“I want to find out why the silk scarf is selling well in London but not in Birmingham”, or “What is the customer response on our promotional booth in all of our stores?” Networked CCTV which enables one person to compare activity at multiple sites at exactly the same point in time has never been available before – and presents an exciting opportunity for retailers to gain even greater insight into their operations. It proactively addresses a multitude of retail issues which currently depend on visual interpretation by a person ‘on the ground’.

Networked video can offer an additional layer of information to support anecdotal beliefs from shop floor staff. The emphasis is then placed on the facts, not on the general impressions gleaned throughout a busy working day – which, despite good intentions, can easily become distorted. Reviewing the differences in multiple customer reactions to promotional displays in store will give merchandisers far greater insight into what is working well on the shop floor. By recording pre-set snapshots to compare times of day, a range of layouts, a change of product focus etc. Factual evidence of actual customer responses can be analysed and reported in significant volumes very easily.