DALLAS, April 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Symphony RetailAI, the leading global provider of Artificial Intelligence-enabled decision platforms, solutions and customer-centric insights that drive validated growth for retailers and CPG manufacturers, today announced the launch of its SR Virtual Store Remodeling solution for grocery retailers and suppliers. This turnkey virtual reality (VR) offering enables retailers to optimize existing and new store layouts based on customer-driven design, research and testing analysis, and allows CPGs to analyze how products look and perform on the shelf. Ultimately, the solution promotes better shopper experience, operational efficiency and supplier collaboration without significant resource investment from retailers and CPGs.
“Our Supermarket 2020 findings reveal that as dynamic new competitors emerge and customer shopping behavior continues to evolve, there is a major need to reevaluate the layout and function of stores,” said Vishal Kirpalani, VP Product Experience & Design, Symphony RetailAI. “With SR Virtual Store Remodeling, we can create intelligent store layouts that engage customers based on their actual preferences. The solution allows us to work with retailers and remove the guesswork to design new and unique layouts for each store location at a lower cost and execute virtual customer tests that ensure these investments will be optimized at the store, aisle and shelf level.”
In contrast to traditional live testing environments that require expensive and rigid physical models, virtual reality offers unparalleled efficiency for presenting and collaborating on new store and shelf visions. Introducing smoother work processes, innovation and experimentation through all levels of the store, SR Virtual Store Remodeling does this in three distinct phases:
- Future-Proof Design Concepts
Based on Supermarket 2020 concepts and detailed analysis of in-store customer behavior, the Symphony RetailAI Shopper Experience group creates a virtual 3D model of any variety of a retailer’s store layouts and vision. Stakeholders at all levels of the planning process have visibility into store concept and can easily configure and improve connected processes by integrating real store plans, planograms and shopper marketing activations, without affecting any live stores.
- Virtual Customer-Driven User Testing
Once virtually constructed, Symphony RetailAI hosts real shoppers at its Virtual Store Test Center in Dallas or through a virtual portal, where they “walk” through the concept, replicating the emotional response to the store space and the shopper journey. This is a vital component of ensuring stores cater to today’s actual customer needs instead of outdated concepts.
- Actionable Analysis
Symphony RetailAI reviews customer behavior from the virtual store concepts and then measures the implications of their feedback to create actionable next steps. This customer-driven, virtual process happens very quickly, but provides detailed shopper input to help retailers test and respond to new customer expectations, competitive pressure and seasonal changes faster, at a lower cost, and with greater confidence.
“The shopping experience is the key to success in today’s retail environment,” said Dr. Pallab Chatterjee, Chairman and CEO, Symphony RetailAI. “Retail stores are realizing the need to maintain a dynamic ability to engage the shopper with the right format for the right occasion and make shopping fun and easy. Virtual reality simplifies this process and makes it easy to share vision and plans across the enterprise and beyond, providing unrivaled clarity for internal and supplier stakeholders to ensure new store layouts realize their potential.”
Additional information on how SR Virtual Store Remodeling can give your business the complete confidence to design, research and analyze store layouts to improve in-store customer engagement, with greater speed and reduced cost, can be found here.
About Symphony RetailAI
Symphony RetailAI is the leading global provider of Artificial Intelligence-enabled decision platforms, solutions and customer-centric insights that drive validated growth for retailers and CPG manufacturers, from customer intelligence to personalized marketing, and merchandising and category management, to supply chain and retail operations. Symphony RetailAI is innovating rapidly to drive faster, more profitable decisions through AI, machine learning and voice technologies. We are trusted by over 1,200 organizations including 15 of the world’s 25 largest grocery retailers, thousands of retail brands, and hundreds of national and regional chains worldwide to help solve their toughest business problems, through AI-powered customer intelligence and retail solutions. Symphony RetailAI was formed in January 2018 incorporating Symphony GOLD and Symphony EYC into the company as the Retail Solutions Division and Customer Intelligence Division respectively. More at www.symphonyretailai.com. Follow us on Twitter: @SymphonyRetail
Media Contact
Adrienne Newcomb
Ketner Group Communications (for Symphony RetailAI)
adrienne@ketnergroup.com
512-794-8876