In the world of brick-and-mortar retail, the real battleground lies not just in pricing or promotions—but in understanding what shoppers actually do in store. That’s precisely the niche carved out by VideoMining, a Pennsylvania-based firm specialising in AI-driven observational research for consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands and retailers.
At its core, VideoMining uses patented computer-vision and sensing technology to record and analyse the micro-moments of the in-store shopping journey—every glance, pause, detour or pick-up. Their sensors capture behavior at a granular resolution (every tenth of a second), correlating it with retail “stimuli” such as shelf layout, signage, displays and promotional placements.
What makes this compelling is the shift from traditional tools (surveys, POS data, focus groups) to real-time behavioural intelligence. Instead of asking what shoppers purchased, VideoMining shows why they made decisions and how store environment shaped them. For example: did a shopper stop at a promo display? Or did they walk straight past it because the signage failed, or the placement was poor? That kind of insight bridges the gap between retail strategy and actual shopper conduct.
Their clientele spans major CPG brands and large-scale retailers who use this data in category management, brand marketing, shelf/space optimisation, shopper-marketing, and store design. In May 2025, VideoMining introduced its Behavior Hub™ program, enabling retailers to convert their stores into continuous insight engines—deploying discreet AI sensors and generating analytics without upfront investment.
Here are three key benefits businesses gain by partnering with VideoMining:
- Deeper shopper profiling & segmentation: Understand not just demographic attributes but behaviours (kids-in-tow, cell-phone use, trip mission) that influence in-store actions.
- Empirical shelf & store optimisation: Via heat-maps, traffic flows and stimulus-response data, brands can refine shelf flow, display placement and merchandising tactics to better capture conversion moments.
- Retail-innovation & real-world testing: Through their "Behavior Labs" and store-panel systems, clients test innovations (new layouts, signage, pack designs) in live store environments and measure impact.
If you’re in retail or CPG and exploring how to gain an edge in physical store performance, VideoMining offers a compelling model: transform behaviour into strategy, and data into action. With the omnichannel digital era placing renewed emphasis on the physical store, the ability to observe and dissect the in-store journey becomes a strong competitive differentiator.
In short: the business of retail isn’t just about what is on the shelf—it’s about how shoppers move, react and engage. VideoMining helps you light up the parts of the journey that were previously invisible.