Smart shelf technology is transforming the retail industry by enhancing in-store experiences through real-time inventory tracking and automated stock management. These electronically connected shelves help retailers make informed decisions, improve customer service, and reduce stock shortages while also enabling remote monitoring of inventory. Additionally, smart shelves support cross-selling strategies during out-of-stock situations, ensuring better service and increased sales.

1. HOW SMART SHELF
TECHNOLOGY IS
RESHAPING THE RETAIL
INDUSTRY
BY: BRITTANY MARTINCIC

2. • Digital Transformation is next on the retail
industry innovation list.
• Online retailers are enticing shoppers with
“anywhere any time” shopping, faster delivery,
personalized products and simple returns.
• Customers are not satisfied with items that are
“out-of-stock” in physical stores and it has
currently become a big challenge in the retail
industry.

3. • Internal process failures, resource constraints,
and data disconnects contribute to some of the
reasons behind in store experience problems.
• Since ecommerce cannot deliver the visual and
sensory experience that shopping in physical
stores provides, retailers are looking for ways to
optimize the in-store experience by
implementing innovative technologies like Smart
Shelves.

4. • Refill inventory from stock rooms as it gets depleted from
the store shelf
• Inform the buying group of the demand and out-of-stock
situation
• Inform warehouse / direct shipment vendor for immediate
replenishment
Smart shelves are electronically connected shelves that
automatically keep track of inventory in a retail store. The
Smart shelves technology benefits both the customers’
shopping experience and the retailers’ selling experience.
The smart shelf will enable the inventory and store to:

5. Smart Shelves Technology:
• Enables the business owners to make more informed
decisions
• Real-time tracking of inventory stock situation
•
• Provides real time analysis of data
• Enables retailers to stock larger quantities of fast moving
products
• Reduces the number of slow moving items
• Enables manufacturers and retailers to reward shopper loyalty

6. How Smart Shelves Work in Physical Stores
• Smart shelves are wireless inventory control systems that
are fitted with weight sensors.
• The weight sensors are built-in the shelf itself or installed
under normal shelves.
• These weight sensors consistently notify the back-end
system about the existing quantity of items on the
shelves.
• These wireless devices use RFID tags and readers to scan
the products in the display and stock shelves. Store
associates are alerted when product levels are running
low or when a theft is detected.

7. How Smart Shelves Work in Physical Stores
• They also trigger the back-end system about items that
do not belong to certain shelves "misplaced items".
• The smart shelves provide retailers with various ways of
improving their customer service, increasing sales and
reducing cart abandonment.
https://pointofsale.com/2016061612134/Point-of-Sale-News/Redefine-Your-In-Store-Experience-with-Smart-Shelves.html

8. Features of Smart Shelves
• Inventory Automation
• Inventory management is essential to manage costs, measure shrink
and improve the customer shopping experience in retail. With smart
shelves technology, retailers can automatically track the stocked goods
and make sure there is enough inventory to avoid being “out-of-stock”.
• Real-Time Inventory Management
• Real time inventory management allows retailers to make better
decisions, save time and increase in-store sales. Smart shelves allow
real-time, accurate management of inventory data to help retailers
optimize in-store sales with the timely refilling of stock.
• Remote Monitoring Provision
• The remote monitoring provision allows retailers to keep track of the
inside of the store from a remote location. The remote monitoring
capabilities of Smart Shelves helps to quickly identify and fix problems
inside the store before impacting the customers. All hardware runs with
automatic remote alerting and dispatching capability to insure non-stop
operation.

9. Features of Smart Shelves
• Stock Availability Assessment
• Having stock available when customers ask for it is critical for any retail
stores. Smart shelves technology enables automated tracking of stock
availability and informs retail stores if the items are running low or if they
have been misplaced.
• Cross and Up-Selling for Out-of -Stock Items
• Cross and upselling happens when there is a shortage of products for
which customers are looking. With smart shelves technology, retailers
can offer customers better or complementary products instead of what
they are currently interested in if that item is out-of-stock.
• Offline Model Working
• Stores need to be able to function in offline mode sometimes. Smart
shelves will also work in offline scenarios.
• Hardware Compatibility
• The hardware associated with smart shelves is compatible with any
mobile network provider, any radio frequency (RF) devices, and any
language.

10. Contact Us
800.933.2839
SOURCES: https://pointofsale.com/2016061612134/Point-of-Sale-News/Redefine-Your-In-Store-Experience-with-Smart-Shelves.html
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/retail/digital-retail-futurecasting-report.html