Pathr.ai, the industry’s first Machine Learning (ML) enabled Spatial Intelligence “behavior engine,” today officially released “ON THE X”—its proprietary solution for brick and mortar retail. Pathr™ is the only AI-powered Spatial Intelligence platform that uses anonymous location data to derive actionable business insights in real-time—fueling enhanced sales, marketing and operations to better compete with the online commerce experience. Leveraging the Pathr platform, ON THE X enables retailers to guide staff to the optimal location in-store where they are most likely to close a sale—based upon real-time store floor conditions, such as customer traffic or operational needs. Pathr is showcasing ON THE X at this week’s 2020 National Retail Federation (NRF) Big Show “Innovation Lab” in Booth #7004 at Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.
How ON THE X works
Pathr’s ON THE X technology builds on Pathr’s other highest impact use cases to not only identify key in-store events, but to also calculate the precise location to best optimize key tasks such as: customer interaction, merchandise restocking, and loss prevention. By applying advanced spatial analytics technology to the brick and mortar environment, Pathr is the first brand of its kind in the industry to use ML protocols to identify and better manage specific retail-related spatial events:
The algorithm-generated intelligence from Pathr’s engine provides retail managers with a more intuitive understanding of occurrences in real-time—allowing them to guide the Customer Experience (CX) as it happens, rather than relying on data delivered after the fact, increasing both lift and customer satisfaction.
ON THE X also operates at the frontline of fraud and theft prevention—working with existing loss prevention (LP) solutions to guide employees to potential in-store theft events before they take place, putting associates in the ideal location to respond based on company policy.
Pathr also anonymously tracks sales associate performance relative to this optimal in-store location, in order to quantify areas for employee improvement or further personnel training—making ON THE X a useful human resources application, as well as sales tool.
Additionally, ON THE X addresses other key operations unique to the physical store environment—such as helping managers be more in-tune with shelf restocking needs and to more swiftly respond to inventory gaps in high-turn over areas of the store.
“Using ON THE X, retailers can finally move beyond relying on intangible location data and raw numbers that don’t drive business results—or directly impact on-the-floor sales,” explained George Shaw, Pathr Founder and CEO. “ON THE X ups the game for any retail establishment looking to increase profits and better compete with online brands. The product takes retail spatial intelligence to the next level and enables managers to maximize revenue flow and streamline operations. It’s an ideal solution especially for a multi-region, multi-market chain because it provides system-wide customer behavior intelligence applied across the entire brand network—something which brick and mortar retailers have been lacking.”
Importance of a privacy-compliant LP solution
Pathr’s ability to detect theft before it takes place—and do so in a privacy-compliant way—is significant within the industry. Pathr technology, for the first time, offers a completely anonymous location based data-tracking tool that shows only the representation of customer movement—mapped as a simple “dot” on a digital interface. No personal information, customer socio-economic, demographic or visual data is ever involved, making Pathr the only 100% private spatial analytics platform. Because ON THE X never taps profile information, it offers the retail community an invaluable capability it has previously been missing to effectively combat inventory shrinkage.
“Pathr’s ON THE X is retail location data ‘redefined,’ and taken to a more sophisticated level than ever before possible,” said Ken Jackowitz, Pathr Executive Advisor and past Chief Product & Marketing Officer for Office Depot’s CompuCom. “This is the turnkey integrated solution the industry has sorely needed. Retail analytics served up post-hoc offer only a fraction of the insights that real-time spatial analytics can deliver. Up until now, they also haven’t focused on guiding customer behavior right at the optimal in-store location, which is exactly what Pathr delivers. ON THE X enhances the quality and quantity of critical customer interactions, increases sales, and provides a long-awaited means for directly confronting theft head-on without compromising customer privacy.”
Evening the playing field with online commerce
Additionally, ON THE X gives brick and mortar operators a stealth tool through which to better compete against ecommerce, especially pure play “online only” sellers with an arsenal of sticky digital tools to engage a highly pre-disposed customer base. Now, with Pathr’s proprietary algorithm-driven solution, managers can recoup market advantage by more deeply understanding shopper behavior and applying a series of actionable insights to drive revenues. The brick and mortar experience delivers an advantage that online commerce doesn’t offer—the opportunity for a live, in-person connection with the customer. ON THE X maximizes this capability to the fullest.
According to Pathr Chief Operations Officer Ryan Parker: “Retail and center operators know that to properly achieve path-to-purchase goals, they must meet their target consumers ‘on the x’—at that exact moment when they are most likely to entertain a purchase and close the transaction. The Pathr engine provides the digital equivalency of a powerful sell-through prompt. It also enhances traffic flow management in those areas of the retail floor most important to profit generation—alerting operators as to the right moment to serve up specific discounts and couponing opportunities. We believe our ON THE X tool offers absolutely game-changing potential to impact both top- and bottom-line profits for storefronts across a range of verticals.”
For more information on ON THE X, please visit Pathr.ai and also meet the brand team at the NRF Big Show Innovation Lab, Booth #7004, through January 14th, 2020.
About Pathr™
Based in Mountain View, CA, Pathr’s proprietary Spatial Intelligence platform and “behavior engine” delivers valuable spatial analytics and customer behavior knowledge, derived from predictive algorithms and advanced data analysis. The technology helps businesses and organizations create higher quality interactions with key constituents—by mapping and evaluating their physical movement through any number of locations or venues. Because it operates in real time, Pathr has the ability to directly impact business outcomes as they occur, during the moments most essential to an organization’s financial and operational success.