Identifying Pricing and Assortment Issues in Grocery Stores with Anonymous Sentiment Analysis: A New Solution from Wayvee Analytics

Wayvee Analytics, a retail tech company specializing in anonymous emotion recognition for brick-and-mortar retail, introduces a new approach for grocery stores to identify price, assortment, and in-store environment issues by analyzing customer purchase intent based on their emotional responses. The camera-free, AI-powered in-store analytics technology provides real-time insights into shelf reactions, allowing retailers to resolve problems up to 10 times faster, optimize dynamic pricing strategies based on demand, and quickly perform assortment A/B testing to enhance the shopping experience and drive sales.

Wayvee measures purchase intent by analyzing emotional arousal — a heightened emotional response that often signals an increased likelihood of engaging with a product. High levels of arousal without corresponding product interaction typically indicate dissatisfaction, frequently linked to pricing concerns or product placement issues. For example, when a customer feels drawn to a product but does not proceed to pick it up, it may suggest that pricing is a barrier. Similarly, low engagement and emotional response can highlight stock shortages or misplaced products.

The advanced customer sentiment analysis approach helps retailers accurately identify and address price-related barriers and assortment challenges through AI-driven insights. By tracking changes in purchase intent metrics, Wayvee supports pricing optimization strategies, including A/B testing and dynamic adjustments often integrated with Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL).

In a recent pilot program with a Singapore-based grocery store, Wayvee’s smart shelf solution paired with ESL led to an 11% increase in drink shelf sales. The algorithm tracked changes in purchase intent and emotional responses, triggering price adjustments of ±2% when engagement metrics shifted by 5%, within a ±10% price corridor. This dynamic pricing approach enabled the store to respond quickly to customer behavior and optimize sales opportunities in real time.

Unlike traditional in-store analytics methods that rely on cameras or facial recognition, Wayvee offers a privacy-respectful approach using radio waves to analyze customer micro-movements, such as breathing and subtle body shifts. With no personal identifiers collected and complete data anonymity ensured, it provides retailers with real-time insights to address operational challenges, optimize shelf performance, enhance customer experiences, and more. Its ability to deliver actionable insights faster than traditional sales reports or survey tools positions it as a valuable data-driven tool for modern grocery stores.

To learn more, visit Wayvee Analytics at stand 9D02 at EuroCIS.