Video Analytics Reveal Merchandising Impact

San Jose, Calif. -- BVI Networks and RockTenn Merchandising Displays have tested the impact of an in-aisle fixture improvement for cereals with an in-store measurement system that uses video analysis. Results indicated that improved planograms and merchandising can increase sales and lower the "baffle factor" for consumers."The test showed that in-store fixturing, at least in the cereal category, can have more impact than any other merchandising tool being used in the store, including direct mail, circulars and family-specific offers at the kiosk," says Alexei Agratchev, chief executive officer at BVI Networks. The test measured that impact quantitatively using a test store outfitted with RockTenn and BVI Network's ShopperGauge system. The technology uses analytical software to review video scans of how shoppers act in a store from when they enter until they check out. The equipment is installed at Green Hills Market in Syracuse, N.Y., which has been used as a test store by the Center for Advancing Retail & Technology for three years. The software analyzes such activities as amount of "dwell" time before a display and length of time shopping. The system also is tied into the POS system.The study changed General Mills' in-aisle cereal set and displayed key products in an 8-foot section under the theme "Whole Grain Goodness." The fixture included a plastic and metal frame with a lighted sign overhead and a floor graphic at its base. Signage played up the theme, using grain stalks as a visual. Winston-Salem, N.C.-based RockTenn produced the materials. General Mills gave its approval to publicize the program but did not participate in it nor fund it.A baseline was established in the three weeks prior to the test, followed by installation of the fixture and three weeks of testing. During both periods, no couponing or other discounts were provided by the store for cereal products. "We chose this product category because it is complicated and interrelated, with many overlapping products and powerful brands," Agratchev says. "We wanted to demonstrate the importance of understanding all of the factors that affect shopper engagement at the store level."Among the key findings: 15% of aisle traffic stopped at the display (a 180% increase from the base period).47% of those shoppers purchased a General Mills product.Shoppers spent 17% more on General Mills products than during the base period.Overall shopper conversion increased 8%.Sales increased 26% overall for "healthy" cereals.The lowest of the five shelves in the display brought in 26% of transactions and 28% of sales. Lowest volume shelves were the second and third (15% to 18% of transactions, and 14% to 17% of total sales)."Dwell" time decreased, says Jon Kramer, chief marketing officer at RockTenn, and that is a good thing. "It means they are making their decision quicker and overcoming the 'baffle factor' that increases dwell time as SKU counts rise," he says. More tests will follow, he notes, to drill down into the results further. He was unsure why the lowest shelf performed best, for instance, and next hopes to isolate merchandising elements to learn which provide the biggest impact. "We started large with many elements to the fixture program, and now we'll pull back on the various stimuli to find the key ingredients that drive engagement."RockTenn and BVI Networks also intend to replicate the tests with other categories, beginning with pet foods and carbonated soft drinks. Those tests are expected to be completed and analyzed by October."We believe that these tests indicate that you can affect shopper behavior in the store by creating unique kinds of shelf fixtures with no need for off-shelf communication," says Kramer. "You can gain impact without displays or endcaps but with day-in, day-out messaging if you communicate well."

Video Analytics Reveal Merchandising Impact

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