Retail Genie – Next-generation Instore Advertising
As per Forrester Research, in 2020, India’s retail sector was estimated at US$ 883 billion, with grocery retail accounting for US$ 608 billion. The market is projected to reach ~US$ 1.3 trillion by 2024.Revenue of India’s offline retailers, also known as brick and mortar (B&M) retailers, is expected to increase by Rs. 10,000-12,000 crore (US$ 1.39-2.77 billion) in FY20. India’s direct selling industry would be valued at US$ 2.14 billion by the end of 2021.
However, there has been no major innovation in the way brands target customers at the stores itself. Most of the promotional activity is limited to point of sales displays , standees and banners announcing various kinds of discounts. Digital displays too have not taken off in India considering the high cost and limitation on space & power availability. This has resulted in lack of differentiation and it is very likely that in spite of the extra effort and cost, the customers are not even noticing the products on the shelves.
Most brands engaging in new product launches have limited themselves to engaging promoters. Promoters though effective, remain a non scalable option due to the high cost and the management overhead involved in recruiting,training and managing the activity.
Revolution in Instore Advertising
EasyReach , an IoT company based out of Mumbai , has created a robot ( called Retail Genie ) in order to remove the constraints associated with the traditional promotional methods. Our Retail Genie helps in making the product standout at the retail shelf . This is done via various mechanisms
1) Detecting the shoppers approaching the shelf in order to start the engagement activity
2) Presenting ( Moving ) your inanimate product physically in front of customer in order to attract customer attention
3) Spotlight in order to enhance product visibility
4) Playing pre-recorded jingle/announcements to help communicate a standard and consistent message.
The Retail Genie combines motion, sound and light in order to make your product stand out from among its competitors. It offers the brand the possibility to attract the customers and offer the customers an amazing in-store experience.