Introducing New Standard AI Zone Monitoring: Using Visual AI to Tackle Billion-Dollar Problems for Retail

With just a few cameras and the power of Standard AI’s Vision platform, new Zone Monitoring gives retailers powerful tools to manage inventory and prevent loss

Standard AI, the world leader in retail AI, today announced the extension of the Standard AI Vision platform that offers a groundbreaking new way to use AI to address loss, inventory management, and other retail operational challenges. The first platform to leverage advanced visual AI in the most profitable sectors of convenience retail, new Standard Zones are offered today in the tobacco, beer, and fresh food / grab and go sections of the store. Going forward, Standard AI will bring the Vision platform to other sections of the store, including lottery, cash drawer, fuel, and beyond.

Labor challenges, inventory management, and theft have impeded retailers from realizing their full potential. Convenience retailers lose an estimated $48 billion each year from poor inventory management, according to a study* by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS). Retailers lose an estimated $1.5 billion each year from tobacco theft and another $2.5 billion each year from beer theft.

How it Works

The setup for Zone Monitoring in store is deceptively simple. Three to five cameras are installed over the transaction zone. The real power is in the sophisticated visual AI that monitors every interaction with the shelf. Out-of-stock notifications are delivered for real-time inventory management. Suspected theft is captured via video clip and is accessible by store management. The system provides analytics, trends, and insights for a deeper understanding of shopping behavior and theft trends in that zone.

Friendly Express is among a slew of retailers that are soon to use the new Zone Monitoring to understand and prevent loss and better manage out of stocks and inventory. “We’ve used Skip self-checkout to help augment our in-store teams and better the shopper experience,” said Amy Wood, Director of IT, Friendly Express. “We are excited about the promise of new Tobacco and Fresh Food Trackers to help us lower shrink and ensure the right products are on the shelf when customers want them.”

“Every new product we build is designed to help our customers solve immediate problems while ensuring they are on a path to an autonomous future,” said Jordan Fisher, CEO of Standard AI. “Zone Monitoring puts our powerful visual AI to work in the most lucrative parts of the store.”

The Standard AI Vision platform and new Zone monitoring offerings uniquely provide:

• Enhanced Customer Analytics & Smarter Inventory Management: Retailers can benefit from better profits through improved inventory control, with potential savings amounting to millions.
• Theft Deterrence: Standard AI’s technology captures suspected theft through video snippets available for management review, and delivers insights on theft trends for actionable response.
• Accessibility & Affordability: For a low fee, authorized users can access video feeds and analytics from any web browser, resulting in a quick return on investment via theft reduction. The easy-to-install system requires only a few cameras coupled with a powerful back-end infrastructure.
• Added Features: Standard AI is currently planning for future features like ID check verification, Point Of Sale (POS) area and voided transactions monitoring, cash handling surveillance, lottery tracking, and planogram compliance.
• The Gateway to Autonomy: Building on Standard AI’s acquisition of SKIP, this product provides retailers with immediate solutions to present-day retail challenges while simultaneously paving the way toward an autonomous future.

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Adhering to Standard AI’s longstanding commitment to ethical considerations and privacy rights, the Vision platform ensures:

• No Facial Recognition: Steering clear of potential biases, Standard AI’s artificial intelligence platform does not perform facial recognition.
• No Demographics: Standard AI’s artificial intelligence platform focuses solely on kinematics, such as the manner in which customers interact with shelves, and does not ingest other information.

As the retail landscape undergoes transformative change, the Standard AI Vision platform, combined with Tobacco Tracker + Beer Tracker, stands at the forefront, empowering retailers to seize today’s opportunities and embrace the promise of tomorrow.

*”The Cost of Poor Inventory Management for Convenience Retailers,” conducted by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) in 2022.