VideoMining Eyes Grocery Shoppers

JULIE GALLAGHER

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — A new program, implemented over a sampling of retail chains, launched by VideoMining Corp. will use video to study shopper behavior in 120 supermarkets across the U.S. beginning in August.

Fifteen stores will be fitted with 100 cameras, while consumer audits and intercepts will supplement video collected by a fewer number of cameras in the remainder of stores. VideoMining would not disclose the names of retailer participants, but at least 10 banners are said to be in the study.

“Stores and banners have been carefully selected to give a good geographic, demographic and format sample,” said Rajeev Sharma, VideoMining’s founder and chief executive officer. “We expect to uncover some useful and actionable insights about grocery shopping from our large-scale, anonymous behavioral data.”

VideoMining conducted a similar program with 7-Eleven and other convenience retailers. It found that over a third of visitors shopped for some kind of beverage immediately after entering the store; nearly one in four (24%) stopped to shop the food service category; and stores generated more than $3 for every minute consumers shopped the store.