Vsblty partners with Sensormatic as research shows retail biometrics growth

Software technology company Vsblty has signed a global reseller agreement with Sensormatic Solutions, part of Johnson Controls, to deliver biometric shopper analytics and loss prevention solutions, the company announced.

“Retail is changing at an accelerated rate,” said VSBLTY Co-founder and CEO Jay Hutton. “Digital technology is being leveraged to enhance the shopper journey while multiple methodologies are being deployed to measure and maximize retail intelligence for both retailers and major consumer brands.”

According to Hutton, Sensormatic and Vsblty have a joint vision of distributing content tailored to an omni-connected and omni-channel store that delivers shopper insights and high impact advertising. Vsblty makes store experience more interactive through Vector, a tool that identifies people or objects of interest. This software along with computer-based vision analytics technology will strengthen Sensormatic’s position worldwide, he explained.

“VSBLTY is an important piece of our strategy as retailers increasingly rely on in-store video analytics to not only understand and directly support the shopper journey but also to provide another layer of context-based security and loss prevention,” said Amin Shahidi, Sensormatic Solutions Head of Strategy.

Sensormatic Solutions develops smart and connected shopper engagement. Big data is disrupting retail operations and shopper experience, the companies say, delivering accurate, predictive and real-time insights for brands and retailers about customers and how to improve customer journey.

Under the new partnership, Sensormatic will deliver demographic information for resellers, but it will also increase in-store sales through the delivery of context-sensitive, targeted advertising and promotional video content, reads the press release.

Sensormatic Solutions will be sold with three modules: VisionCaptor, DataCaptor and Vector. VisionCaptor is a content management solution for retail. It uses interactive screen technology to adjust the path to purchase to improve ROI. DataCaptor uses Artificial Intelligence to deliver audience measurement and shopper analytics. It measures the effectiveness of their message and shopping experience based on key metrics such as gender, age range, dwell time and content interaction. Vector deploys Artificial Intelligence to identify and deliver a targeted message to persons of interest or VIP shoppers.

The official launch will take place in Q4 of 2019.

Once used only by law enforcement, biometric technology is already extensively used by retailers to track what’s happening in their stores and improve overall security and shopper experience by delivering personalized messages through physiological and behavioral biometric identification methods. Although critics of the technology warn about the privacy implications, the new “Biometric Marketing 2019” report from eMarketer found that retailers still plan to roll out biometric technology projects focused on behavioral tracking and facial and voice recognition to not only detect shoplifters, but to also track shoppers and interact with them online. Saks Fifth Avenue has been using facial recognition for three years now to detect VIPs and catch shoplifters, as have Lowe’s and Walmart in the past.

Biometric Update’s Chris Burt was interviewed by eMarketer for the report.

According to Counterpoint Technology Market Research, 64 percent of the global smartphone shipment in 2020 will have facial recognition to reduce fraud, compared to 23 percent in 2018. U.S. Companies are using artificial intelligence for content personalization, predictive analytics for customer insights, customer segmentation and programmatic adverting and media buying, among others, says the Biometric Marketing 2019 report.

The retail industry has been struggling with two major problems: account opening fraud and account takeover fraud. According to the 2018 Identity Fraud Study by Javelin Strategy & Research, identity fraud cases went up by eight percent in 2017, resulting in $16.8 billion stolen, while account takeover fraud is becoming more common in the financial services sector. Research found this type of fraud tripled in the U.S. in 2018. Artificial intelligence may be the solution to fight fraud, writes Internet Retailing, because a machine-learning algorithm can rapidly detect emerging fraud schemes and deliver a better user experience with fewer false declines. False declines could lead to customer, financial and opportunity loss if they happen often.

Article Topics

artificial intelligence  |  behavioral biometrics  |  big data  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  fraud prevention  |  retail biometrics  |  video analytics  |  voice recognition  |  VSBLTY