Shelf intelligence has become a strategic imperative with retailers, according to new research from Scandit and IHL Group. These companies are looking for technologies that can drive inventory accuracy, profitability, and customer satisfaction, said the report.
“While digital transformation has dominated the retail industry for the last decade, inventory accuracy and shelf availability continue to erode profitability,” said Greg Buzek, the president and chief AI officer at IHL Group. “Our new research demonstrates that shelf intelligence technology has matured to a competitive necessity, and retailers who have embraced this shift are breaking away from the pack.”
Inventory issues, including out-of-stocks, overstocks, and misplaced items, remain a critical challenge for retailers. The study found this equates to $1.73 trillion in lost sales annually, hitting business profitability. Consequently, inventory visibility ranks second as a technology investment priority behind personalization of the customer experience, according to the research.
However, retailers with profit growth of over 10% are investing 208% more in inventory visibility solutions than those with lower profit growth.
Scandit develops smart data-capture technology, and IHL Group is a global research and advisory company focused on the retail industry. The two companies collaborated on the research. The study spanned over 400 retailers across grocery, mass merchants, warehouses, drug stores, and convenience store segments in the U.S., as well as Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).
As technology matures, adopters get more returns
As the appetite for shelf intelligence deployment rises, retailers expect multiple benefits, including:
- 57% expect increased customer satisfaction
- 55% expect reduced labor costs
- 49% expect on-shelf availability lifts
- 38% expect higher store associate productivity
Scandit and IHL noted that this demonstrates increasing maturity since early deployments of inventory robots and other systems. Those early deployments struggled with integration challenges, high costs, and immature AI models.
The report also projected that AI spending will grow by 29% from 2025 to 2026, according to the study. More retailers are now identifying as early adopters.
Retail’s profit winners are 94% more likely to invest in shelf intelligence solutions than their struggling peers, according to the companies. Early adopters are willing to embrace operational transformation rather than settle for incremental improvements, they said.
Hybrid data-capture helps retailers profit, finds study
When deploying shelf intelligence, retailers that have adopted a hybrid data-capture strategy are 64% more likely to be early adopters. This includes multiple methods of data capture, including autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), fixed cameras, and mobile devices.
These same retailers are also 136% more likely to maintain profitability leadership, the study found. Over the course of the next 12 months, 36% plan to adopt a hybrid data capture strategy, demonstrating allocated budgets and implementation timelines – the single highest amongst planned shelf technologies. A further 21% are planning within the next 24 months, highlighting a market with momentum.
“Grocers and other retailers are no longer asking whether shelf intelligence works — they’re asking how fast they can scale it,” stated Christian Floerkemeier, co-founder and chief technology officer of Scandit. “The data confirms what we are seeing in real-world engagements across North America and Europe, where deployments are increasing, on-shelf availability rises of 5% are being realized, and bottom lines are being positively impacted, underlining the overall strategic imperative.”
