Best Buy deploys Verint Systems solution

Nov. 3, 2008
Electronics retailer implements Nextiva suite to analyze customer behavior

Weybridge, Surrey, October 29, 2008 – Verint Systems Inc. today announced that its Nextiva Retail Traffic Analysis solution is being used by Best Buy Co., Inc. – a multinational retailer of technology and entertainment products and services – as part of a programme designed to help analyse and optimise customer experiences associated with product placement and promotions.

Already a Verint customer with over 60 percent of its retail stores being monitored with Verint equipment, Best Buy deployed Verint’s retail traffic product on a 45-camera platform in one of its 45,000 square foot retail stores to evaluate the value-added solution. Designed to leverage existing video surveillance applications, Nextiva Retail Traffic Analysis provides real-time information regarding customer count, traffic patterns, dwell-times and broad information regarding customers’ in-store shopping behaviours.

"We are already impressed with the value Nextiva Retail Traffic Analysis has shown for Best Buy in the areas of product placement, and the effectiveness of displays and promotional positioning," says Tim Fisher, director of loss prevention and safety, Best Buy. "Within hours of the installation, store management was working actively with the solution and modifying product placement based on the information. Store operations found the user interface to be intuitive and easy to use, and we are very encouraged about the possibilities the solution can deliver."

Nextiva Retail Traffic Analysis helps retailers understand shopper behaviours and trends by providing insight into in-store promotions and advertising campaigns, identifying traffic flow patterns and measuring dwell-time, and helping to ensure proper product placement on shelves and aisles. By using a video analytics tool, retailers can extract and search customer behaviours through an easy-to-use video management application. In addition, the analysis can be used along with point-of-purchase data to further understand buying patterns. Armed with this type of information, retailers can determine the success rate of promotions and optimise store layout and design to help improve the customer experience and maximise sales.

"Partnering with a widely respected retailer like Best Buy is ideal as traffic measurement and conversion rates have become key metrics as critical as turning on the lights for retailers," adds Jim Clark, senior vice president and general manager, Verint Video Intelligence Solutions. "Nextiva continues to meet organisational needs in enabling retailers, among other verticals, to better understand whether changes in traffic and sales are due individual store management, marketing programs, corporate operations or characteristics of a particular location," he concludes.