with this insight, shop owners can then strategically advertise, better optimise the use of screens and music depending on the clientele present in the store at that time and improve staffing schedules by understanding patterns in busy and quiet periods.