In many brick-and-mortar stores, only 20 to 60 percent of visitors make an actual purchase. But what does physical retail really know about the large majority of visitors who leave the store without buying anything? New technology now allows physical retailers to analyze every customer in the store — including non-buyers.
Today’s physical retail is very good at analyzing purchasing behavior — transactions, loyalty data and shopping baskets. Yet that only tells part of the story. A major opportunity lies in understanding the complete visit flow: who enters the store and how long they stay. “If we can better understand non-buyers, even a few percentage points increase in conversion can make a significant difference to the bottom line,” says Christian Bönnelyche at BizLab.
With new AI-based technology — for example BizLab FLOW — stores can now gain real-time insights about every visitor, whether they buy or not. This involves anonymized data that can indicate age ranges, gender estimations, time spent in-store, reactions to messages and even which screens or displays generate the most engagement. All of this is handled in compliance with GDPR and the AI regulation.
“Retail media in physical stores should not rely solely on sales data. We can track the entire in-store customer journey — including the 20–60 percent who do not convert,” Christian continues. By understanding these patterns, retailers can discover new competitive advantages and unlock additional revenue streams in an already pressured retail environment.
“Retail media in-store is growing rapidly worldwide, yet Swedish retail still has significant room to advance. Now that the technology is available, it’s time for physical retailers to take the next step — to analyze every customer interaction, not just every purchase,” concludes Christian Bönnelyche.