Biometrics-based retail analytics launched by TouchByte and Collective Intel, deployed by VSBLTY

New retail analytics solutions leveraging computer vision have been launched by TouchByte and Collective Intel, while VSBLTY has announced 300-store implementation in South Africa.

A new biometric facial recognition-based video analytic tool for retailers has been launched by TouchByte to track customer movements and provide insights to inform personalized customer experiences, according to a company blog post.

The new FaceStream software gives retailers information on the number, date and time of interactions with individual customers, estimates age and gender, shows dwell time and movement, analysis across multiple zones of a sight, and can trigger digital signage to display relevant content.

In addition to helping improve sales performance, TouchByte says FaceStream can help reduce operational and staff costs, and assist in the battle against COVID-19.

The company says face images are converted into random numbers for analysis, and then are deleted, so no identifiable personal information is stored or retained longer than a day, nor associated with other data.

TouchByte has also launched a new website to provide information on and promote its products.

Collective Intel launches retail platform

Startup Collective Intel is pitching its platform for video data analysis to observe human behavior and solve challenging business questions for enterprises, the hospitality industry and government bodies, YourStory reports.

Founded in early 2019 in New York by Aaron Rhodes and Amit Dhand, Collective Intel’s technology is 99 percent accurate, the co-founders say, which surpasses even the most advanced AI on the market.

So far, the company’s technology has been implemented to study checkout operations and display engagements in large grocery chains, in convenience stores to increase display engagement and check employee presence, and at drive-through stores to analyze wait times. It was officially launched on July 1, following a series of pilots for retailers and restaurants.

The company says its retail analytics technology is privacy-protecting and secure, blurring faces and license plates, as well as transparent.

The founders intend to expand Collective Intel’s business to India within the next 18 months.

VSBLTY reaches deal for 300 stores in ZA

VSBLTY has partnered with South Africa-based Onyx-Cognivas to deploy multiple digital media solutions to a chain of gas stations and convenience stores in the country for enhanced customer engagement, along with validation for media partners.

Under the agreement, VisionCaptor and DataCaptor computer vision analytics and three digital interactive placements will be installed in more than 300 retail locations over the next five years.

“Progressive retailers are increasingly recognizing the value of monetizing their stores in a model where brands can purchase space as media,” comments VSBLTY Co-founder and CEO Jay Hutton. “Interactive ad messages are now reaching, influencing and measuring consumers right at the point of sale where we are seeing major increases in conversion and ROI on these programs.”

Race detection in the retail space questioned

The Wall Street Journal looks into race analysis software in the commercial space, and reviews concerns associated with the practice along with biometrics providers offering the capability.

Cognitec is one such company, though Sales and Marketing Director Jeurgen Pampus tells the Journal no customers have licensed its race classification software yet. Spectrico, Face++ (Megvii), and Hikvision are cited among companies offering the capability, while Kairos, Sightcorp and Facewatch are examples of companies that have deprecated race analysis algorithms.

Digital Barriers CEO Zach Doffman tells the Journal that companies have become less open to talking about their demographic analysis capabilities due to the controversy surrounding the propriety of such technologies.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  privacy  |  retail biometrics  |  TouchByte  |  video analytics  |  VSBLTY